Nothing says “happy holidays” like a 1960s-style aluminum Christmas tree in the former home of a mobster.
That’s one of the attractions that awaits those who attend the 27th annual Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society Holiday House Walk on Dec. 5 and 6.
Each house will be decorated for Christmas. Each owner picks a theme.
One of the four houses on the walk — a sprawling, 60-year-old white ranch owned by Diane and Dave Ruhl — once was owned by a mobster known as Chuckie English.
Their house will be decorated in a “midcentury mobster theme with music by The Rat Pack playing,” Diane said.
Diane has been buying decorations that were popular in the 1960s and ‘70s, but an illuminated Tommy gun will not be on display. “I should, I should,” she said.
According to what the couple has learned since they purchased the house, if walls could talk they’d tell quite a story.
Chuckie English lived with his wife in neighboring River Forest, Diane said, and the ranch was for his mistress.
“She lived here and all the business went down here,” Diane, 51, said.
That “business” was racketeering, making book for illegal betting, she said.
All that needs a lot of electricity, as noted by a building inspector whose “jaw dropped” when he saw the many circuit boards in the basement, Diane said.
“He said ‘You have enough electricity to electrify a factory’,” she said.
The Ruhls bought the house 10 years ago, “a steal” for $380,000, she said. They were intrigued by the mix of “mid-century modern and Sopranos gaudy,” Diane said.
“It was a museum timepiece. It had not been touched since 1965.
“There are the mobster touches. Marble everywhere. Ornate brass on all the doors and drawers. The carpet was pink. The walls were pink. It was pink, gold and ornate (in here),” Diane said.
She and Dave made some changes, like adding a fireplace, bookshelves and removing a wall.
But it’s hard to renovate a house “built like a bunker.”
That included a wall that had sheet metal from floor to ceiling inside, causing contractors extra work and probably offering protections from bullets.
“This window,” she said pointing to the living room picture window, “had iron blinds that would come down at a certain time of night. They were on a timer.”
“Every window outside of these are like ‘bullet windows,’ high up,” she said. “That’s so you can’t be shot.”
Windows are six feet above the floor in bedrooms.
Living in a house with mob ties has led to visits from neighbors asking to see inside. “It’s been a fun thing for the neighborhood,” she said.
Dave, 50, said he was eventually won over by the unusual nature of the house, but “we made fun of it when we first saw it.”
One thing not on the house walk tour is the home’s creepy crawlspace.
“The rumor is there’s a getaway tunnel from the crawlspace out to the park. I will never go to the end of the crawlspace. It’s creepy,” Diane said.
Also not on the tour is a room in the attic that can only be locked from the outside. Diane and Dave aren’t hazarding guesses what that was used for.
They and their 14-year-old son, Griffin, have not seen the ghost of English or any other mobsters from the Chicago Outfit.
As for English, he was 70 when he was gunned down gangland style in 1985, taking several shots to the head.
While the other three houses on the walk aren’t as nefarious, each has its own special charm.
Addresses are not revealed except to ticket holders, but Rowena Abrahams, marketing director for the OPRF Infant Welfare Society, was happy to talk about the other houses.
One house has a ballroom with a working organ and indoor shuffleboard court. “We are so grateful to the owner for opening their home,” Abrahams said.
Another house has a “stunning outdoor living space” and was restored by a local architect. Fingers are crossed for good weather so folks can appreciate the outdoor space, Abrahams said.
The third is a three-story house that has a log cabin room on the top floor complete with a moose head and pool table.
“They’ll have access to all three floors including the log cabin (room). It was designed in 1925,” Abrahams said.
The house walk committee begins work early each year to recruit homeowners, Abrahams said.
Tickets for the house walk are for sale at https://oprfiws.org/holiday-housewalk.
Prices are $70 in advance and $75 the days of. Walk hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 5 and 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 6.
“Last year, we had about 900 tickets purchased. We hope to have a similar number of not more. It’s our main fundraiser for the clinic, which has been around 100-plus years,” Abrahams said.
A $250 Fast Pass allows the ticket bearer to go to the front of the line at each house.
The fundraiser includes a holiday market – featuring works of 22 vendors – that will be open from 3 to 7 p.m. Dec. 5 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 6. The market will be at the IWS Children’s Clinic, 28 Madison Street, Oak Park.
The organization dates back to 1916. The core goal is to provide medical, dental and behavioral services for underserved infants, children and young adults up to age 21.
In fiscal year 2025, the clinic provided close to 8,000 health care visits to nearly 3,000 patients from Chicago, the western suburbs, Cook County, and DuPage County.
OPRF IWS is supported by donors, staff, members, and volunteers, advancing the health and well-being of children in need so they can grow into healthy, productive adults, a news release said.
Homeowners won’t be in their houses for the walk, Abrahams noted, but docents are well-versed in the lore, be it a ballroom, log cabin, outdoor space or a mobster’s lair.
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
