Franklin Park



Franklin Park is a village in the Chicagoland area, near O'Hare International Airport. Incorporated in 1892, the town is steeped in train culture; it's served by three Metra stations, has a large train yard, and celebrates its history with a train museum and festival. In addition, there is a burgeoning suburban downtown, a large Hispanic population (which means great food), and many community gathering places.

Get in
Grand Avenue and Mannheim Road are two major arteries that run through the village. O'Hare International Airport is nearby, accessible by Mannheim Road. Franklin Park has three Metra stations: Belmont Avenue Station on Metra's North Central Service, which provides daily rail service between Antioch, Illinois and Chicago (at Union Station); and Franklin Park Station and Mannheim Station on the Milwaukee District/West Line which connects Chicago to Elgin, Illinois.

Get around
By car is the most efficient way, but PACE bus routes 319 and 325 run through Franklin Park and connect it to nearby Northlake, River Grove, Elmwood Park, and Rosemont.

Buy
Franklin Park is not exactly known as a shopping mecca. Besides Ace Hardware, all the big name stores and malls are in the nearby towns, while locally there isn't much more than a pawn shop, video stores, and grocery stores, all of which are on Grand Avenue.

Eat
Food is Franklin Park's hidden gem. Any Mexican Bakery downtown, on Franklin Avenue, will have huge, cheap treats that you probably won't find in your local bakery. They can be hit or miss, but if you don't like what you bought then spend 75 cents for something else.



Sleep
Most hotels and motels are on Mannheim Avenue, servicing airport patrons. Super 8, Best Western, Sottrel Hotel; pretty much drive down Mannheim and look for something with O'Hare in the name.

Go next

 * Chicago, of course.
 * Rosemont, north of Franklin Park, is chock full of convention centers and major Chicagoland events often take place here, including ACen. Rosemont is also home to the Chicago Wolves hockey team.  Oh, and there's a Blue Line stop.
 * Oak Park, home of Frank Lloyd Wright, is a 25-minute drive south.
 * River Grove has a forest preserve, golf course, Triton College, and Gene's & Jude's, the best Chicago-style hot dogs around (unless you love Portillo's, in which case head to Northlake).