Location: Oak Park
Top Things to do in Oak Park
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What to do and see in Oak Park, Illinois (IL): The Best Budget-friendly Things to do
Architecture buffs will be well acquainted with Oak Park, once the home of Frank Lloyd Wright, where he designed and built some of his earliest buildings. Unity Temple, the Nathan G. Moore House and Wright's own former home and studio are among the many Wright buildings still preserved in the village, while buildings such as the Cheney Mansion were designed by his students. Oak Park is also the famed birthplace of Ernest Hemingway, whose childhood home is now a museum open to visitors.
Restaurants in Oak Park
1. Oak Park Public Library
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 112 reviews
Reviewed By Chicagoehc
Beautiful building and nice interiors. The services offered inside are also wonderful. Knowledgeable librarians with study rooms and comfy chairs make this a great community resource. There are great programs for adults and children.
2. Wright Plus Architectural Housewalk
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 114 reviews
Join the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust on May 22, 2021 for the annual Wright Plus Architectural Housewalk. Wright Plus celebrates architecture, design, Frank Lloyd Wright's innovative vision and the talents of his fellow architects. It is an enjoyable day featuring rare interior tours of private homes and public buildings designed by Wright and his contemporaries.
Reviewed By VacationDays365
We had a guided tour of the Oak Park neighborhood and the Frank Lloyd Wright houses and found the tour to be very informative. We learned so many interesting details about the buildings and had the unexpected bonus of chatting with one of the owners about his home and perspective on the area. This was an easy walking tour through beautiful streets, and our guide was engaging and never made us feel rushed.
3. Rickshaw Rick's Tours & Taxi
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 34 reviews
Use our new Magical History Tour to explore all of Oak Park's attractions like FLW Home & Studio, Hemingway Birthplace, Pleasant Home, Unity Temple, Art League & the Visitor's Center. Guided tours of up to 35 FLW works via walking, bike or rickshaw available 10 - 5 daily April through October. Car/van available in bad weather and winter months with reservations. Saving soles for 15 years. Let us save yours today!
4. Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,305 reviews
To ensure the health and safety of our guests, tours at the Home and Studio return on June 11 and are limited to nine guests per time slot. (Updated 6/2/20) The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park, Illinois served as Wright's private residence and workplace from 1889 to 1909--the first 20 years of his career. Today, Oak Park is home to the world’s largest collection of Wright-designed buildings. Wright used his first home to experiment with design concepts that contain the seeds of his architectural philosophy. In his adjacent studio, Wright and his associates developed a new American architecture - the Prairie style. Enjoy guided tours of the museum complex and neighboring historic district seven days a week. Trained interpreters offer insights into Wright's family life and architectural legacy. Tour details are available on the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust website
Reviewed By 1blah1
Traveling through the house, each room showed FLW’s developing style in Prairie Architecture. This tour was so fascinating, I had seen Falling Water several years ago and to see how he developed to that home was amazing. Don’t miss the homes he designed through Oak Park and also LaGrange, Illinois.
5. Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 201 reviews
Unity Temple (1905-08) is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the 20th Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright List, and represents a defining moment in Frank Lloyd Wright’s early career. Designed in Wright’s Oak Park Studio for his own Unitarian congregation, it is one of the first public buildings in America to feature exposed concrete and is Wright’s greatest public building of his Prairie era. The harmony of the building’s strikingly geometric architecture and decorative elements exemplifies Wright’s theory of organic design. Unity Temple announced a new era of innovation in modern architecture.
Reviewed By Naples64 - Wellington, New Zealand
This concluded our day at Oak Park and our immersion in all thing FLW. We had an excellent tour where we were the only people so we benefited from our guides undivided attention. Excellent guide who had such knowledge and love for the building. Nothing like I have ever seen before.
6. Oak Park Visitors Center
7. Oak Park Conservatory
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 50 reviews
Reviewed By sally5991 - Chicago, United States
A beautiful local conservatory. Right off the oak park station of the blue line L. Small suggested donation . If you need to escape from the cold Chicago winters this is a great place to stop by. Street parking is available if you don’t take the train. Smaller than the Garfield park conservatory on the green line but in a safer neighborhood. Stop by to gaze at the fish or parrots in addition to the stars of the show, the plants.
8. Pleasant Home
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 34 reviews
Reviewed By LetLoveRule333 - Oak Park, United States
This is an absolutely fabulous home! The architecture is so beautiful as well as the decor and furnishings. They have many events throughout the year. I went to the Ice Cream Social in July and have been on the tour and have had tea on the porch.
9. Classic Cinemas Lake Theatre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 46 reviews
Fully restored historic movie theatre with seven screens in Oak Park, IL with free refills on freshly popped popcorn, sodas and ICEEs. Get showtimes and tickets online to take a two-hour movie vacation with Classic Cinemas.
Reviewed By MaryNoys
I have been going to the Classic cinemas theaters since the 1970s. Growing up in Oak Park the Lake Theatre was and remains a great place to see a show. I also enjoy the York, the Tivoli and the luxury seats at the North Riverside theatre. They do a superior job of keeping their theatres clean and comfortable. Free refills are a nice perk. Whenever we go to another theatre, I am reminded how much better the Classic Cinemas theaters are. I love that they offer special showings for kids movies or replaying classic films.
10. Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 132 reviews
Ernest Hemingway's Birthplace Museum is nestled just west of downtown Chicago in Oak Park, Illinois. This is the ideal place to begin exploring the roots of the author's life and work. It is here that Ernest Hemingway was born in a second floor bedroom on July 21, 1899. This Queen Anne home was built in 1890 by his maternal grandparents and was the first home in Oak Park to have electricity. The famed Pulitzer Prize winning author spent the first six years of his life at what is now 339 N. Oak Park Ave. The restoration, which began in 1992, authentically returned the house to its 1890s’ Victorian heritage; ensuring that your experience of the furnishings and stories told reflect the young man who lived there.
Reviewed By DoLdn - London, United Kingdom
I visited the Ernest Hemingway House on my recent trip to Chicago (c. 20 mins Uber drive from Downtown Chicago) and would say that the House is a must for anyone interest in literature, history or even English emigration to US (Hemingway's grandparents came to Chicago area from Sheffield). You can see the Museum with tour guide - which happens every hour. I was the only one having the tour - the tours have no minimum number of participants. The guide was excellent - so much knowledge that he shared with me! It was definitely a highlight of my Chicago trip and made me embark on re-reading Hemingway's work.
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