Project: LOOP

If you’re in the loop, take the CTA Green Line west just 20 minutes, and the train will drop you off in the heart of downtown Oak Park at the Harlem/Lake stop.

The tall, leafy trees that line the neighborhood cloak the streets inviting residents and tourists to parade the variety of shops, architecture, and parks. The exceptionally friendly people of Oak Park promote diversity among the population. Eight miles from the Loop and easily accessible by public transportation, Oak Park welcomes visitors to feast on the exceptional attractions and beauty it has to offer. Below are my recommendations for getting to Oak Park, as well as the best places to eat and visit. Getting to Oak Park:

• Green Line
  • Harlem/Lake
  • Oak Park Ave.
  • Ridgeland

• Blue Line
  • Harlem
  • Oak Park
  • Metra (to Oak Park from Ogilvie
    Transportation
    Center)

Where to Eat (all in downtown

• Fine Mexican Restaurant (Harlem/Lake-Green Line)
  • Cheap/moderately priced Mexican food. Quiet, laid back atmosphere. Most customers prefer one of the red cushioned booths that line the right and left side of the restaurant. The black tables and chairs with aqua vinyl seats (with stuffing exposed through several rips in the vinyl) are rarely occupied. If you do choose a center table, prepare yourself for the chilly winter breeze from the door that will blow over your warm burrito. On each table, two fake sunflowers and a crimson candle rest in plastic vases that have been dirtied over time; never been washed, flowers never changed. The cheap, dusty chandelier looks like plastic hung from the center of the ceiling over the empty center tables.
• Poor Phil’s *My Recommendation! (Harlem/Lake-Green Line)
  • Moderately priced. A great casual place with a bar. Best local venue for burgers and beer, as well as original mixed cocktails. You’ll be served a heaping basket of popcorn while you ponder over traditional American cuisine of burgers, chicken sandwiches. I love the laid back attitude of the place. If you sit on the bar side of the venue, you can catch a sports game on any of the wide screen televisions.
• 
  
  Marion Street

  Grill (Harlem/Lake-Green Line)

  • Expensive and classy in the heart of downtown Oak Park. Entrées include steak and seafood.

Where to Go:

• Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio *My Recommendation! (Oak Park Ave.-Green Line)
  • Take a tour of the home and studio of the master architect. Tours are available every day of the week within limited hours. Check www.wrightplus.org for more info.
  • 
• Unity
  Temple (Oak Park Ave.-Green Line)
  • A Universalist church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
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• 
  
  Lake Street

  (Harlem/Lake-Green Line)

  • A variety of independent and chain retail stores. Stop by the historic Lake Theatre to catch a current movie, and reminisce about the old days of cinema architecture. This theatre is special to me because with seven screens, it provides relief from the sprawling, overpowering megaplex theatres with 20+ screens.
• Ernest Hemingway Foundation (Oak Park Ave.-Green Line)
  • Photos and artifacts in this museum dedicated to honoring the literary artist.