Oak Park has two Gunderson Historic Districts: one lies north of 290 in the area bounded by Ridgeland and Scoville Avenues between Harrison and Madison Streets. The other lies south of 290 in the area bounded by Home and Wenonah Avenues between Garfield and Roosevelt Road.
The firm S.T. Gunderson and Sons was founded by Norwegian immigrant Severt Gunderson who came to the United States when he was 9 in 1848. After a few building-related businesses were destroyed by fire, Severt founded a lumber business and recruited his two sons, Seward and George, to work with him. The father and sons soon became developers, building subdivisions along Chicago’s bustling streetcar lines.
Between 1889 and 1925, the family established subdivisions throughout the West Side of Chicago and Oak Park. The first subdivision in Oak Park, was platted on Home and Wenonah in 1890. Almost 60 homes were sold with construction beginning in 1905.
The second subdivision was constructed shortly thereafter and consisted of 208 single family homes and 22 two-flats.
In 1907, Seward moved to Oak Park with his family. Seward’s house anchors the second Gunderson Historic District at 701 S. Elmwood Ave. (https://www.oakpark.com/2012/10/16/oak-park-couple-gives-seward-gunderson-home-a-new-historic-facelift/)
George and his family built a home across the street at 700 S. Elmwood Ave.
Today, the Gunderson homes and the subdivisions are highly sought-after areas. A look at recent sales in Seward and George Gunderson’s neighborhood shows us just what these historic homes are selling for today.
The home at 734 S. Gunderson sold on June 30 for $876,000. Listed at $799,000, the 6-bedroom, three-bathroom house offers roughly 2,200 square feet of living space. The home boasts the Gunderson brothers’ signature front porch, oak woodwork and stained-glass windows. Built in 1908, the home had a roughly $16,000 property tax bill in 2023.
On May 15, 704 S. Elmwood sold for $810,000 after listing for $720,000 in March. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom house has roughly 2,800 square feet of living space, pocket doors and stained-glass windows. The home received multiple offers when it was listed in March. Built in 1906, the home’s 2023 property tax bill was roughly $20,000.
One of the few homes in the neighborhood not designed by the Gundersons garnered the neighborhood’s highest sales price this summer. The Owen H. Jones House at 639 S. Elmwood was designed by architect Roy Hotchkiss in 1920.
Listed at $995,000, the California-style bungalow sold for $1.3 million on July 20, 2026. The five-bedroom, three-bathroom house has bedrooms on the first floor, a slate roof and roughly 2,200 square feet of living space. The home had a property tax bill of approximately $17,000 in 2023.
Realtor Laura Maychruk was the listing agent for 639 S. Elmwood and 734 S. Gunderson. She sold another Gunderson home earlier in the spring: 608 S. Elmwood. Listed at $679,000, the home closed in April for $760,000. Maychruk says that house still had its original built-in in the dining room, complete with keys.
Maychruk says the recent sales in the Gunderson Historic District represent a new focus among buyers. The trend used to be towards open concept homes, ripping out wood trim and painting everything white and grey. “Now, there’s been a shift,” she said. “Buyers want wood, vintage character and trim. People are really embracing the charm.”
Maychruk says she thinks the $1,300,000 sales price for 639 S. Elmwood Ave. might be a record-setting price for a vintage home in South Oak Park. She says her open house at the home was mobbed with interested buyers and there was “an incredible bidding war” for the home.
She thinks people gravitated toward the home because it had been updated in an historically accurate way, with a sensitivity to the original design.
The neighborhood is also very popular with buyers right now. Maychruk said the whole south side of Oak Park and the Arts District are drawing buyers for the walkability to shops, restaurants, ice cream, schools and parks.
If you’d like to learn more about the Gundersons, join the Oak Park River Forest Historical Society on the evening of Aug. 11 for its walking tour, “Growing with the Gundersons.” Kicking off at the Longfellow Park pavilion at 7 p.m., the 90-minute tour will share the history of the Gunderson Brothers and will also include lesser-known stories such as the history of the house once named the Oak Park Academy of Fine Arts, the controversial temporary homes built to ease the post-World War II housing crisis, and why this neighborhood was once called “Fertile Acres.”
The tour costs $10 or $8 for members. More information and registration can be found here: https://oprfmuseum.org/events/growing-gundersons-walking-tour-6