Pleasant Home — Attraction in Oak Park

A great green space surrounds this building which is just a little bit off, and that makes is interesting and endears it to the visitor. The proportions are just a bit off - everything a bit too square, no respect for the golden ratio, inside a slightly bizarre mix of old fashioned movie theatre and golden era opulence on the first floor, a bit more traditional and conservative upstairs, in the private quarters. The major surprise - ensuite bathrooms for most - maybe all? - bedrooms, definitely a rarity for the end of the 19th and start of the 20th century. There is something very personal and very moving about this building, that i cannot quite explain. I enjoyed my visit, and my guide was very knowledgeable and personable. It may not be the finest example of architecture in a suburb as architecturally significant as Oak Park is, but it leaves you with a feeling of warmth, of friendliness, as if the owners themselves greeted you to...

I had my wedding at the Pleasant Home, and there are some pros and cons, here is a list:

Pros: The rental price is very reasonable The venue photographs very well There is a perfect amount of space inside the venue for 100 or less. They are pretty flexible with decor rules and allow you to use every room on the first floor You can basically bring in any vendor with venue approval; we used Blue Plate for catering (I would not recommend them) and we had our own bartender (which required a village liquor license) Cons: The neighbors/venue strictly enforce the 10:00 Oak Park noise ordinance, seriously, there were police officers at my wedding at 10:30 telling us to keep it down. Dancing is only allowed on the front porch (unless you rent a tent)

All in all, the wedding was perfect, we had a second venue planned after the Pleasant Home because we were aware of the noise ordinance beforehand. I would host another event here in...

We visited here as it was on the Frank Lloyd Wright map, and although he wasn't the architect, we were still interested to see the work of one of his contemporaries. We were greeted by Theresa, who took us on a tour of the whole house which lasted around an hour and a half. Theresa was so lovely and it was an absolute pleasure to meet and be guided by her. She was so knowledgeable about the house and the families who had lived there, and my partner and I walked away feeling like we had learned so much. The house itself is full of surprises and interesting quirks, and Theresa did a brilliant job of bringing it to life for us. We absolutely loved our time there, but also feel sad that a house of such historical importance isn't receiving the funding needed to fully restore it. I really recommend taking this tour, as not only will you enjoy learning about this amazing house, you will also be helping to preserve its...