They Don’t Build Them Like This Anymore: 1522 W. Chase in Rogers Park

This 4-bedroom Prairie-style home with a wrap-around front porch at 1522 W. Chase in Rogers Park was built in 1916.

Built on an oversized 50×150 Chicago lot, the house has most of its vintage features intact including bull’s eye molding, wood columns and cornices, curved leaded stained glass and Tiger’s Eye paneling in the dining room.

There are two wood burning fireplaces, including one in the master bedroom which also has a separate solarium.

There is also an intriguing “maid’s staircase” in addition to the grand staircase and foyer.

All 4-bedrooms are on the second floor.

There is no central air, however (window units only) and no garage- although the listing says there is plenty of room for one.

The more updated Prairie style home directly across the street has been on the market for nearly two years and has been reduced to $649,000 (last sold in 2004 for $599,000).

But 1522 W. Chase is listed for $224,000 less.

Is this a deal?

Connie Abels at Re/Max Northcoast Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.

1522 W. Chase: 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 4000 square feet, no garage

  • Sold in July 1983 for $132,000
  • Currently listed for $425,000
  • Taxes of $8327
  • No central air
  • Bedroom #1: 17×16
  • Bedroom #2: 16×14
  • Bedroom #3: 15×14
  • Bedroom #4: 12×10

49 Responses to “They Don’t Build Them Like This Anymore: 1522 W. Chase in Rogers Park”

  1. Interesting house with many original details, with a seller who’s apparently camping-out in home. Looks like it could absorb a great deal of post-closing money.

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  2. This is a great house for the price. Chase is a nice street with no troublesome buildings on it, and this house is a beautiful, intact craftsman cottage with a lot of space.

    It’s an incomparably better deal for the money than the one near me at 1225 W Pratt, a large four square that has been reno’d and stripped of all its vintage beauty, for $599K (which it will never get).

    I would think this place would sell for a little under $400K.

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  3. danny (lower case D) on November 9th, 2010 at 8:21 am

    Old, dark, and depressing. One photo (#14) showed the radiator standing taller than the window behind it. Plus there is too much patio for the size of the house, leaving much of the ground floor in the dark. You can tell that patio space doesn’t even get used that much.

    The stained glass, fixtures, and stairway are nice. But it just can’t picture myself feeling comfortable here.

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  4. “They Don’t Build Them Like This Anymore”

    Thank God!
    I get uncomfortable just looking at the pictures.

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  5. You can tell from the pics of the backyard how much they really care about this place and that this is just another aging boomer hoping for a massive windfall to fund their (likely underfunded) retirement.

    Too bad for them there’s not an unlimited supply of idiots ready to drop 425k on this POS.

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  6. ’83 + 3.5%/yr = 334k.

    I don’t know that I’d characterize 27% as a “massive” windfall, but with those taxes and a pile of deferred maintenance (other than the boiler), I doubt this is worth more than trend.

    $350k.

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  7. Do you guys really think that 100/sq ft is that much?!!!

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  8. for that condition and in that area, yes.

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  9. nice staging job. the pink directors chair and 15″ TV really make me feel like I’m at home

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  10. Ok – if you guys really think that 100/sq ft is that much – just look at what is on the market – can you find much at that price point? No – absolutely not.

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  11. clio, I suggest you look west of western ave. and south of roosevelt. You can find PLENTY of places for less than a bill a sqft

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  12. Based on HD’s economic analysis and how we are entering japan style deflation I estimate the value at 90k in 2 years.

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  13. Bob 2 (Not Bob) on November 9th, 2010 at 9:33 am

    Assessor has it at 2,824 sq ft. Judging from pics and aerial that’s probably a lot closer to the truth than 4k. So more about 150/sqft

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  14. “clio, I suggest you look west of western ave. and south of roosevelt. You can find PLENTY of places for less than a bill a sqft”

    ohhh.. sorry, I didn’t realize this property was west of western and south of roosevelt.

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  15. I just don’t like Rogers Park. It’s one of those areas which no matter how nice your house is, it will not make up for the neighborhood and I would feel like a captive in my own home.

    When I was in town in September, I looked at a short sale at 11 AM on a bright, sunny Thursday. During the walk from the Howard el, I had the pleasure of constant comments, cat calls and close talkers. I was early and waited outside the building for my agent for about 20 minutes. During that time I met several residents of the condo. They were all males. All in their 20s – 30s. Apparently none of them gainfully employed. One took a casual stroll with his dog. Another had a friend visit. Another just rolled up his blinds on the 2nd floor and just stared at me pointedly the whole time I was waiting.

    Apparently ODB is still alive and lives there too. He came up to me. Eyes all unfocused and pointing in opposite directions and breath all boozed up. He goes “Yo, are you a personal trainer? I heard there was a personal trainer in the building.” I said no. Then he goes “Who you waiting for? You waiting for your husband?” I said “Yes!” He goes “You’re LYING! I can tell just by the way you said that!”

    I took out my cell phone and called my agent to signal that the conversation was over, but he didn’t get the point and kept hanging around. I saw another young woman come down the street dragged along by an enormous Doberman she could barely control. ODB left her alone.

