Gunderson
Historic District
One Builder. One Vision. 230 Homes That Still Define a Neighborhood.
Built between 1905 and 1920 by S.T. Gunderson and Sons, this quiet corner of south Oak Park is one of the most intact examples of early planned residential development in the Chicago suburbs — and one of the most sought-after places to plant roots in the village.
Watch & Learn
A Tour of the Gunderson Historic District
Scott Berg walks the streets of south Oak Park's Gunderson Historic District — exploring the American Foursquare architecture, the neighborhood's history, and what it means to live here today.
Read the Video Transcript
If you've spent any time looking at homes in south Oak Park, you may have heard the name Gunderson come up.
The Gunderson Historic District is one of Oak Park's most distinctive residential areas, and it was largely developed by the Gunderson Brothers, who were major builders in Oak Park during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
What makes this area interesting is that it feels different from some of the better-known parts of Oak Park. When people think of Oak Park architecture, they often think of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School. But the Gunderson area tells another important part of the village's story: the growth of Oak Park as a streetcar suburb, with block after block of well-built homes designed for families moving west from Chicago.
You'll find a lot of classic Oak Park housing here — frame houses, Queen Anne influence, American Foursquares, front porches, traditional lots, and homes with strong curb appeal. Many of the houses have a similar rhythm and scale, which gives the neighborhood a very cohesive feel.
The Gunderson Brothers were not just building one-off custom homes. They were helping shape entire blocks. That's why this district has such a recognizable character. It feels planned, established, and very Oak Park.
For buyers, the appeal is usually a combination of architecture, neighborhood feel, and relative value. Compared with some of Oak Park's most famous architectural areas, the Gunderson Historic District can sometimes offer a more approachable way to get into a historic Oak Park home while still enjoying the charm and character people come here for.
For sellers, the key is knowing how to explain that history. A Gunderson home is not just an older house. It is part of a larger neighborhood story.
I'm Scott Berg with OakParkExpert.com. If you're thinking about buying or selling in the Gunderson Historic District, I'd be happy to help you understand the homes, the blocks, and the market.
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Photo: Prestige Real Estate Images
Your Local Expert
Scott Berg — South Oak Park Is Part of My Story Too
People tend to associate Oak Park real estate with the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District and the landmark architecture north of the expressway. But south Oak Park — and the Gunderson district in particular — is a different kind of neighborhood, and it produces a different kind of buyer. I have been selling homes here for over 20 years, and I understand what makes this community so compelling.
My father grew up in Oak Park and graduated from OPRF. My mother taught in District 97. My own children walked the same halls. Every part of this village is personal to me — north and south of the expressway.
The Gunderson district attracts buyers who want a neighborhood that feels genuinely settled — where the homes are solid and well-built, the streetscape is cohesive, and the community has a long memory. These are not buyers who need a landmark on the corner. They want a home they can live in for 20 years, in a neighborhood that will hold its character and its value. I know exactly how to find the right home here, and how to sell one effectively when the time comes.
Learn More About Scott →District History
One Builder Built a Neighborhood That Lasted 120 Years
The Gunderson Historic District is the story of a Norwegian immigrant builder, a streetcar line, and a vision for affordable family housing that turned out to be anything but ordinary.
Severt T. Gunderson came to the United States from Norway in 1848 at the age of nine. By the late 19th century, he and his sons had become one of the most prolific residential developers on Chicago's west side — building affordable, well-constructed homes for working and middle-class families moving out of the city. In Oak Park, the firm acquired land in the southern portion of the village and waited. They waited for the streetcar.
When the five-cent streetcar arrived on Roosevelt Road around 1905, S.T. Gunderson and Sons began construction on the first of two subdivisions in south Oak Park. Between 1905 and 1920, the firm built approximately 230 homes across two related but distinct areas. The first subdivision runs between Wenonah and Home Avenues, roughly between Lexington and Fillmore Streets. The second and larger subdivision is centered on Gunderson Avenue, between Madison Street to the north and Harrison Street to the south, with the elevated train station on Gunderson Avenue providing direct service to Chicago.
The firm hired architect Frank DeMoney to design the homes. His approach was elegant in its simplicity: use the American Foursquare as the underlying form — practical, sturdy, and economical to build — and individualize each home with applied details drawn from Colonial Revival, Arts and Crafts, or Prairie School influences. Varied roof lines, porch columns, dormer configurations, and ornamentation gave each buyer a home that felt personal, even as the neighborhood maintained a strong sense of visual coherence. It was one of the earliest examples of planned tract housing in the Chicago suburbs, anticipating by decades the kind of residential development that would define postwar America.
