Oak Park - Home-from-home for a Travelling Brit

For an Englishman who lives in a rural area of southern Britain, Oak Park was without doubt a wonderful location to be based throughout my six-day stay for the get-together. Its broad streets and avenues are lined with trees, all at this time of year taking on their autumnal hues and providing a fabulous spectrum of living colour. The open areas and parks are a delight, well tended, well used and full of tiny squirrels bounding across the grass and leaping through the trees in fantastic displays of arboreal gymnastics. The streets and sidewalks are clean and tidy and it would appear that the local residents take pride in their leafy village suburb.

The area is of course synonymous its two most celebrated sons, namely Frank Lloyd Wright and Ernest Hemingway. Wright’s house and studio is a sheer delight of marvellous architecture whilst Hemingway’s museum and birthplace house give a real insight into the many aspects of his multi-faceted life. Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple is the most famous of his creations and this was visited during my stay as were several of his unique houses, built for wealthy clients during the early part of the 20th century and maintained today to a very high standard, standing as most of them do in substantial grounds and gardens.

I found several superb places to dine whilst staying in Oak Park including Poor Phil’s restaurant, the Great Harvest Bread Co, La Majada Mexican restaurant and Erik’s Delicatessen, all offering fine food in comfortable surroundings at very inexpensive prices. The Oak Park Visitor Centre on Oak Park Ave provided a first-class selection of local guides and books and was run by a knowledgeable and attentive staff for whom nothing was too much trouble.

The area has an air of understated affluence; the people are friendly and polite and appear to pursue their diurnal chores at an unhurried rate. For a suburb just 9 miles west of the Loop, you would never think you were so relatively close to the heart of America’s second city.

I spent several hours throughout my stay simply walking around Oak Park, enjoying the relaxed vibes and absorbing the laid back atmosphere of the area which to my of thinking, epitomised the "American Way of Life". I could live here you know and I don’t think there’s a greater compliment a visitor could tender.

Quick Tips:

There is so much to see and explore in Oak Park. The area almost seems to have been designed to cater for visitors and I would certainly recommend a good long wander around the area. Must-sees include the Hemingway Museum and birth house and the Frank Lloyd Wright house and studio. There are also more than 200 of FLW’s beautifully designed houses throughout the area and you can avail yourself of an audio/visual guide that details some of the more splendid residences.

The visitor centre is to be found at 158 N. Forest from where you can buy a huge array of maps and guides as well as tasteful souvenirs. The best I found is simply called "The Oak Park Area" and is free. It lists all manner of attractions, accommodations, dining, shopping, entertainment, galleries, special events, and detailed, readable maps.

Although my hotel had a restaurant, I decided to take breakfast at a variety of eateries during my stay and would recommend this to any visitor to the area. Oak Park is full of great bistros, coffee shops, and restaurants, many of them within a few minutes stroll from my hotel. As a British visitor, I felt this gave me the opportunity to rub shoulders with more of the local people and particularly to sample the "American diner" experience. The four mentioned above in the "highlights" section are all heartily recommended.

I stayed at The Write Inn at 211 N. Oak Park Avenue. This hotel had mixed reviews on various travel websites but I took a chance, wasn’t disappointed and again, would recommend it as a base for your stay. Although I’ll give more detail in it’s own accommodation entry, it was spacious, clean, relatively inexpensive by UK standards, and seemingly well run. Its biggest plus though was its location, close to many places of interest and literally one minute from Scoville Park.

Best Way To Get Around:

Oak Park is well served by local transportation with both Green and Blue El lines having stations in the village as well as the Union Pacific/West Line Metra which runs in from Elburn and stops at the Green Line station. The El trains are frequent and inexpensive, and generally clean and tidy by UK standards. A single journey costs just .75 as long as the trip is completed within two hours. The turnstiles at the stations automatically deduct the fare from your transit card and the remaining balance can be checked at any station. The cards can also be topped up at any station to a maximum of . The Green Line station is situated just a 5-minute leisurely stroll from my hotel on N. Oak Park Ave. As indicated in my Chicago journal, I loaded the CTA transit card with and that sufficed me for my stay.