    Thankfully my agent showed up and we went up to look at the unit. The people next door were chillaxing and having a loud party. The unit we saw had piles of clothes strewn all over the place and a bunch of empties in the kitchen. No sofa. No bed. My agent herself said the place was giving her the creeps and she fully expected someone to burst in at any moment and say “Hey ladies. What do you think you’re doing here?!”

    We split, pronto.

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  16. ok then look in uptown or other shitty northside areas like rogers park

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  17. “Assessor has it at 2,824 sq ft. Judging from pics and aerial that’s probably a lot closer to the truth than 4k.”

    They’re counting the porch. Some people think it’s okay with a condo, so why not on a SFH?

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  18. “ok then look in uptown or other shitty northside areas like rogers park”

    $57psf in RP:

    http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1623-W-Estes-Ave-60626/home/13572038

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  19. “…ohhh.. sorry, I didn’t realize this property was west of western and south of roosevelt.”

    Sarcasm or you really don’t know where the Rogers Park neighborhood is located?
    As nice as it might be, there is no way in hell I would invest any amount of $$$ in ANY Rogers Park property. Nasty. Sure there are good and bad parts of RP, but in my view, the entire area has such a negative reputation. No matter how great a deal it might be there would be no recouping your investment…even if you planned on living in it for the next 15…20…30 years.
    I just do not see RP EVER being considered a ‘nice’ place to live.

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  20. “I just do not see RP EVER being considered a ‘nice’ place to live.”

    Again. Ever again, as it was considered a nice place to live in the past.

    The good parts need to pull an Edgewater and get a 78th community area, to separate themselves from the stink of the rest.

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  21. anon – that property sold fast.

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  22. That’s more of a crash than japanese style deflation…

    “valasko on November 9th, 2010 at 9:30 am

    Based on HD’s economic analysis and how we are entering japan style deflation I estimate the value at 90k in 2 years.”

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  23. Milky,

    your a NY’er that experience should be common place. last NY trip three thugs cat called my wife and tried to harass her right infront of me. i caught a fat lip and a knot above the ear, but gave out two broke noses and a furry of eye shots. my first and only fight in the state of NY and the cops actually could have been nicer.

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  24. “actually could have been nicer”

    *could not have been

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  25. Hey Laura- your place at 1225 W is down to $549k now. . . change your opinion at all?

    I love the windows and old woodwork here, but I think Architect spoke presciently with regard to the absorbancy of this place. ESPECIALLY if they haven’t replaced electric or plumbing (yet). . .

    I also don’t think they ruined 1225. . . windows look nice, and it has (partial) a/c, so I say 1225 sells before this place.

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  26. Plus let’s not forget Rogers Park is the residence of that DB writer for either the Trib or the ST named Edward McLelland. I really hate that dude and if he is indicative of the typical non-semi-homeless person that resides there all the more reason to avoid it.

    If you’re not dead set on living on the beach I fail to see the attraction of any part of RP. If you are dead set on living on the beach then yeah there are beachfront condos there. This place is nowhere near the beach.

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  27. “anon – that property sold fast.”

    Sure, but it would not have had it been priced at $75psf, nevermind the $100psf that you think is a fair floor for non-teardowns in RP.

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  28. Bob 2 (Not Bob) on November 9th, 2010 at 10:15 am

    “They’re counting the porch. Some people think it’s okay with a condo, so why not on a SFH?”

    Sure, but then you have fools comparing apples to oranges. Cribchatterers should know better.

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  29. Awwwww…Groovy. You’re a gentleman and a hero. I know your wife loves you very much 🙂

    But please, please, please be careful and don’t fight in the future. You have to be here for your wife and kids. Just walk away. People are crazy. You never know if they’re packing a knife or a gun. Always remember “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Walk away, ok?

    Actually, I can’t honestly say there are any neighborhoods in NY which possess the “charm” of Rogers Park, and I’m not at all sheltered. I like exploring all the boroughs. The closest would perhaps be along Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick/Bed Stuy which is pretty rough. But still, we were out partying at 3 AM recently and there were plenty of normal people out too. Not just thugs. New York is not that dangerous anymore.

    I mean, this was broad daylight on a weekday in RP. Imagine what it’s like at night?

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  30. I can honestly say there “aren’t”, rather.

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  31. Training for the marathon a few years back, I did an early morning run from ELV to Evanston and back, and a one way run from ELV to northeast Wilmette. I was definitely motivated to keep the pace up while going through RP.

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  32. “Walk away, ok?”

    Absolutely not. Stand and hold your ground, protecting those around you. Break every bone in their body, paralyze them if you can, for only then will the next person who crosses their path be safe and justice will be served.

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  33. I lived in RP for four years (granted it was 10-15 years ago) but it seems like nothing has changed….

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  34. Dont worry Milky the last brawl i got into was a month or two before we decided to start working on little grooves.

    there were a few “shoooo’ing” of gangbangers around our block but that doesnt count. i do thank you for your concern 😉

    now as your story of RP helps back my personal view that, RP/uptown scare me more than the south and west sides. its the whole one block is great and the next is shytie that throws you off guard. or this stretch of homes are wonderful but the sec 8 at the end of the block is trouble.

