Gunderson Historic District

This residential district on Oak Park's south side was built between 1906 and 1920 by the developer S.T. Gunderson and Sons. It contains about 230 buildings, 228 of them contributing. Most are single-family frame houses in the American Four Square form, individualized with Colonial Revival, Arts and Crafts or Prairie School detailing. Twenty-two brick Arts and Crafts two-flats, with clay tile roofs and limestone trim, line South Ridgeland and South Cuyler Avenues. The firm sold the homes to middle-class first-time buyers through brochures and newspaper advertising, promising features such as stone basements, oak trim and art glass windows. Lots are uniformly 40 by 130 feet, with equal setbacks, alleys and tree-lined parkways. Many porches were enclosed in the 1920s and some houses have artificial siding, yet the massing, window patterns and detailing remain largely intact. The area was listed as an example of a planned, speculative suburban development and its marketing methods.