To reach Oak Park from downtown, head west on I-290, the Eisenhower Expressway, exiting at Harlem Avenue. Head north and turn right on to Lake Street which pretty much divides Oak Park into north and south. The trip takes around 20 minutes although the Expressway can be nose-to-tail from 3.30pm onwards with the mass exodus from the city to the suburbs.

I also used the Village/Blue Cab Co occasionally and their drivers were efficient, polite, and usually on time. Fares into the Loop or back were around .

There is no better way to see all that Oak Park has to offer than by walking. The Hemingway and Frank Lloyd Wright places of interest are within a few minutes stroll from the hotel as is the Unity Temple, Scoville Park and the many galleries, shops, and restaurants. However, Oak Park still covers a substantial area and with this in mind, a free shuttle bus is available. The buses operate on a hourly looped route which connects with 20 major areas of interest. The buses run from 10am to 5.30pm, every day with 30 minutes between them at any given stop. This gives the visitor time to alight, spend half an hour seeing the specific sight before catching the next bus to continue the tour. Each stop has a map detailing the full looped service available. Stop number 8 is directly outside the Write Inn.

Note also that the shuttle has several stops where you may transfer to CTA and PACE buses.

This elegant hotel sits at 211 N. Oak Park Avenue and was chosen to be my base for my five-night stay. It was originally opened in 1926 as the Oak Park Manor and is listed today as designated historic landmark. Much of the public areas of the hotel have recently been restored with marble floors and mosaics, plus a new elevator has been installed alongside the original.

I stayed in room 410 which was spacious, comfortable, clean, and well decorated and afforded a great view through the trees across Oak Park Avenue. The room had a double bedroom, a kitchen area complete with microwave, sink, and fridge plus a sizeable sitting area complete with table, chairs, sofa, and a large TV set. The room had its own climate control enabling me to set the temperature just as I wanted it.

The front desk was always manned and I found the staff efficient and friendly. The owner’s bulldog, Thor, if I recall correctly, was often on hand to provide entertainment whilst waiting in the lobby which was also comfortably furnished with easy chairs and a coffee table.

The hotel had its own restaurant and bar, Hemmingways ( yes – with two "m’s") where I dined on one occasion. The waiting staff again were friendly and quick and my tasty breakfast of tea and ham omelet cost me only a few dollars. Hemmingway’s offers a full lunch and dinner menu and has live jazz music at least once a week. I did avail myself of a couple of beers from the bar and these were chilled, very quaffable and not expensive.

The hotel is well located for many of Oak Park’s main sights with the Hemingway museum and birth house just a few minutes walk away. Scoville Park is almost next-door and it is a short walk south along Oak Park Avenue to some great restaurants, coffee shops and diners, plus the stunning Unity Temple on Lake Street, close to the El station.

The rooms are cleaned on a daily basis and the hotel offers a concierge service. Smoking and non-smoking rooms are available. Also available are Internet hook ups, security boxes, a fax and copy service and a laundry service on site. The front exterior is elegant with a green awning covering the entrance which sits between the two wings of the four-storey building. There is a set down/pick up area to the front with roadside parking right outside.

As mentioned previously, the hotel had mixed reviews but I thoroughly enjoyed my stay here and would heartily recommend it for the visitor who wants to be within 20 minutes of downtown Chicago.

For my last meal prior to leaving for home, Carole suggested we try this restaurant situated in Oak Park at 226 Harrison. We arrived just after midday and as we entered, we could see that the place was deserted. It was however warm inside and had a great ambience albeit with no customers!

We were greeted and shown to a table before being presented with the menu which covered several pages. I was in no rush to get to O’Hare, so we opted for a pitcher of Margueritas which arrived at the table quickly. Now, I’m not a lover of tequila but this was fantastic, tasty and refreshing, not like the "knock-you-sideways" stuff I’d very occasionally tried at home.

