Located just eight miles west of Chicago's Loop and covering an area of 3.8 square miles, Berwyn sits adjacent to the village of Oak Park. It is bounded on the east by Lombard Avenue, on the north by Roosevelt Road, on the west by Harlem Avenue, and on the south by Pershing Road. It was named after a small Philadelphia suburb, after an agent for the railroad journeyed to Illinois from Berwyn, Pennsylvania and suggested the name.
Like nearby Oak Park, Berwyn is filled with architecturally significant homes and has two historic districts: 12th Street and the Lavaragne Settlements. In fact, Berwyn has 320 homes that have been identified as being 100 years or older. It has won two "Governors' Home Town Awards" and was a finalist in the "City Livability Award" given by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
According to the Oak Park Board of Realtors website, which features a profile of the town, Berwyn "boasts the most significant collection of Chicago-style bungalows in the nation, built between the 1920s and the 1940s." Bungalows in Berwyn are one- story structures with basements, attics and two or three bedrooms, and they have oak floors and stained glass windows. Some of these residences were built with terra cotta exteriors.
Berwyn has two elementary school districts to educate its youngest residents. District 98 educates students living in North Berwyn, between Roosevelt Road and Cermak (22nd St.) Road. The district has three K-6 grade elementary school facilities and a middle school for 6th through 8th graders. School District 100 educates students in K-8 living in South Berwyn between Cermak Road and Pershing Road. There are six elementary schools within this area. The two districts work closely with each other to provide a basic education to all students, concentrating on the fundamental skills of reading, writing and mathematics.
Berwyn also has three kindergarten through eighth grade parochial schools: St. Leonard St. Mary of Celle and St. Odilo. High school students are served by J. Sterling Morton High School District 201, which serves Berwyn and nearby communities with two high school complexes: Morton East in Cicero and Morton West in Berwyn. Morton College in Cicero serves Berwyn, Cicero and adjacent communities. It is a fully accredited community college noted for its quality education, reasonable tuition, small class size, and career and technical programs.
Cermak Plaza Shopping Center, located at Cermak Road and Harlem Avenue, is home to more than twenty retailers. Cermak Road, extending across the village from Lombard Avenue to Harlem Avenue, also features a wide array of retail and service businesses, from national chains to locally owned specialty stores, as well as bakeries and restaurants.
Berwyn has a variety of recreational facilities for its residents including a large gymnasium, three softball fields, three swimming pools, an NHL-sized outdoor hockey rink, tennis courts and a number of sports leagues.
Housing remains reasonably priced within Berwyn. In August 2008, the average home sales price for a single family home or condo in Berwyn, IL was $184,506. While this data is collected from the MLS and deemed reliable, it is not guaranteed.
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