One of those early homes — 1007 Home Avenue — was purchased in 1907 by Louis Kroc, a Western Union employee, from S.T. Gunderson himself. Louis's son Ray was five years old when the family moved in. Ray Kroc grew up in the Gunderson district, attended Lincoln School, and went on to build McDonald's into one of the most recognized brands in the world. His boyhood home still stands, a Gunderson Foursquare with its original character intact.
The Gunderson Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 2002 and designated a local Oak Park historic district later that year. The designation recognized both the district's architectural integrity and its significance as a model of early 20th-century planned residential development.
~230 Homes, One Builder
Every home in the Gunderson Historic District was built by the same firm — S.T. Gunderson and Sons — between 1905 and 1920. No other Oak Park historic district shares this singularity of origin, making the Gunderson neighborhood one of the most architecturally coherent streetscapes in the village.
National Register Since 2002
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 2002 and locally designated that same year, the district is one of Oak Park's newest historic designations — and one of the most intact examples of early planned suburban development in Illinois.
Ray Kroc's Boyhood Home
McDonald's founder Ray Kroc grew up at 1007 Home Avenue in the Gunderson district's first subdivision. His family purchased the home from S.T. Gunderson himself in 1907. The home still stands and remains one of Oak Park's most quietly storied addresses.
Architecture
The American Foursquare — Practical, Solid, and Enduring
Architect Frank DeMoney gave every Gunderson home the same bones — and a different face. The result is a neighborhood that feels unified without feeling monotonous.
The American Foursquare is a deceptively simple form. At its core, it is a two-and-a-half story cube: roughly square in plan, with a pyramidal or hipped roof, a full-width front porch, and four nearly equal rooms per floor arranged around a central stairway. It was a practical response to the demands of middle-class family life at the turn of the 20th century — generous room sizes, efficient use of lot area, and a basement-to-attic livability that made it ideal for Oak Park's growing population of Chicago commuters.
What Frank DeMoney brought to the Gunderson homes was a layer of individualization on top of this consistent form. Colonial Revival details — Ionic and Doric porch columns, decorative returns on front gable ends — appear on some homes. Arts and Crafts touches — wide eaves, exposed rafter tails, square porch posts — appear on others. Still others carry Prairie School influences: low-pitched hip roofs, horizontal banding, and a sense of visual weight close to the ground. Roof configurations vary between hipped roofs with hipped dormers, hipped roofs with gabled dormers, and front-gabled houses — creating visual variety within a coherent framework.
The result is a streetscape that rewards close attention. Walk down Home Avenue or Gunderson Avenue and you will see the same generous proportions, the same uniform 25-foot setbacks, the same consistent lot widths — but no two houses are identical. That combination of order and variety is exactly what Seward Gunderson promised his buyers, and exactly what the neighborhood has delivered for over a century.
The Foursquare Form
Roughly square footprint, two-and-a-half stories, raised basement, pyramidal or hipped roof, and four nearly equal rooms per floor. A practical, sturdy form built for family life.
Full-Width Front Porch
Every Gunderson home has a full-width front porch — a defining feature of the neighborhood's streetscape and a design element that gives each home a welcoming, domestic presence on the street.
Individualized Details
Colonial Revival columns, Arts and Crafts eaves, Prairie School massing — DeMoney varied the applied ornamentation across homes to give each buyer a sense of individuality within the development's shared vocabulary.
Uniform Setbacks & Lot Widths
Every home sits 25 feet from the street on a consistently sized lot, with a 15-foot alley at the rear. The geometric regularity of the streetscape is a defining characteristic — and a direct foreshadowing of later suburban development patterns.
Quality Construction
Gunderson homes were built to last — and they have. Original hardwood floors, solid millwork, generous room proportions, and durable materials remain intact in many homes today, a testament to the firm's commitment to quality.
Historic District Map
Gunderson Historic District
Explore the Gunderson Historic District in south Oak Park. The district consists of two related subdivisions — click the landmark pin or sidebar entry to learn about the contributing properties.
Neighborhood Life
What It's Like to Live in the Gunderson District
The Gunderson Historic District has a character that is distinct from any other part of Oak Park. It is quieter and more residential than the neighborhoods north of the expressway, with streets that feel unhurried and genuinely settled. The homes are generous — Foursquares with full basements, multiple bedrooms, and the kind of room proportions that make family life comfortable — and the lots are consistent, giving the neighborhood a visual order that other parts of Oak Park lack.
