Open House Chicago to Feature 10 Oak Park Sites this Weekend

More than 200 locations will be featured in this weekend’s architectural tour Open House Chicago, and ten of them are Oak Park sites.

Open House Chicago is the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s annual behind-the-scenes peek into some of the city’s most beautiful spots that are rarely open to the public. The event is free and will take place this weekend on Oct. 15 and 16.

Oak Park is always a popular location due to its strong association with Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, the OHC website states. Sites that haven’t been part of the tour before include the village’s new history museum at the village pumping station and the new downtown redevelopment project Vantage Oak Park at Lake Street and Forest Avenue, which the organization describes as “transforming the skyline,” according to a village release.

These are the 2016 OHC sites in Oak Park:

Ernest Hemingway’s Birth Home
339 N. Oak Park Ave.
Sat, Oct. 15: Closed
Sun, Oct. 16: 1-5 p.m.

Nineteenth Century Club
178 Forest Ave.
Sat, Oct. 15: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 16: Closed

Oak Park River Forest Museum (Cicero Firehouse)
129 Lake St.
Sat, Oct. 15: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 16: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Pleasant Home (Farson House)
217 Home Ave.
Sat, Oct. 15: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 16: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Unity of Oak Park (Taylor House)
405 Euclid Ave.
Sat, Oct. 15: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 16: 1-5 p.m.

Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
951 Chicago Ave.
Sat, Oct. 15: Closed
Sun, Oct. 16: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Oak Park Art League
720 Chicago Ave.
Sat, Oct. 15: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 16: 12-5 p.m.

Pilgrim Congregational Church
460 Lake St.
Sat, Oct. 15: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 16: 1-5 p.m.

St. Edmund Roman Catholic Church
188 S. Oak Park Ave.
Sat, Oct. 15: 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 16: 12:30-5 p.m.

Vantage Oak Park
150 Forest Ave.
Sat, Oct. 15: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 16: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

OHC spans 20 Chicago neighborhoods and locations are sites like theaters, private clubs, offices, residential spaces, hotels, schools and government and cultural facilities, according to its website. A full list of sites is available here.

Because of how busy the city is, Open House Chicago planners suggest using Divvy, Chicago’s bike sharing program, or CTA public transportation to get from site to site. Your route during the 48 hours is up to you — a full map of locations and event guide can be found in today’s Chicago Tribune and limited physical copies are available at the CAF’s office at 224 S. Michigan Ave. downtown.

More than 1,600 volunteers will be spending time at OHC sites this weekend greeting visitors. Photos are usually allowed at sites during this weekend, but it varies from case to case.

Pull up this mobile-friendly website while you’re walking the city this weekend, and find more information about the Open House here.

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Photo by Eric Allix Rogers courtesy of the Open House Chicago website.