Cultivating Creativity in Oak Park
West Suburbs
Eight miles west of the Loop, the village of Oak Park was one of only a few suburbs connected to the Chicago “L” when the Lake Street line extension opened at the turn of the century. This opened up possibilities for the town, allowing easy transportation to and from the city for work and leisure. The population grew rapidly in the following decades and stately homes and buildings designed by renowned architects filled the open prairie. One of these architects was Frank Lloyd Wright, who established his studio in Oak Park in 1898. The village was home to others who would become known for their creativity, including author Edgar Rice Burroughs and dancer Doris Humphrey.
The video above, from the Chicago Film Archives, features glimpses of Oak Park homes on a snowy day in 1930.
Another famous resident of the town was Ernest Hemingway, born in 1899 in a Victorian style home built by his grandparents. One of six children in one of the village’s prominent families, Hemingway spent his youth exploring the outdoors with his father and learning the cello from his mother. He entered Oak Park and River Forest High School in 1913, where he began writing for the school’s newspaper. He left Oak Park after graduating from high school in 1917, but returned for a time after serving in World War I.
Hemingway’s youth and family history are preserved through collections at Oak Park Library and the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park.
