Early Life
John S. Van Bergen was born October 2, 1885 to William and Ella Van Bergen, one of four children. At the time the Van Bergen family resided in a home on Euclid Avenue in Oak Park, a building that no longer exists. The Van Bergen’s then moved into the present day 500 block of Fair Oaks when a young John Van Bergen began to show an interest in architecture.
In 1897, across the street from the Van Bergen family home, the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Rollin Furbeck House was constructed and four years later the William G. Fricke House went up nearby as well. This further influenced the young Van Bergen. Van Bergen's mother was friends with Wright's mother, Anna, and Van Bergen's third grade teacher was Wright's sister, Maginel. In 1901 John Van Bergen began high school at the old Oak Park and River Forest High School, which was then located on Lake Street. During high school Van Bergen produced his earliest known drawing, a map of the high school district commissioned by the district superintendent. The map was dated June 24, 1904. After high school Van Bergen spent time in Hollywood, California. When he returned from California he soon found an architectural apprenticeship.
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