Graymoor is the premier residential community in Chicago's south suburbs, located in Olympia Fields at Western Avenue between Vollmer Road and Joe Orr Road. The subdivision was planned in the early 1950s and was one of the first subdivisions in America with buried utilities, which enhances the natural landscape. There are no curbs or gutters, and no street lights, just a wonderful natural landscape with swales and culverts and natural stone. With curving streets and cul-de-sacs, two large water retention ponds connected by a stream, and over 30 acres of land which is to be left open and natural, protected by land covenants, and lot sizes averaging about 1 acre each, the subdivision is serene and gorgeous. The subdivision's layout was designed by Richard Hazekamp in collaboration with students at the University of Chicago. Developed by Edward Gray, each of the original 99 lots was planned for quality custom architecturally designed homes of great integrity ranging in value from $30,000 to $100,000 which was far above the average price of a typical home in the early 1950s. Innovative homes designed in the 1950s were designed by noted architects including Keck & Keck, Edward Dart, Edward Humrich, John McPherson and others. In the early 1970s, the southwest corner of the land was developed, increasing the total number of lots to 141. The subdivision originally included a baseball diamond and tennis courts, which were later replaced with open parklands when the many wonderful parks of Olympia Fields and Homewood-Flossmoor were developed. The original design even reserved space (next to #50) for a community center and a heliport, a 1950s idea for the future of commuting which never came to fruition, though the vacant land for it still awaits the future! Homeowners enjoy the peace and quiet tranquil setting with many species of birds including Cardinals, Canadian Geese, Heron, Yellow Finches, and countless other varieties, along with deer, squirrels, frogs and many other friendly animals. Throughout the subdivision, dividing fences are not allowed, which creates wonderful "borrowed views" across the open landscape. The variety of architectural styles and unique layout creates a wonderful diverse environment the residents are very proud to call home.
To see the original subdivision's brochure and newspaper articles announcing the development in early 1950s newspaper articles, or for more information, contact Joe Kunkel joe@jetsetmodern.com or 312-371-0986.
Fun Facts
As of the 2000 US Census, Olympia Fields had 4,637 residents in 1,855 households.
According to Higley1000.com, a Chicago Sun-Times article from the archives (August 15, 1972) listed the status of 200 Chicago suburbs by ranking them on four statistics: percentage college graduates; percentage of families with incomes over $25,000 (that’s not a typo!); median family income; and median years of school. What is striking about the listing is that Olympia Fields, a suburb just south of Flossmoor, was ranked 4th and Flossmoor was ranked 7th.
According to 2000 census data, Graymoor is a small subdivision with a mean household income of $169,321.
According to Higley1000.com, a Chicago Sun-Times article from the archives (August 15, 1972) listed the status of 200 Chicago suburbs by ranking them on four statistics: percentage college graduates; percentage of families with incomes over $25,000 (that’s not a typo!); median family income; and median years of school. What is striking about the listing is that Olympia Fields, a suburb just south of Flossmoor, was ranked 4th and Flossmoor was ranked 7th.
According to 2000 census data, Graymoor is a small subdivision with a mean household income of $169,321.
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