Our waiter came over to see if we were ready to order and didn’t mind when we asked for a bit more time. I’ve rarely eaten Mexican food other than the "El Paso" branded stuff we get in the UK so I opted for a main course of chicken fajitas, under the impression that I would receive a couple of pre-wrapped offerings with a bowl of salsa and maybe some guacamole. We chose corn chips and salsa for starters and these turned up within seconds, a huge bowl that would have sufficed for 4 people. Carole ordered Chili Rellenos which was a chili pepper stuffed with Mexican cheese, lightly battered then cooked till the cheese all melted to form a delicious sauce.

The main course of my fajitas was carried to the table. This consisted of a sizzling hot-plate, with four wraps, a pound of chicken strips, a huge bowl of refried beans, a bowl of guacamole, a bowl of sour cream plus a large pile of fresh salad. I thought that maybe they’d mixed up the order and assumed we both ordered this but nope, it was all for me!

Well, I started off meaning well and, as I was hungry, was rather foolishly under the impression that I could eat all this. Not a chance!! After half an hour, I’d managed three wraps, most of the chicken, some of the salad and about half of the beans and guacamole, not bad I thought for a maiden voyage into uncharted territory.

Carole meanwhile, obviously aware of the portions served here, was pacing herself in a "tortoise and the hare" scenario and sure enough, she pretty much managed to finish up her main course. Well done that lady!

We finished off the Margueritas and politely declinedthe dessert menu. The bill if I recall came to around $48, great value indeed for such a sumptuous feast.

There were still only a few diners in here when we’d finished but the atmosphere was fine. The place was beautifully decorated with Mexican art and there were sufficient nooks and crannies to offer some privacy whilst dining. The service was good and the washrooms spotless. If I should ever come back here, I’ll need to fast for the three days prior to my visit.

I stumbled across this amazing bakery and coffee shop on the third morning of my stay in Oak Park. In fact it was hard to miss with the wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread and pastries wafting across the street to assault my senses.

It sits at 736 Lake Street and can be entered by one of two doorways. Once inside, it really hits you – the best smell in the world, especially if you’re hungry and after some breakfast. I perused the hugely varied menu boards and chose a choc-chip scone. Now in the UK a "scone" would mean a small bun made with fruit, lightly baked and hopefully still served warm. Here, you are offered something the size of an elephant’s foot – certainly the largest scone I’ve ever seen, let alone eaten. It was baked to perfection and I washed it down with an ice-cold pint of semi-skimmed milk. It took me several minutes to get to the end of it but it really was too good to rush. There is a small seating area in front of the counter but with only room for a few people to sit comfortably. I guess most folk just order "to go".

The place was busy with mid-morning folk seeking a coffee or something more substantial. The staff were friendly and polite and dealt with their customers quickly and efficiently. Having devoured the "scone", I had a look around the shop and was surprised to find three young ladies around the side who were making some dough. I did ask them if I might take their photo and they happily agreed. Wow – you’d never see this in the UK, they’d be tucked away out the back where no-one could see them.

There was a huge range of sandwiches, sweets, pastries, pies, and delicacies on offer in here as well as countless varieties of tea, coffee, chocolate drinks, soda and the like, all extremely reasonably priced.

It was a good place to sit and watch the world go by for half an hour or so. Just as I was preparing to leave, a family came in and sat next to me. As seemed to be the case with most Oak Parkers, we struck up a conversation almost immediately and it appears the family had relatives who came from close to Bristol, just 30 miles from home in Devizes.

Reluctantly, I finished my drink and picked up the camera bag ready for the short stroll to the El station. I arrived at the station some ten minutes before my agreed rendezvous time so sat on the steps in the warm morning sun. A train pulled in, and within a few seconds, a young lady of about thirty descended the steps to where I was sitting. "Sir, is there a coffee shop close by?", she enquired.

"There’s a great one just two minutes walk that way", I replied, and off she went, hopefully to enjoy her breakfast as much as I had.

This superb diner/restaurant/deli was discovered on my first full day in Oak Park. It sits just two minutes walk south from the Write Inn at 107 N. Oak Park Avenue and offers a staggering array of food at very reasonable prices, both sit down and take away.

I walked in on this beautiful morning just as they were opening. It was warm inside and very evident from the great aromas emanating from the kitchen that they were "all fired up and ready to go". I took a table in the window then walked up to the large counter to order. It was a real challenge to choose from the huge menu but I was pretty hungry after my long sleep and needed something that would hit the spot.