Residents of the Gunderson district tend to be deeply rooted. The neighborhood's tight inventory and owner-occupied character — with a vacancy rate well below the national average — reflect a community where people buy, stay, and invest in their homes for the long term. It is not a neighborhood of transients or short-term renters. It is a neighborhood of owners.
Rehm Park is one of the anchors of south Oak Park life — a large, well-maintained park with athletic fields, a playground, and open green space that serves the Gunderson district and the broader south Oak Park community. Roosevelt Road provides access to retail, restaurants, and everyday services. The Metra and CTA elevated train connect the district to downtown Chicago, and the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) is accessible for drivers.
For buyers who want a neighborhood where the architecture is cohesive, the homes are solid, and the streets feel genuinely settled — without the tourist traffic and premium prices of the Frank Lloyd Wright district — the Gunderson Historic District is one of Oak Park's best-kept secrets.
Talk to Scott About the Gunderson District →Quiet, Residential South Oak Park
The Gunderson district sits south of the Eisenhower Expressway in the quieter, more purely residential portion of Oak Park. Streets are unhurried, the neighborhood is owner-occupied, and the sense of community is strong.
Rehm Park
One of south Oak Park's most beloved parks, Rehm Park borders the Gunderson district and offers athletic fields, playgrounds, and open green space. It is a genuine neighborhood gathering place and one of the area's best amenities.
Metra & CTA Elevated Access
The Gunderson Avenue elevated station has connected the district to downtown Chicago since the neighborhood was built — and it still does. The CTA Green Line and Metra provide transit options for the commute to the Loop.
Roosevelt Road Corridor
Roosevelt Road runs along the district's northern edge, providing access to shops, restaurants, and services within easy reach of home. The corridor has continued to grow as south Oak Park has attracted more investment.
Generously Sized Homes
Gunderson Foursquares are real family homes — full basements, multiple bedrooms, generous room sizes, and front porches built for living. They were designed for families, and they still work beautifully for families today.
Top-Rated Oak Park Schools
The district falls within Oak Park's District 97 elementary boundaries and feeds into Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF) — consistently ranked among the top public high schools in Illinois.
Buying & Selling
Real Estate in the Gunderson Historic District
South Oak Park's most historically intact neighborhood — and one of the most consistently desirable places to buy a family home in the village.
What Homes Are Worth Here
The Gunderson Historic District's median home price is consistently above the Illinois average and reflects the quality of the housing stock, the desirability of the neighborhood, and the tight inventory that comes from a predominantly owner-occupied community with a vacancy rate well below 2%. Well-maintained Foursquares with updated kitchens, original millwork, and intact architectural features command premiums. Scott can provide a detailed, current analysis of market conditions for any specific home or price range in the district.
What Buyers Are Looking For Here
Buyers who choose the Gunderson district are usually looking for something specific: a well-built home with real room sizes, a neighborhood that feels settled and cohesive, and a price point that is more accessible than the premium neighborhoods north of the expressway. They tend to be long-term thinkers — buyers who plan to stay, improve their home over time, and become part of a genuine community. Understanding this buyer profile is essential to marketing a Gunderson home effectively.
Historic Preservation Considerations
The Gunderson Historic District is both a National Register district and a locally designated Oak Park historic district. Exterior alterations to contributing properties require review by Oak Park's Historic Preservation Commission. For the Gunderson homes, this primarily means maintaining the Foursquare form and the front porch character — the elements that define the district's streetscape. Interior renovations are generally not regulated. Scott can walk you through exactly what this means for any property you are considering.
Tight Inventory, Steady Demand
The Gunderson district's vacancy rate is among the lowest in the country — well below 2% — reflecting a community where people don't leave easily. When homes do come to market, they attract serious buyers who know the neighborhood. Well-priced homes in good condition move quickly. Buyers who are interested in the district need to be prepared, which means having financing in order and a broker who knows the area. Scott's network in south Oak Park gives him early visibility into properties before they hit the open market.
Selling a Gunderson Home
Selling a home in the Gunderson Historic District means knowing how to tell its story. These homes have history — original features, craftsmanship, and in some cases literal historical connections to notable figures. But the story that sells a Gunderson home is ultimately about the neighborhood: its cohesion, its quality of life, its schools, its parks, and its community. Scott knows how to position these homes for the buyers who will value them most — and how to price and market them to achieve the best possible outcome.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions:
Gunderson Historic District
Answers to the questions Scott hears most from buyers and sellers interested in south Oak Park's Gunderson Historic District.
