Oak Park, Just Wright

The drive from Indiana to Illinois was filled with wind turbines and farms. Pleasant but repetitive and just when it was getting boring, the skyline of Chicago appeared.

Oak Park is a western suburb of Chicago. It is most noted for the connection to Frank Lloyd Wright. The town, less than twenty minutes by the El from downtown Chicago, is filled with parks, massive Queen Anne-style homes and many Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes.Before the guided tour of FLW’s home, studio and Unity Temple, we stopped at a small café, Munch, in downtown Oak Park. Revived by a delicious iced coffee float, we were ready to explore the beautiful architecture of the neighborhood.On our way to the studio, we heard some fun music blaring and saw a treasure truck. Yes, I went right over to see the treasure offering. Turns out this is a new Amazon venture.Today’s product offering was French macarons. We passed and continued on to the FLW house.

The tour of his home and studio was very informative. It is remarkable how the design maintained it’s modern look and extreme function for more than a century. After the tour we walked through the neighborhood and it was easy to spot the other homes he designed. His style evolved, but it is not difficult to locate the distinct look of a FLW home. After our self-guided tour of the historic neighborhood, we landed in Poor Phil’s. They serve more than 100 beers. This was not a challenge, we just wanted to cool down and digest our day. The lobster bites were a nice touch for a pre-dinner snack. We walked to a lovely Mexican restaurant, New Rebozo, which has been around for almost three decades. We met our Chicago cousins and enjoyed enchiladas with six different mole sauces followed by three different flans for dessert. Every part of the meal was delicious.Oak Park is not a sleepy suburb. It is a vibrant town which is a feast for all senses and has no fear of Chicago bulls.