Oak Park, Ill., has several claims to fame. Besides being a wealthy suburb of Chicago, it’s the birthplace of both Ernest Hemingway and Bob Newhart, and luminaries ranging from Sherlock Holmes creator Edgar Rice Burroughs to Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and economist Steven (Freakonomics) Leavitt have all called Oak Park home.
But Oak Park’s most famous resident was undoubtedly Frank Lloyd Wright, who lived and worked here at 951 Chicago Ave. from 1889 to 1909—the first 20 years of his career, when he created the uniquely American Prairie Style of architecture and designed 125 structures.
Today, the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio (708.848.1978; www.wrightplus.org), restored to its original 1909 appearance, is open for tours daily, except Christmas, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and the last week in January. Private tours are available, and any group of 10 or more must make reservations.
Wright’s famous Unity Temple is just two blocks south of his former home. Built for a liberal, non-denominational Christian congregation whose older Gothic structure had burned down, the Unity Temple broke the rules of centuries of Western religious architecture by using concrete as its primary external material—and having no steeple or “front door.” Its interior relies on gorgeous light and right angles that are said to have inspired Cubist art. While the Unity Temple is still a working Unitarian Universalist church, its interior is available for meetings through the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation (708.383.8873; www.utrf.org).
Several of Wright’s famed students also designed Oak Park buildings, particularly following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. During this period, architects rebuilding the Windy City also saw the surrounding area as a place to try new ideas and make their mark, according to Michelle Dirks, sales and marketing manager for the Oak Park CVB.
“This was basically a blank canvas for so many people who lived in Chicago, and it spread out,” Dirks says, noting that many architects could access Oak Park on weekend train trips from Chicago.
She particularly notes Pleasant Home (708.383.2654; www.oprf.com), a 30-room mansion designed by Prairie School architect George Maher in 1897. Visitors can take in this National Historic Landmark at 217 Home Ave. in Oak Park.
There are several other Oak Park buildings designed by Wright disciples, including John S. Van Bergen and E.E. Roberts, who between them are responsible for hundreds of Oak Park homes.
“They wanted to do things, and they could do them,” Dirks says. “You can really see the evolution of Chicago.”
