Area Attractions

Oak Park Visitors Center

524-7800, email
The Oak Park Visitors center provides information about local attractions, accommodations, shopping, dining and special events that are within the 21 suburbs that encompass the Oak Park Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Visitors Center has a wide variety of gift and souvenir options, including Frank Lloyd Wright art glass, Tiffany Lamps, Oak Park t-shirts, mugs and more as mementos of your visit.

The Heart of Oak Park Walking Tour — A free, state-of-the-art tour describing the evolution of architecture from Victorian to Prairie School is available, as are tickets for tours of Unity Temple, Hemingway’s Birthplace and Museum and Historic Pleasant Home.

Historical Architecture

Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio

(Operated by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust)
951 Chicago Avenue
848-1976, Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust
This unusual complex served as Wright’s private residence and studio from 1889 to 1909 the first 20 years of his career. Wright used his home as an architectural laboratory, trying out design concepts before sharing them with clients. Here, he raised six children with his first wife Catherine Tobin, and designed such famous buildings as the Robie House, Larkin Building and Unity Temple. Interior guided tours of the Home and Studio (45 minutes) are conducted Monday through Friday.

In addition, the area surrounding the Oak Park Home and Studio contains the world’s largest concentration of Wright-designed structures. Self-guided exterior audio tour of the Oak Park Historic District available in six languages, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. Guided exterior walking tour weekends only, March-October: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the hour, November- February: 12, 1, 2 p.m. Admission $12/ adults, $10/youth (7-18) and senior (65+). Self guided maps also available. 848-1978

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple Restoration Foundation

875 Lake Street, Oak Park
383-8873, Unity Temple
One of Oak Park’s “gems” and one of the most famous buildings in the world, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple is a National Historic Landmark and an icon of modern architecture. It is open to the public 7 days a week, yearround and attracts thousands of visitors every year. When the original church building was struck by lightening and burned to the ground in June 1905, Frank Lloyd Wright was one of several architects considered. Wright received the commission and designed a daring, groundbreaking new structure, which now stands as the last surviving public building from his Oak Park “Prairie” period. Unity Temple Restoration Foundation restores and preserves Unity Temple and fosters awareness of its significance with cultural programs.

Unity Temple Concert Series

875 Lake Street, Oak Park
445-8955, Unity Temple Concert Series
Frank Lloyd Wright understood perhaps better than any architect before or since that architecture is not about bricks and mortar: it is about the space created, the space within that inspires. For 36 years, Unity Temple Concert Series has kept alive Wright’s legacy in searching out musicians whose artistry is on a parwith the inspiration of Wright’s space.

Historic Pleasant Home (Farson-Mills House)

217 S. Home Avenue, Oak Park
383-2654, Pleasant Home
Pleasant Home is a National Historic Landmark building designed in 1897 by noted Prairie School architect George W. Maher for investment banker and philanthropist John W. Farson. Pleasant Home is one of the earliest and most distinguished examples of Prairie architecture in the country and has one of the best-preserved interiors of that design era. Visitors experience the extraordinary art glass, custom furniture, intricately carved woodwork and unique design details in this historical and architectural treasure through guided tours.

The Pleasant Home Foundation (PHF), a non-profit organization established in 1990, is dedicated to restoring, preserving and operating this 30-room architectural landmark as a historic house museum. Tour, tea and light refreshments any Thursday, 1:30 to 4:30p.m. year-round, but only with advanced reservations, at the Pleasant Home is offered at a charge of $25.00 per person.

Museums

Ernest Hemingway Museum

Allison Sansone, Oak Park
848-2222, Ernest Hemingway Foundation
Explore displays featuring rare photos of Hemingway, his childhood diary, letters, early writings and other memorabilia. Enjoy videos documenting the author’s life and work.

Ernest Hemingway Birthplace

339 N. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park
848-2222, Ernest Hemingway Foundation
Visit the Victorian home where Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway was born in 1899 and learn about his early family life.

The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest

Located in the Pleasant Home,
Second & Third Floors
217 Home Avenue, Oak Park
848-6755

Nature Sites

The Oak Park Conservatory

615 Garfield Street, Oak Park
386-4700
The Oak Park Conservatory, built in 1929, consists of three separate show house environments. The Conservatory Center opened in 2000. The Fern Room houses ferns and orchids, as well as other exotic plants and colorful seasonal flower displays. Wander into the rain forest as you enter the Tropical Room, lush with unusual flowering plants, palms, waterfalls, tropical birds and a lagoon. The Desert Room provides a counterpoint to the humidity of the Tropic Room. Discover cacti, succulents, aloes and the spectacular “Century Plants” which grow for 25 years before sending up their tall flower stalk.

The Harold “Hal” Tyrrell

Trailside Museum
738 Thatcher Avenue, River Forest
366-6530
Open daily, except Thursday. Admission is free. Group tours must be arranged by calling the museum. Winter hours: 9 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. Summer hours: 9:45 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. The Trailside is a nature center for local wildlife and offers programs for all ages. The Harold “Hal” Tyrell Trailside Museum SECTION C Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce Community Guide 46

The Forest Preserves in River Forest

536 N. Harlem Avenue, River Forest
(800) 870-3666
The Preserves are part of a 68,000 acre county system which fosters the preservation and rehabilitation of wildlife and plantlife native to Illinois. The General Headquarters for the Forest Preserve District is located in Cummings Square.

Thatcher Woods

771-1330
The area borders the Des Plaines River which is River Forest’s western border. Picnic areas and hiking trails are accessible on Chicago Avenue west of Thatcher Avenue and on Thatcher Avenue north of North Avenue. Call for maps and information on trails, sports, recreation and nature programs.