Debuting in 1957, Leave It to Beaver was a television sitcom featuring the fictional Cleaver family. Originally running for six seasons, it gained more popularity in reruns airing still.

The show was set in the fictional Mayfield. Like a lot of shows then, the setting was purposely kept generic to relate to all.

Recently, while doing research about Skokie, Illinois, where I have lived for 30 years, I learned of its connection to the beloved sitcom. In Season 3, Episode 10, “Beaver’s Fortune,” there is a set shot of Mayfield’s business district. That shot is actually downtown Skokie. The picture looks north on Lincoln Avenue. In the upper left corner is St. Peter’s Catholic Church. Lincoln Avenue veers left at that point, while becoming Niles Center Road to the right. On a side note, I live two blocks north of the church on Lincoln Avenue. Proud Skokie residents jokingly proclaim Skokie to be the rightful setting of Leave It to Beaver, but we know there is a bit more to the story.

Skokie actually has a strong connection to the history of cinema. Chicago’s Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was one of the biggest studios before Hollywood strongly emerged. Legends including Charlie Chaplin worked for the studio. The area’s wood-frame buildings resembled those of old prairie towns, making it a popular choice for filming westerns.

It was probably more happenstance than intention that brought Skokie to Leave It to Beaver. The production staff was probably looking through studio archives for a setting shot. The Skokie setting fit fine for the few seconds it would be shown. They weren’t imagining viewers 80 years later would freeze-frame and zoom in on the image, nor would they really care. It was just an introduction to the scene, not an integral part of the show.

I have to wonder, though, if there are other scenes specifically identified on the show. I wonder if other cities could lay claim to Leave It to Beaver, too. I do look for clues when I occasionally come across a rerun. Really though, I find it simply a fun bit of trivia which I usually recall any time I walk that stretch.

— John Wroblewski, online writer