Your Guide to Buying a Home in Oak Park, IL

Buying a Home in Oak Park, Illinois

Oak Park is located in Cook County

The village of Oak Park is a flourishing community rich in culture, diversity, architecture and history! Over the last several decades, Oak Park has successfully created a united community working together to welcome a blend of all ages, races and backgrounds.

The residents of Oak Park are committed to creating a friendly and active community. They have established and maintained many clubs, service organizations and volunteer programs from the Oak Park Art League to Parenthesis to the Infant Welfare Society. In addition, the village offers several social and educational events throughout the year such as the Farmers' Market, garden walks, art fairs and the annual Frank Lloyd Wright Run.

Oak Park welcomes and supports students of all ages, pre-school through college, with Districts 97, 200, and 504, as well as private and parochial schools. While the elementary schools start the foundation for a wonderful education, the middle and high schools open their doors to a wealth of opportunities for higher learning. Continuously striving for the highest standards, Oak Park schools consistently rank in the upper brackets of Illinois schools.

Rich in history and architecture, Oak Park is the birthplace of writer Ernest Hemingway and scientist Percy Julian. Oak Park's most notable resident, world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, made the village his home in 1889. Wright designed more than 25 homes and buildings in the community, the largest concentration of his work in the world, thus solidifying Oak Park's place in architectural history. The village has three historical districts — Gunderson, Oak Park-Ridgeland, and Frank Lloyd Wright. The diverse blend of architectural styles, from Painted Lady Victorians to brick bungalows to Prairie-style homes, plus more than 70 architecturally and historically significant buildings, sets Oak Park apart from many other communities.

Stroll through the downtown area of Lake Street and take in a movie, visit a boutique, enjoy fine dining, or grab an enticing ice cream cone. For a bit of culture, take a tour of the Wright Home and Studio, Unity Temple, Hemingway Museum, or Cheney Mansion, all within walking distance of downtown. In addition to Downtown Oak Park, be sure to visit the Harrison Arts District, filled with art galleries, unique boutiques, and restaurants. Oak Park Avenue near the Eisenhower Expressway is also filled with cafes, restaurants, and shopping. You can always find something to do in Oak Park!

Sit under a shaded tree in Scoville Park or one of the village's 15 other beautiful parks, swim in one of Oak Park's two Olympic size pools, or challenge your neighbor to a tennis match on one of 30 plus tennis courts. Read a bit of fiction or history in one three branches of the Oak Park Library, including the brand new main branch!

Join a club or become a volunteer in one of Oak Park's several clubs and service organizations! To add to the list, Oak Park has 2 community hospitals, 7 recreation centers, 5 private athletic clubs, 1 plant conservatory, even a children's museum. In addition, there 54 places of worships including, 4 Jewish synagogues, 45 Protestant churches (23 denominations) and 5 Roman Catholic parishes.

The village is ideally located just minutes away from the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), downtown Chicago, and 20-25 minutes from O'Hare and Midway airports. Oak Park has additional modes of transportation including Metra, CTA's Green and Blue el train lines, 10 Pace buses and 8 CTA buses.

Oak Park truly has it all with so much to offer to so many people! A strong village that welcomes community, culture, education, recreation, commitment and opportunity — a wonderful place to call home.  Welcome!