The 2026 APA-IL State Conference is almost here, which means Evanston gets to show off a little. Teska has been headquartered in the heart of downtown for fifty years, shaping the design of corridors, parks, and plazas along the way. We believe in paying it forward, so here are some go-to local haunts, practical tips, and a little lore. See you in sessions and around the block. ~ Team Teska
HOME TEAM HAUNTS
Fountain Square, Davis & Sherman. Don't be a square, unless you mean this one! Located in the heart of downtown and just one block from the hotel, Teska led the redesign of this flexible plaza space, which hosts pop-up markets and a free concert series throughout the summer. The seasonal planters (compliments of Downtown Evanston SSA) are pretty and smart – the pots double as ped-safety infrastructure. Tip: Grab lunch alfresco and head here to catch-up with colleagues.
Animal Records, 620 Grove Street. Forty thousand records and climbing. Kitty-corner from Teska is the holy grail of vinyl, and the owner is still hauling in more from his basement. Fan of cassette tapes? You can find those here, too. Yes, you heard right. Cassettes alongside boomboxes are making a comeback. Tip: Bring the walkman and do a test-run before purchase.
Twiggs Park Skate Park, 1901 Simpson Street. Kick, push, coast to an all-ages thrill bowl, no spoon required. This community designed skate park includes a closed bowl and shallow bonus area for the tykes. Teska enjoyed outreach to youth and families as part of our design efforts with the City of Evanston. The project was recently awarded Metro Project of the Year from the American Public Works Association Chicago. Bonus Track: Throwback to our project partners Spohn Ranch icing the cake.
Lee Street Beach, 1111 Lake Shore Boulevard. My Sauna Club runs wood-fired sessions most mornings, lake plunge included. Yes, even in the cold. Especially in the cold. Attend the mobile workshop to get CMs alongside adventure.
Belgian Chocolatier Piron, 509 Main Street. A bit of a walk but worth every step. Hand-made truffles since 1983. Ask for the mocha manon.
Ladd Arboretum, 2024 McCormick Boulevard. Home of the Ecology Center and an accessible canoe launch now underway on the North Shore Channel, built with input from adaptive sports groups from day one.
Bookends & Beginnings, 1620 Orrington. A block from the hotel. Nine years hidden in an alley earned it the nickname "Evanston's Speakeasy for Books."
Central Street Corridor. Named to the list of ‘Great Places in America’ by the American Planning Association and summarized like this “Combine an edgy urban vibe with a small-town pace and sensibility and the result is Evanston's Central Street neighborhood.” Just a short ride north on the Purple Line. Working alongside the City and local business community, Teska guided the establishment of two Special Service Areas along Central Street to support ongoing programming and beautification.
TOWNY TIPS
Feed the meter. Enforcement does not accept conference lanyards as currency.
Go north for fall color. Stroll Northwestern's campus and lakefront; no badge required.
Skip the car. The Davis Street Metra and CTA Purple Line stops are two blocks from the hotel, and Pace buses cover the rest. Downtown Evanston is built for walking.
Look up. Murals are splashed across downtown, many courtesy of the Evanston Mural Arts Program.
LOCAL LORE
Daniel Burnham. Ever heard of this guy? Why yes, he lived in Evanston. In another ironic twist, as described in the Evanston Now article: “Burnham died in 1912 and his original home, which sat at the intersection of what’s now Burnham Place and Michigan Avenue, was demolished in 1938 and the estate was subdivided into 19 lots.”
Blame the blue laws. One local legend traces the ice cream sundae to an 1890 Evanston ban on Sunday soda sales. Druggists dropped the soda water, kept the syrup, and called it a "Sunday." The spelling changed so no one would blink at ordering one on a Tuesday.
Toast the irony. Evanston stayed legally dry until 1972, birthplace of the national temperance movement. Now it has a distillery named FEW Spirits, after Frances Elizabeth Willard's initials. And that’s how “Evanston 1st Liquors” on Davis Street came to be named... it really was the first in town.
For the cult-curious. The American Toby Jug Museum keeps more than eight thousand ceramic drinking mugs on display, in a town that spent a century outlawing what they hold.