I eventually chose a type of wrap that, although I don’t recall it’s proper name, I’m sure someone can see the picture and tell me what is was. It consisted of two thick slabs of fajita-type pastry and was stuffed to the edges with avocado, bacon, ham and chicken pieces, with a thick sauce to bind the ingredients together. This was served with a large side order of delicious homemade fries and believe me, it was as tasty a meal as I’ve ever enjoyed. I took my time as I wanted to savour this new culinary treat for me and to be honest, if I’d rushed it, I would never have eaten it all. This was all washed down with a large diet Coke and cost me the princely sum of $7.95, or around £4.25, an absolute steal.

An important part of any restaurant for me are the washrooms – let’s face it, if the toilets are dirty, then it always make me wonder what the kitchens are like. But top marks to Erik’s, the gents’ washroom was spotless and well provided with liquid soap, piping hot water, and paper towels.

I returned to my seat and was pleased to see that the place was starting to fill up. It was after all pushing 11:30am so I guess the first of the day’s lunch takers were piling in. I have to say that the service was excellent and the staff, as with anywhere I went in Oak Park, were polite, friendly, and courteous.

A few details about "Erik’s"…

There’s seating for 150 diners with wheelchair access. They are totally kid-friendly and offer a huge children’s menu. They boast the largest salad bar in Oak Park and offer a full take away service. They have a drinks licence to serve beer and wine and have a good range on offer. Their specialities include gourmet sandwiches, soups, ice cream, desserts, and appetizers and they cater for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. On-street parking is usually available right outside the restaurant.

A tasty meal, well cooked, good atmosphere, reasonably priced, and great staff. Don’t miss it.

Opening hours are: Mon-Fri 10:30am – 9pm; Sat 9am – 9pm; Sun 9am – 8pm.

These two wonderful attractions are situated just a few minutes walk from the hotel where I stayed. The museum was literally across the road at 200 N. Oak Park Avenue. It contains a superb collection of both permanent and temporary exhibits including photographs, letters, and memorabilia that chronicle his multi-faceted life. There are several large displays that detail various chapters of Hemingway’s life including The Oak Park Years, the Natural World, The Eye of the Writer, Hemingway’s Last War, Hemingway and Hollywood and finally, Hemingway and the Arts.

These various displays examine the different aspects of his rich and varied life. His only formal schooling was during his 6 years in Oak Park and this, combined with his early experiences of meeting people and keenly observing his surroundings, formed a natural foundation for his writing. He developed a huge interest in nature and the outdoor life which he always diarised. This too developed his writing style which in turn, stood him in good stead for his years as a journalist during WW11. It was some of these undoubtedly harrowing experiences that gave rise to the tales of fiction that he became famous for.

The Hollywood display examines how all these writings, photographs, and experiences translated to the big screen and there are several original movie posters depicting his revered works as well as cameras and movie paraphernalia.

Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park on 21 July 1899 in the house that remains as the other major tribute to his life at 339 N. Oak Park Avenue. It is a Queen Anne style house that had been constructed by Hemingway’s grandparents in 1890. It has received extensive renovation enabling visitors to enjoy the grand rooms and sumptuous Victorian decor. Many of the exhibits are original including porcelain, pictures, and furniture. It is also possible to view the upstairs of the house where various other members of the family resided, where Ernest was taught about the beauty of wildlife and where he shared the experiences of his great uncle who had travelled extensively around the globe. The house also contains a well-stocked library, the contents of which were always available for Ernest to enjoy.

The house is certainly of a beautiful design with its turret that originally contained a small museum where Ernest’s father kept his wildlife specimens. With so much to stimulate a young, enquiring mind, it is small wonder that Ernest developed such a wide-ranging interest in so many fields. In 1954 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his "powerful, style-making mastery of the art of modern narration".

Some 45 years after his death, he is still warmly remembered as a master story-teller who attracts fresh generations of devoted readers eager for his superbly written tales of adventure, both factual and fictional. If you have the pleasure of visiting Oak Park please make a trip to both these attractions top priority.