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  35. East Rogers Park and to a lesser extent Edgewater once attracted Chicago’s version of the 60s “hippie” household, both groovy and grungy. This house is indicative of that lifestyle; homeowner not interested in maintaining property nor housekeeping, and living like a poor college student in temporary quarters. Houses need upkeep and repair; this house looks like nothing received attention until it failed completely, which suggests only the visible items were finally replaced/repaired and within the walls are many problems waiting for the next owner.

    We once owned a building in Edgewater and had several tenants of this mind-set: little furniture, no housekeeping skills, and a somewhat paranoid from too much whatever.

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  36. Also I see this is a single family wedged between two large apartment buildings, which IMO is highly undesirable and indicative that his house is not located on a single-family block.

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  37. “and a somewhat paranoid from too much whatever.”

    Too much crap up their nose. The worst kind of tenant to have as sometimes the paranoids start destroying things believing there are bugs (either regular ones or electronic eavesdropping ones) in the walls, floors, etc.

    One of the reasons its important to screen your tenants for a criminal background–drug addicts tend to make bad tenants.

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  38. its pretty easy to spot who a meth head is since they are usually manorexic and have no teeth

    I doubt some yuppie doing coke or whatever is going to smash walls due to paranoia

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  39. From an artistic standpoint, I love the interior. It gives off the impression of being dark because no one bothered to use any kind of lighting when taking the pics. Wood absorbs light instead of reflecting it, giving off a gloomy feel. But the built ins, the wood paneling, stained glass, all make the house. It’s nice to see that no one’s ever stripped the interior.

    It’s highly possible that there’s a lot of deferred maintenance here if appearances are anything to go by. Whoever buys this home (and not at the current price point) are going to be in a money pit for some time to come. It’s also down the street from the El which the next owner is going to have to get used to. And it’s not too far off of Ashland, which is a low-end busy commercial district in that area. So yeah. $425k? I wish them all the best.

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  40. Dangit. Must not post before having caffeine. CLARK, not Ashland.

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  41. “I doubt some yuppie doing coke or whatever is going to smash walls due to paranoia”

    I don’t hang out with too many, but one of my buddies used to and he has stories about people moving their furniture in front of doors due to their drug induced paranoia and being SURE that the neighbor driving down the suburban street was doing surveillance on them, instead of Mrs. Bee just running everday errands like getting groceries.

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  42. you can get pretty worked up from nose candy…

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  43. um… everyone that lives in the suburbs is paranoid… regardless if they do drugs or not…

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  44. Like in many neighborhoods in this city, there are good parts and bad to Rogers Park. This area is on the edge of bad, but it’s still decent. There are plenty of blocks around the Howard EL stop that are terrible and not indicative of Rogers Park as a whole (just as Lyndale Ave isn’t representative of all of Logan Square).

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  45. Milkster,

    I feel I’m somewhat qualified to compare the immediate area of this listing (I’d lived on the 1600 block of Farwell for 8 years) and the area of Bushwick you’d described near Myrtle (it was my best friend’s subway/elevated stop for years and I’ve been there dozens of times).

    Despite that New York is generally safer, I think you’re wrong about these two particular areas. The Chase property is on the edge of a commercial strip with several churches in the immediate vicinity. Despite the spillover from Williamsburg, Myrtle is still some distance away – however, it is right by the Marcy homes (childhood home of Jay-Z).

    The Howard property you’d described is in a much shadier part of RP, and is probably more dangerous than the Myrtle section of Bushwick but you can’t say that about the immediate area of this listing.

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  46. i would have to agree with milkster

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  47. I find Rogers Park to be interesting right now. For all the talk on here that most people would never live there, there are still homes selling for $600k and up. Who is buying there then?

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  48. Who’s buying East Rogers Park houses? I believe Loyola University provides a cash stipend to staff and faculty who purchase homes located within the immediate neighborhood. East Rogers Park isn’t same neighborhood caliber as Edgewater (south of Devon/east of Clark), so without that incentive I do wonder who is buying those East Rogers Park houses. I suspect those houses have long sell-times. Neighborhood’s pattern of deferred maintenance probably extends back to 70s. Over past two decades, East Rogers Park has also become both an “immigrant entry” neighborhood as well as a “Section 8” hood; neither trend is conducive to “single-family home”-quality neighborhood, gentrification by professional households, or relative appreciation of single-family home values to make gut rehabs worthwhile.

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  49. Maybe also Northwestern profs and officials who, for whatever reason, prefer Chicago to Evanston?

    I heard that one of the reasons for RP’s “shadiness” stems from its south-of-the-Evanston-border status. During Prohibition people from the North Shore would “sneak to the speaks” that proliferated near the Howard business district. After Repeal, the bars became legal destination points for suburbanites whose towns remained “dry.”

    Eventually the illegal-booze trade morphed into the illegal-drug trade, and during the 60s the area became a favorite haunt for NU kids and others looking for recreational enhancements.

    Thus, the current “problems” of the neighborhood, by this theory, have roots going back some 80 years.

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