The student news site of Naperville North High School

The North Star

The student news site of Naperville North High School

The North Star

The student news site of Naperville North High School

The North Star

Obscurities: How to walk the walk

Kireemby Kireem Nam

Why did the fish cross the river?
          To get to its school.
Why did the whale cross the road?
          To get to the other tide.

Okay, so admittedly, I thought the joke intro would work out a lot better than that. In case you couldn’t tell, I was trying to set up the mood…

Anyway, the Riverwalk. Since you haven’t been living under a rock for the entirety of your life, of course you know what it is. But did you know that it was built for Naperville’s 150th anniversary, and that it actually stretches on for 1.75 miles? Or that it’s called the “Crown Jewel of Naperville,” the city voted the second-best place to live in the U.S.? …That’s right. You’re welcome.

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So, if we’re going to talk the talk, we’ve got to walk the walk. (Haha, see what I did there?) The Riverwalk starts at Jefferson Avenue and extends all the way to Hillside, and it’s obviously a lot more than that thin stretch of pavement next to the river itself. All the things you’ve probably seen around Naperville are actually part of the Riverwalk ­– like Centennial Beach, the paddleboat quarry, Rotary Hill, and the Millennium Carillon (you know, the bell tower?).

And then there’s the Shanower Memorial – the one with all the faces on it, and that eternal flame. It was inspired by a Naperville native, Naval Commander Dan Shanower, who died in the September 11 attacks – not to get all historical on you.

Further down, we run into our ever-popular Nichols Library, home of last-minute projects and group gatherings, and the dandelion fountain across the street that we all know and love.

After all, we’re number two in the nation. Or, at least, we were in 2006.

 

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Obscurities: How to walk the walk