Pleasant Home

Oak Park has an outstanding plethora of cultural gems within such a small geographic radius. A lesser know landmark within the Village of Oak Park is Pleasant Home. Noted as an early example of America's prairie style homes it offers a fascinating insight into life over a hundred years ago and the innovations of technology within domestic life. Pleasant Home was originally owned by John Larson and was later purchased by the Mills family (the house is within Mills Park), and is situated within walking distance from Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple and his home and studio. 

Most notably about the actual house is its elaborate hand carved architectural details, stained glass, and overall craftsmanship. I think that Pleasant Home is a real treasure to Oak Park and surrounding area and I'm really hope to get more involved in supporting it. 

Frank Lloyd Wright's Home and Studio

One of the many benefits of living in Oak Park, IL is that I'm lucky to live around many historical and fascinating landmarks. One particular place is the home and studio of architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright. Constructed in the late 19th century, his home was his first building he worked on as an architect. He would make additions and rework rooms like a drawing, re-configuring spaces to accommodate himself, his wife and their six children (with only one bathroom). The house is run by the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust that oversees many other Wright buildings around Chicagoland. John and I were able to see the house on a day with free admission and freshly decorated for Christmas. Photos were not allowed inside, but of the photos I did get, you can sense the development of a distinctive architectural style that defined Wright.

Unity Temple

Unity Temple is an Unitarian Universalist house of worship that was designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Built at the beginning of the 19th century, the church is a wonderful example of Wright's personal beliefs and his aesthetic vision. The church is about to undergo a major year-long renovation that will update HVAC systems, structural issues, and preservation of the historical integrity of the building. The congregation will be moving it's services to a local Lutheran church from June 2015 to September 2016. John and I have been thrilled to have gone to several services inside the historic building before the major construction work begins and we can't wait to see how the renovations progress.

Return to Chi-Town

Several weeks ago, John and I, went to scope out Chicago.  It's a city where we could potentially relocate.  Besides our personal situation, Chicago offers many great attractions, cultural sites, and interesting neighborhoods worth venturing to.  We had lots of good food, it was really easy to get around town via the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), and we learned a lot too.

The CTA terminal at O'Hare International airport is colorful and exciting:

We learned about tornadoes, a Mid-Western common phenomena, at the Museum of Science and Industry:

This was the fanciest Walgreens we've ever been in.  A former bank in the area known as Wicker Park, this converted store featured a 'Vitamin Vault':

One of the several good food stuffs we tried was custom ice cream from iCream, also in Wicker Park, that is known for whipping up fresh batches of creams and flavors in Kitchenaid mixers and injecting the mixture with liquid nitrogen.  Presto!  Custom ice cream in less than 60 seconds:

 

 

The infamous Cloud Gate, a.k.a. 'The Bean', by contemporary artist, Anish Kapoor:

And we wrapped up our trip out in Oak Park, where we participated in the Easter Service at the Unitarian church, Unity Temple, designed by architect, Frank Lloyd Wright: