La Grange Park Village Hall is located at 447 North Catherine Avenue, La Grange Park IL 60526.
Phone: 708‑354‑0225.
Neighborhoods
Beginnings [1]
The Village of La Grange Park, incorporated in 1892, is a mature community located 17 miles west of downtown Chicago. It contains a population of 13,295 and covers an area of over 1,400 acres.
The Village is strategically located between the junction of I-290/I-88 and the junction of I-55/I-294. US routes 45 (La Grange Road) and 34 (Ogden Avenue) provide direct access to both junctions and connect to the Village's two commercial nodes: the Village Market and the 31st Street Business Corridor. Metra operates two commuter rail stations in nearby La Grange that are within walking distance to many residents of La Grange Park. PACE also operates four express bus routes that travel through or adjacent to the Village limits. O'Hare and Midway Airports are less than 30 minutes away. Rail freight travels through the Village along the IHBR alignment, which parallels La Grange Road.
The original settlers were farmers who built their homes on the western side of town during the mid-1800's. Farmers offered refuge to people who had lost everything during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and later sold land to those who liked country living so well they decided to stay.
Village incorporation was not prompted by a desire to evolve from a rural community to an urban municipality. Rather, incorporation was seen as a way to preserve and retain the area's tranquil character. In the early 1900's the Village considered annexation to the Village of La Grange, but the proposal was strongly defeated. Concern about maintaining a tranquil environment was cited as the major reason for defeat.
After World War II, war veterans and their young families pushed west out of Chicago as new superhighways were built that offered easy access to job sites. The Village experienced its most significant population increased during this era. The Village population more than doubled during the 1950's.
The Village's housing stock is predominantly single-family and owner- occupied. The western section of the Village (i.e., west of La Grange Road) was developed in the earlier part of the Twentieth Century. The older housing styles in this section include Victorians, four-squares, Georgians, colonials, and farm-style homes. The housing stock east of La Grange Road is newer, most of which was built after World War II. Homes in this section include split-level ranches and smaller brick houses that appeal to first-time homebuyers.
High quality, multiple-family housing can also be found in the Village. For example, in the late 1940's, local developer William E. Joern and Sons built the Homestead Apartments, a complex of nineteen two-and three-story red brick buildings located east of La Grange Road behind the Village Market. The complex provided an alternative to detached single-family residences that had accounted for most of the housing inventory at completion. The Village also benefits from high quality senior care facilities, the largest of which are Bethlehem Woods and Plymouth Place.
There are two major commercial areas in the Village: the Village Market Shopping Center on La Grange Road and the 31st Street Business District to the north. The former serves as a town center and includes retail, office, and medical businesses. The latter is a more traditional street environment featuring a variety of restaurants, antique shops, a hardware store, and an assortment of professional and medical offices.
Nearby Towns: Berwyn City • Elmhurst City • Hinsdale Vlg • Maywood Vlg • Oak Brook Vlg • Oak Park Vlg • Riverside Vlg •