Oak Park
(10 miles [16.1 kilometers] W via I-290. Visitor Center, 158 N. Forest Ave. +1 312 848 1500) In this shady Chicago suburb, Frank Lloyd Wright developed many aspects of the Prairie School of architecture, which emphasized large, open, free-flowing spaces. Here you’ll find the biggest concentration of houses (25) designed by Wright, including what’s now the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio (951 Chicago Ave. +1 708 848 1976. Adm. fee), his first residence. Thirteen other Wright-designed structures line Forest Avenue.
The Nobel Prize-winning author of The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and other classics was born in Oak Park on July 21, 1899. The Hemingway Home (339 N. Oak Park Ave. +1 708 848 2222. Fri.-Sun. and Wed. p.m.; Adm. fee) showcases memorabilia from his first 20 years. On the second floor of the Pleasant Home Mansion, the small Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest Museum (217 Home Ave. +1 708 848 6755. Thurs.-Sun.; Adm. fee)offers exhibits on local history and notable residents, including Wright and Hemingway.
