New on the Market—A Riverside Webmaster

List Price: $910,000 The Property: The last work of the innovative west suburban architect Harold Zook, this Riverside house, built in 1948, has had only one owner. That means many of its original features are intact—including the spider-web pattern crafted in glass (in a window) and in stone (above the mantel), as well as the … Read more

Housing Bulletin—Hitting the Brakes

In its October 2007 issue, Chicago charts home sales in 77 city neighborhoods and 204 suburbs over a 12-month period beginning July 1, 2006, and ending June 30, 2007. Among other things, the charts, using data provided by the Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois, reveal a widespread increase in the time it took to … Read more

Sale of the Week—Frank Lloyd Wright’s Only Lake Forest House

List Price: $2.495 million Sale Price: $2.175 million The Property: Frank Lloyd Wright’s only project in Lake Forest, this 12-room house, built at the edge of a ravine in the early 1950s, demonstrates the architect’s ability to shape people’s perceptions of the spaces that surround them. Visitors to the house enter along a narrow, low-ceilinged … Read more

New on the Market—North Kenwood, Chicago

List Price: $1.199 million

The Property: The elaborately carved façade of this 104-year-old, 8,500-square-foot Drexel Boulevard graystone only hints at the impressive workmanship inside—and provides evens less information about the amount of work that will be required to update some parts of the house. First, a look at the place’s strong points, beginning in the entry hall, which, with its walnut wainscoting, beams, newel posts, and benches, resembles a chapel. The living and dining rooms are similarly impressive, while the library is a jaw-dropping composition of…

Housing Bulletin—Landmark Evanston Mansion Returns to Glory

In an era of proliferating McMansions, it’s nice to see the real thing grab the attention of homebuyers. In Evanston, two developers have reclaimed a Georgian mansion perched on a ridgetop, transforming it from a rundown school-district outpost into four condominiums. “This really was the grandest house in Evanston,” says Mike Niazmand, a longtime Evanston … Read more

Sale of the Week—Lake View, Chicago

List Price: $1,755,000 Sale Price: $1,755,341 The Property: Thanks to its extra-wide lot—31 feet, compared to the city norm of 25—the second floor of this brick and limestone house accommodates four bedrooms, not just three. “People find it advantageous to have all the family bedrooms on the one floor,” says John McNaughton, the real-estate agent … Read more