If you’ve always wanted to take a peek inside some of Oak Park’s finest and most historical architectural jewels, now’s your chance. For the first time ever, the village is included in the Chicago Architectural Foundation’s sixth annual architecture festival, Open House Chicago.
Mark no small plans for Oct. 15 and 16, when 10 of Oak Park’s most historic sites will be open for viewing among the more than 200 buildings throughout the Chicago area opening their doors, for free! See intricate woodwork, stained glass and other amazing design elements normally hidden from public view.
Oak Park is well-known for its residential architecture, and there are more historic and architecturally significant houses in the village than almost anywhere else, said Garrett Karp, program manager of Open House Chicago.
“But Open House Chicago doesn’t feature occupied private residences,” said Karp. “We usually feature clubs, theaters, sacred spaces, hotels, office buildings, etc.
“So the challenge was to find enough cool locations in Oak Park that locals are curious about that aren’t just Frank Lloyd Wright homes,” said Karp. “I’d say we were very successful in finding other unique places that the public is curious about that are unique to Oak Park.”
Obviously the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio is a big draw and one of the most important structures in the Chicago area, Karp said.
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“But I think what’s so special about our collection of 10 sites this year is that it shows that there’s so much more to Oak Park than just Frank Lloyd Wright homes,” he said. “We’re featuring a lot of cool things. Two repurposed George Maher homes, a private club, a new residential high-rise, multiple churches, a converted fire house, and other unique locations are all included.”
Here’s a list of some of Oak Park’s famous sites that’ll be open.
*Pleasant Home: The “showstopper,” according to Karp. “It’s really stunning, and even though most people in Oak Park know about it, I don’t think most Chicagoans know about it,” he said.
Built in 1897, Pleasant Home was designed by architect George Washington Maher.
“I am tickled every time a new visitor enters Pleasant Home — their jaws drop, and they spend several minutes quietly taking in the grandeur of our Prairie Style home,” said Heidi Ruehle-May, executive director of the Pleasant Home Foundation. “Then come the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ as they experience the art glass windows, intricately carved wood, detailed mosaic tile and original furnishings. We always encourage guests to interact with the home, browse through historic photos, play with our kitchen gadget exhibit, feel the carved lion heads, sit down and enjoy their surroundings — often not a typical museum experience.”
*19th Century Club: a circa -1892, two-story mansion with 19th century paintings, original woodwork and two, concert-style Steinway grand pianos that have resided in the Landmark building since its first year.
*Unity Church of Oak Park: designed by George Maher and built in 1912 as a home, the house was sold in the 1960s and turned into a church. Its unique arched windows, geometric lines, stained glass art and hipped roof have been well-preserved.
*Oak Park Art League: Identified by the green and red craftsman-style design and abstract sculpture art at the front entrance, it’s amazing that nearly 100 years of art classes that have been held within these walls since the building was built in 1921. Each month, new exhibits by local artists are displayed in the permanent art gallery.
*Hemingway Birthplace: The Victorian home where Ernest Hemingway was brought into this world and spent a good portion of his childhood features artifacts and memorabilia highlighting the revered novelist’s legendary life.
*Pilgrim Congregational Church: The circa-1889 church, on the Register of Historic Places, is noted for its Queen Anne Revival design. It also features a movable wall between its sanctuary and Sunday school.
*St. Edmund Roman Catholic Church: The 1910 historical, decorative church was built by famed ecclesiastical architect Henry J. Schlacks with stained-glass windows from the Zeittler Studios in Munich, gold leaf details and paintings by master artist John Mallin. A 1990s restoration brought the original floors, pews and wainscoting back to life.
*Vantage Oak Park: Modern and tall is this 21-story, new luxury apartment building. Tour apartments and visit the rooftop terrace for a spectacular panoramic view.
*Oak Park River Forest Museum: Being transformed from the historic firehouse Cicero Fire Co. No. 2 to the Historical Society of Oak Park-River Forest, 115 years of false ceilings, deteriorated drywall and asbestos floor tiles have been removed to reveal the original Georgia-pine ceilings, walls and floors.
*Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio: The home Frank Lloyd Wright designed for himself and his family and the adjacent studio where he spent the first 20 years of his career, building the foundation of his vision of architectural design. Note the prairie-style elements throughout the home that became FLW’s iconic traits.
Laura Dodd, operations director for the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, said she thinks the three most interesting rooms are the dining room, where a “lay light” provides light from a screen above; the drafting room, which is two stories with a “chain and harness system” making up the room’s structure; and the children’s playroom, where an 1895 mural of the fisherman and the genie from the book “The Arabian Nights,” was recently restored.
“This is where Frank Lloyd Wright started his career,” said Dodd. “It’s beautiful and interesting because it’s a historical space and because of what happened there.”
For a complete list of participating sites, visit www.openhousechicago.org.
Felicia Dechter is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.