Where is the Gunderson Historic District located in Oak Park?
The Gunderson Historic District is located in southern Oak Park, south of the Eisenhower Expressway. It consists of two related subdivisions. The first subdivision runs between Wenonah and Home Avenues (west to east) and Lexington and Fillmore Streets (north to south). The second and larger subdivision is centered on Gunderson Avenue, bounded roughly by Madison Street to the north, Harrison Street to the south, and South Ridgeland and South Cuyler Avenues to the east. Both subdivisions are in the quieter, more residential southern portion of Oak Park, accessible via the CTA elevated train and Roosevelt Road.
What is the architectural style of homes in the Gunderson Historic District?
The homes are predominantly American Foursquare in style — a two-and-a-half story form with a roughly square footprint, pyramidal or hipped roof, full-width front porch, and four rooms per floor. Architect Frank DeMoney designed the homes for S.T. Gunderson and Sons, differentiating each home with applied details drawn from Colonial Revival, Arts and Crafts, and Prairie School influences. The result is a cohesive streetscape where every home shares a common structure but each has its own individual character — varied roof lines, porch columns, dormers, and ornamentation. All homes sit on uniform lots with a 25-foot setback from the street.
Why is the Gunderson Historic District historically significant?
The district is historically significant for two reasons. First, it is one of the best-preserved early examples of planned residential development in the Chicago suburbs — an early form of tract housing that combined affordability with individualized design. The uniform setbacks, shared architectural vocabulary, and intact streetscape make it a remarkably legible record of how Oak Park's south side was built out in the early 1900s. Second, the district is the boyhood neighborhood of Ray Kroc (1902–1984), who grew up at 1007 Home Avenue and later founded McDonald's. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 2002 and locally designated the same year.
Did Ray Kroc really grow up in the Gunderson Historic District?
Yes. Ray Kroc was born in 1902, and his family moved to 1007 Home Avenue — a Gunderson-built Foursquare in the first subdivision — in 1907, when Ray was five years old. His father Louis purchased the home from S.T. Gunderson himself. Ray attended Lincoln School and Oak Park and River Forest High School, though he left before graduating to serve as an ambulance driver in World War I. He went on to build McDonald's into one of the world's most recognized brands. He donated $7.5 million to Oak Park charitable organizations in 1972 and received an honorary diploma from OPRF in 1971. His boyhood home at 1007 Home Avenue still stands in the Gunderson district.
Are there restrictions on renovating homes in the Gunderson Historic District?
Yes. The Gunderson Historic District is both a federally designated National Register of Historic Places district and a locally designated Oak Park historic district. Exterior alterations to contributing properties typically require review and approval from Oak Park's Historic Preservation Commission. For Gunderson homes, this primarily means preserving the Foursquare form, the front porch character, and the overall massing that defines the district's streetscape. Interior renovations are generally not regulated. Scott can help you understand the specific implications for any property before you make an offer.
How does the Gunderson Historic District compare to Oak Park's other historic districts?
Oak Park has three federally recognized historic districts: the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District (1973), the Ridgeland–Oak Park Historic District (1983), and the Gunderson Historic District (2002). The Frank Lloyd Wright district is defined by Prairie Style architecture and commands the highest premiums. The Ridgeland district is the largest and most architecturally diverse. The Gunderson district is the smallest and most cohesive — all homes built by one firm in a narrow window of time. It is also the most purely residential and the most south. For buyers who want a neighborhood that feels genuinely settled, with solid homes and a consistent architectural character, the Gunderson district offers a compelling alternative to the more widely known districts to the north.
What are homes worth in the Gunderson Historic District?
The Gunderson Historic District's median home price is consistently above the Illinois average and among the top quartile nationally — reflecting the quality of the housing stock, the desirability of the neighborhood, and the tight inventory that comes from an overwhelmingly owner-occupied community. Well-maintained Foursquares with updated interiors, original millwork, and intact architectural features command premiums within the district. Prices vary based on condition, square footage, lot, and location within the two subdivisions. Scott Berg can provide a current, detailed market analysis for any specific property or price range in the district.
Ready to Explore South Oak Park?
Let's Talk About the Gunderson Historic District
Whether you are looking to buy your first home in Oak Park, sell a Gunderson Foursquare, or simply want to understand what this neighborhood offers, Scott Berg is the broker who knows it best. No pressure — just honest, experienced guidance from someone who has spent a lifetime here.