Departments > Economic Development > Community Profile
Once known as Black Oaks Grove and then called 'Agnes' - after the first postmaster’s wife - the Village of Oak Lawn was incorporated in 1909. Located about 14 miles southwest of the Loop. It borders Chicago and Evergreen Park to the east, Hometown and Burbank to the north, Bridgeview and Chicago Ridge to the west, and Alsip to the south. First time homebuyers are attracted to the well-kept, quiet residential neighborhoods. Oak Lawn is primarily a commercial village with its major area encompassing a 24-block sector on 95th Street between Pulaski Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue. Numerous car dealerships and banks have become the major economic engine of the Village. Retail sales generate over $12 million per year with auto dealers accounting for 45% of the revenues, helping the Village offer services to keep pace with its growing population.
Although physical expansion has slowed down in the Village, future commercial development is expected in the downtown district. A new Metra parking garage and station and a mixed-use development featuring condominiums and first floor retail units has been completed. Revitalization in the downtown region has included new streetlights, potted plants on corners and at storefronts, a new red paving brick streetscape, a new municipal center, and an addition to the Oak Lawn Library. The tollway interchange has increased the accessibility to Oak Lawn’s downtown business sector.
Oak Lawn is a community with a distinctive 'home town' atmosphere, a place where people really get to know their neighbors. Well-kept residential streets demonstrate the pride people take in their neighborhoods. However, a visitor could easily forget that this beautiful peaceful suburban village is only minutes away from Chicago. The community is very family-oriented as shown by the village-sponsored weekly Farmer’s Markets, the “Shop Oak Lawn” promotions. The Village is pleased to have the Oak Lawn Family Services, an organization that provides counseling to individuals and families.
Community School Districts 122 and 123 serve elementary school students. One Lutheran, one Christian and five Catholic grammar schools are located within the Village. Nearby in the southwest side of Chicago are two Catholic high schools. High school students attend Oak Lawn High School, District 229 and Richards High School, District 218.
The Oak Lawn Park District, with over 300 acres of park, facilities, and open land, has kept up with the growth of the Village by offering classes and instructional programs at the Oak Lawn Pavilion, which includes soccer fields, basketball courts, and a recreation center; golf, miniature golf, and banquet facilities at Stony Creek Golf Course; ice skating and hockey programs at the indoor ice arena; indoor tennis, racquetball, and fitness center; numerous playgrounds and parks, ball fields, picnic facilities, and outdoor tennis courts, as well as Wolfe Wildlife Wetlands, where the residents trails and a refuge for wildlife.
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