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.
There is a lot happening right now at The Historical Society of Oak Park & River Forest. Currently it's offices and a small exhibition space are located in the historic Pleasant Home in downtown Oak Park, but the Historical Society is working on its own home in a historical firehouse. In a push to get more community exposure the Historical Society has been hosting a series of weekend open houses to show and tell their big plans and current progress. The firehouse itself tells an interesting story of the volunteer firefighters who worked and maintained the fire brigade. The Historical Society hopes to develop a research center, exhibition space, event space, and will also have a geothermal heating system. It'll be exciting to watch the progress of the Historical Society.
