Oak Park, Suburban village in Cook County, Illinois
Oak Park is a village in Cook County west of Chicago in Illinois, marked by wide streets with old trees and residential neighborhoods. Architecture ranges from Victorian buildings to modernist designs, lining quiet avenues that run through the community.
European settlers began building homesteads along the Des Plaines River in the 1830s, gradually turning farmland into residential areas. The community grew faster in the late 19th century when rail lines enabled connections to the city and more families moved here.
The area drew writers and artists during the early 20th century, among them Ernest Hemingway, who spent his youth here. His birthplace still stands and displays furniture and objects from that period, while the public library preserves a collection of his early manuscripts.
Several Chicago Transit Authority train stations are spread throughout the village, offering direct access to downtown with the Green Line and Blue Line. Streets are mostly flat and easy to walk, with many routes passing through shaded avenues.
The village holds 25 residential structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, built between 1889 and 1913, forming the largest concentration of his work worldwide. Many of these homes remain occupied today, so visitors can view exterior facades from the sidewalk.
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