Historic Houses in the Village of Oak Park
The Chicago suburb of Oak Park is famed for its historic houses, including many Frank Lloyd Wright designs.
Oak park has a diverse array of architectural styles.
Known internationally for its historic architecture, the Village of Oak Park, Illinois has 25 houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, including the home occupied by Wright and his family until 1909. In fact, Oak Park has more Wright designed homes than any other location.
Other famous architects include Wesley A. Arnold, who designed the home that was the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway, E.E. Roberts, Albert Ernst, Joseph Bristow, Jr., Frederick Schock, John S. Van Bergen, Tallmadge & Watson, Charles C. Miller, Ellis and Fiddelke, William K. Johnston, Thomas R. Bishop, Ernest Braucher, Patton and Fisher, Frank Ellis,and George H. Borst. Oak Park has one of the largest collections of Prairie School architecture in the country.
Queen Anne, Craftsman, Prairie School, Dutch Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Victorian, Bungalow, Foursquare and Colonial Revival are prominent styles of architecture found in the Village. Oak Park has over 70 locally designated historic landmarks and at least eleven buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Chicago suburb of Oak Park was established in 1902. Prior to that, the area was part of Cicero.
The photo collection below mostly excludes Oak Park houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Several of those houses can be found on our Frank Lloyd Wright page.
Queen Anne & Victorian Houses
Below are some pictures of houses in Oak Park that have Queen Anne and Victorian influenced architecture. Click on the photos to see enlargements and home details.
Hardcover book
Frank LLoyd Wright: Natural Design
Italianate & Italian Renaissance
The Italianate style of architectural design was first developed in Britain in about 1802 by John Nash. This style of Classical architecture features characteristics of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture. There are over 60 homes in Oak Park in the Italianate style.
Tudor Revival
There are about 105 Tudor Revival style houses in the Village of Oak Park. The style mimics the architecture of buildings made during the reigns of the first four Tudor monarchs, from roughly 1485 to 1560. Tudor Revival houses in the began showing up in the United Kingdom in the later part of the 19th century, and the style has since spread. It became increasingly popular in the United States from the early to mid-twentieth century.
Tudor Revival houses are characterized by steeply pitched gable roofs, embellished doorways, groups of windows, and decorative exposed wood half-timbering, and elaborate chimneys.
Prairie School & Foursquare
Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered Prairie School architecture in the 1890s, working from his home and studio in Oak Park. Wright was inspired by the broad, flat landscape of America’s Midwest, as shown by the dramatic horizontal lines typical of Prairie style houses. Frank Lloyd Wright founded his architectural practice in Oak Park in 1893 in the home and studio he designed. It is now the home of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.
Prairie style architecture is characterized by low horizontal exterior configurations, deep overhangs, flat or low pitched hipped roofs, rows of tall windows and overhanging eves. Wright was very conscious of blending architecture with nature and made use of organic materials that blend well with the environment.
Prairie School designs often blend in Arts and Crafts style architecture. More photos of historic Prairie School houses in Oak Park can be found on the Frank Lloyd Wright page. There are well over 800 Prairie style houses in Oak Park, including a good number designed by architects E.E. Roberts and Frank Lloyd Wright.