Open Sun-Fri 1pm-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm
Admission $7 includes both sites

This small but beautifully tended area sits just a minute’s walk from the Write Inn at the junction of N. Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street. Although Oak Park is a peaceful and laid back area, Scoville Park seems to be an enclave of quiet within that area. With the weather in Chicago surpassing all expectations, I came here three or four times during my stay and was pleased to see families enjoying the sunshine, strolling along the pathways between the shrubs and trees, or simply taking a look at the War Memorial that sits centre stage, engraved with the names of those unfortunate souls who never made it back home.

As with almost everywhere in Oak Park, the squirrels are the major tenants here and they seem remarkably tame with many of them quite happy to let you walk by them, no more than a couple of feet away. Of course, being the start of autumn, main priority for them was collecting acorns for the winter stash. I wonder if they will remember where they hid them all when the weather gets really wintry?

There are several sculptures worthy of note in the park including the one at the southern end dedicated to Joseph Kettlestrings. He was the first white settler to come to Oak Park in 1833. The tablet details how he bought a quarter section of land and built his home on this spot which he purchased from the US government for $1.25 per acre. The tablet was placed here by the people of Oak Park on 12 November 1927.

Another sculpture to see is the one of Oak Park’s most famous son, Frank Lloyd Wright by Egon Weiner. This was erected in 1981 to commemorate the "Bicentennial of the American Revolution and Oak Park’s proud heritage". It was placed by the Oak Park Bicentennial Commission and the Park District of Oak Park.

The War Memorial is without a doubt a stunning sculpture. It commemorates the dead from WW1 and lists the various battles and campaigns including Ypres and the Somme and of course all the American soldiers from the local area who laid down their lives throughout those terrible years. Several people were viewing the monument on this lovely day, possible remembering long-departed family members from almost a century ago.

The park is well maintained and the shrubs, bushes, and flowers were all in late summer bloom. There are several benches placed in secluded spots and people seemed content to sit and read or just watch the other folk enjoying the park. I came here initially on the afternoon of my first day’s stay in Oak Park. That I came back several more times before flying home is testimony to the peacefulness and tranquillity of this little oasis.

Along with Hemingway, Oak Park can be rightly proud of its other revered son, namely Frank Lloyd Wright, widely regarded as the 20th century’s greatest architect. Indeed, "Architectural Record" magazine proclaimed that his buildings "stand out as the most significant architectural works during the last 100 years in the world".

FLW was born in 1867 and lived to a ripe old age, finally meeting his death in 1959. During this prolific career, he designed over 1100 works to include houses, churches, libraries, and museums. Of these, 532 resulted in finished works of which over 400 stand today. He was a man of many talents and in addition to his architectural prowess was also a philosopher, writer, and teacher. He not only designed buildings; his prodigious talent extended to furniture, lamps, art glass, and tableware.

Oak Park contains the highest concentration of private residences designed and built by FLW. These multi-coloured, intricately fabricated homes are a sheer delight as they peep out from behind the cover of the tree-lined streets of the area, standing in their beautifully manicured gardens. FLW built them all on a commission basis, i.e. for a specific client who would be totally involved with the design and requirements for what would be an exquisite home. Many of these homes are still known today by their original names, e.g. the Moore-Dugal residence and the Mills-Decaro residence. Some of these have undergone radical rebuilding over the years both to protect the integrity of the structure whilst one in particular suffered from severe fire damage and was totally reconstructed in the early 1920s.

To fully appreciate FLW’s contribution to architecture, a visit to his studio and house is a must see. It sits at 951 Chicago Ave at its junction with Forest Ave. Guided tours are available and tend to fill up quickly as a strictly regulated number of people are allowed inside at any one time. The house was constructed after he obtained a substantial loan from his boss in 1889. FLW believed that stuffy Victorian interiors should be replaced with open-plan rooms that lead seamlessly from one to the next, using glass, wood and earthy tones to redefine the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces. A house should be an organic experience, not merely four walls encompassing a clutter of different rooms. The result was this visually stunning residence where he and his wife raised 6 children.

