Games Learning Resources Visit the Museum
America on the Move
Collection Exhibition Themes
BackSearch
Aerial view of Park Forest, Illinois, 1952

Enlarge Image
Aerial view of Park Forest, Illinois, 1952
Courtesy of Park Forest Public Library

IN CONTEXT

This object appears in the following sections:


City and Suburb: Chicago and Park Forest, Illinois, 1950s		 City and Suburb: Chicago and Park Forest, Illinois, 1950s — The Automobile Shapes the Suburbs


Aerial view of Park Forest, Illinois, 1952
Currently on display
 Not a part of the official Smithsonian Collection
This 1952 aerial view of Park Forest, Illinois illustrates the scope of this post-WWII planned residential development, built on farm land and an abandoned golf course, close to 30 miles south of downtown Chicago.
Physical Description
Photograph. Black-and-white aerial photograph of Park Forest.
Details
Date Made:
1952
Locations:
Illinois
Note:
Park Forest
Credit:
Courtesy of Park Forest Public Library
History

A growing reliance on the family car after WWII contributed to the development of sprawling privately built suburbs in the 1940s and 1950s. Park Forest was second in size only to Levittown, New York, and served as the setting for William H. Whyte, Jr.'s 1956 classic, The Organization Man. The community's political structure and the residents' level of involvment in local politics set Park Forest apart from similar developments.
Related People, Places, and Events
Depicted
Park Forest, Illinois

National Museum of American History About This Site | Sponsors | Buy the Book | E-mail Signup | Credits