The house was extended to incorporate his studio and this is no less fascinating with its wonderful octagonal-shaped office and light, airy drawing rooms where he and his architects would work. Of particular interest is the suspended gallery, hanging in mid air supported by black metal chains. FLW believed in maximising the natural light available and this is so evident in the studio and house with beautifully made glass panels allowing the sunlight in at ceiling level. The exterior of the house and studio here have not been neglected either and the various sculptures and fine workmanship above the entrance to the studio reflect FLW’s eye for detail and beauty.

FLW went on to develop what became his "Prairie Style" of architecture and was also the first architect to use poured concrete for residential properties as well as for commercial buildings. Although this sounds somewhat uninspiring, one glance at his wonderful Unity Temple shows how concrete can be used to maximum, artistic effect.

Like the Hemingway attractions, no visit to Oak Park should be considered complete without a visit here as indeed, you should also take a stroll around the neighbourhood to sample the visual feasts of architecture that his houses present to the eye.

Opening hours, guided tours ONLY are Monday  through Friday at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm. Saturday and Sunday every 20 minutes from 11am to 3:30pm. Tickets cost $12. As mentioned numbers per tour are strictly limited so you may have to wait for the next available tour. All large bags and cameras have to be checked and for goodness sakes don’t touch anything or you will receive the unfettered wrath of the guides.

This amazing building sits on Lake Street and was built to replace the original Unitarian Universalist Church which was destroyed by fire. Frank Lloyd Wright began his design in 1905 but had various obstacles to overcome. He had a small budget, the site was narrow and on a busy street and, the building was required to provide a number of functions. He wanted to build a church that was more in the style of an ancient temple and it was his specific request that the "church" should be named a temple.

Construction began in 1906 and took until 1908 at a cost of around $60,000. He utilised reinforced concrete slabs that were made with cement and crushed red granite throughout the site. The walls, roofs, and floors were constructed using pea gravel and crushed stone, all of which added texture and warmth to the building. He was also one of the earliest pioneers of the use of poured liquid concrete which could essentially be moulded into virtually any shape. The use of so much concrete fitted in well with the low budget but the end results were stunning.

For the interior, FLW used transparent glass for doors, windows, skylights and light fittings and the delicacy of this was in sharp juxtaposition to the huge concrete formed slabs that formed much of the exterior and interior, including the altar, balconies, and hearth. Wright also used a great deal of oak to fine detail in the doors and window frames, as well as using it to form concentric banding on many concrete surfaces and on the organ screen. It’s this banding that serves to bind together the various areas of space within the temple and accentuates the plasticity of the concrete structures. It also highlights FLW’s intimate attention to detail.

The interior concrete surfaces are plastered and are painted in soft yellow, grey, and green. This allows the maximum amount of light to be reflected around the interior, courtesy of the art-glass laylights in the ceiling. Each balcony has a row of clerestory windows running above and these were set directly into the concrete rather than using traditional frames, allowing an easier transition between interior and exterior spaces.

The hanging lamp fixtures are in a Japanese style and again, the spherical globes contrast with the cubism of the building. They are suspended on long cords which have the effect of lowering the roof height.

Most of the furniture inside was designed by Wright including the pews but these were never built due to cost constraints.

The Unity Temple is a joy to discover and explore. It is open to visitors all day as long as it is in use and there are no restraints on photography anywhere within. The charming lady who took my $8 admission pointed out the scale model that sat just behind her and politely suggested that I make it my first stop to get a real idea of how the temple is laid out and the logical way in which to view it. All areas of the interior are accessible to visitors and the temple seemed to have a good regular "clientele" who appeared to be listening to a bible reading. No-one minds as you wander around their temple, snapping away to your heart’s content at the inspiring architecture.

I’m not a religious person, but if I were, then I would love to be able to worship in such a beautiful temple as this.

The Unity Temple sits at 875 Lake Street at N. Kenilworth Avenue.
Opening hours are: March-November, Monday through Friday from 10:30am to 4:30pm, Saturday and Sunday from 1pm to 4pm. December-February, every day from 1pm to 4pm.
Guided tours are available Saturday and Sunday only at 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm.
Tel. (708) 383-8873 Web www.unitytemple-utrf.org