One of Chicago’s Hidden Gems Sells: 2600 W. Wilson in Ravenswood Gardens
We last chattered about this 5-bedroom vintage bungalow at 2600 W. Wilson in Ravenswood Gardens in February 2011.
See our prior chatter here.
The house was no “ordinary” bungalow as it was built on an oversized 45×120 lot in 1920.
The interior was transformed by the original owner, an electrician and organist for the Balaban & Katz Theater Company, in 1926.
Some of you thought the home was beautiful. One called it your “dream home.”
Some of you thought it was hideous.
You can still see pictures of the interior here.
In February, the house was listed for $1.25 million and some of you questioned why anyone would pay that price and NOT be close to the lake.
Also, the chatter evolved into (what else?) what the schools were like in the neighborhood and what were acceptable high schools in Chicago.
Which- by the way- if anyone checked out the latest issue of Newsweek which ranked America’s “best” high schools would see that the top Chicago schools were:
- Northside College Prep (ranked #24 out of 500 nationally)
- Lane Tech (ranked #216 out of 500 nationally)
- Lincoln Park (ranked #424 out of 500 nationally)
The house recently sold for $1.2 million.
If you recall, there was extensive plaster, wood moldings, stained glass and ironwork throughout the house.
There were also 3 fireplaces, including one in the master bedroom and one in the basement.
The basement was finished and was large enough to be a family room and game room area.
It had the preferred floorplan with none of the bedrooms in the basement as we routinely see with 5 bedroom homes.
3 out of the 5 bedrooms were on the second floor with the other two on the main floor.
The kitchen was updated with modern cabinetry and stainless steel appliances.
It had central air and 4 car parking as well as a 1000 square foot flagstone terrace and a roof deck above the garage.
The house is located just 2 blocks from the Rockwell Crossing Brown Line stop and shops and just a few blocks from the Lincoln Square shops and restaurants.
Michael McCallum at Baird & Warner had the listing.
2600 W. Wilson: 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, 6000 square feet, 4 car parking
- Sold in December 1993 for $280,000
- Was listed in February 2011 for $1.25 million
- Sold in June 2011 for $1.2 million
- Taxes of $7091
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 16×16 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 14×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 16×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 12×10 (main floor)
- Bedroom #5: 14×14 (main floor)
- Laundry room: 12×12 (second floor)
- Family room: 23×12 (basement)
amazing house, sold for a pittance because of the bad market. Congratulations to the new owners, I hope they love it!
I’d take this over the $1.5MM Southport penthouse condo any day, despite me loving living in SoPoor.
12-month mancave in the basement here vs the 3-month rooftop mancave on Southport.
congrats to the new owner, you now have a unique and wonderful home.
*please dont vanilla/pottery barn it, or i will come get you!
What a beautiful home! This is the style of my “dream house.”
Since this is cribchatter, my only complaint is the creepy cross in the master bedroom and the weird stained glass religious “art” dangling near the stairs. I assume the owners will take those with though.
Do agents ever ask owners to remove their religious objects? I was also a bit freaked out to see crosses in people’s homes when I was a buyer.
A great solid built home sells at close to ask. This is a good sign. “Sold for a pittance” is a bit of a stretch. I think that the finish of the home is interesting. It looks like the owners got a bit carried away at the stone and tile shop but everything is consistent.
The kitchen is just a bit off on details in comparison to the other rooms. Perhaps a more historical look or different countertops that fit the style of the home would have helped.
Overall a nice sale and great day for the sellers. As for schools I suspect that the kiddies that live here are going to private school!
Nailed it!
“my only complaint is the creepy cross in the master bedroom and the weird stained glass religious “art” dangling near the stairs.”
a basic wooden cross is ‘creepy’??
wow, I mean it wouldn’t be my style either, but to suggest something like that is ‘creepy’ is quite a stretch.
Actually i agree with jenny. it is creepy and personal. i would remove religious object before taking real estate photos.
“Do agents ever ask owners to remove their religious objects? I was also a bit freaked out to see crosses in people’s homes when I was a buyer.”
You can imagine what a difficult conversation that would be. The same goes for tons of photographs of the owners all over the place. The most we can say is “It’s advisable to remove items that are highly personal in taste” That advice is usually ignored.
“The most we can say is “It’s advisable to remove items that are highly personal in taste” That advice is usually ignored.”
so can i still leave my one-hitter on my nightstand?
BEAUTIFUL home and prime example of homes of this style. SO glad they decided to go modern with the kitchen as most original set ups were generally not that functional and were usually cramped.
I prefer my Denver / Washington Park area bungalow more as we decided to do more of a ‘minimalist’ arts and craft period interior without all of the ornate tile work. I too retained all of the original woodwork and refinished all of the floors and baseboards. I also kept the stained/leaded glass orignal to the home and renovated the few windows that needed some touch up. The agent who showed us the home initally suggested I replace all of the windows with reproductions from Anderson windows. YUCK! I think the stink eye I shot him let him know not to comment on things he knew so little about.
It is very easy to overdo tile work as they did on this place as once you start its ‘if this isn’t done like the rest of the place….’ The entry and ceiling is just too much…for me anyway.
Very good deal for the new buyers and let’s just hope they do not start fooling around with any of the interior finishes, even if they are overdone as they are. I don’t think it would be the same place without these ‘unique touches’.
Regarding the comment on the cross and other religious items, there are so many other concerns that would bother potential buyers who are touring a house than these items. It is all a matter of personal choice in design and decoration and I think even if a person is not religious these items would not sway them away from purchasing the place. Can a home have ‘too much’ of this type of decoration? Of course, but it should not affect how a buyer feels about it one way or the other.
While I am not at all religious, I possess many statues, crosses and other items that were rescued from a church in Italy that was being torn down. They are among some of my most prized possessions and I plan on keeping them on display regardless if I decide to change any other furnishings. Just the history associated with the items make them valuable to me. If any realtor ever asked me to remove them for showings, (not that I ever plan on selling my own homes) I would consider changing the agent!
“so can i still leave my one-hitter on my nightstand?”
pull out the pen and the molho da mostarda bottle can stay in plain sight. (mustard here appears, by translation, to be a sauce)
Ahhhh… nothin like the smell of bong water mixed with mustard in the morning
Not to get too off-topic, but why did HD decide to become Bizarro HD?
I guess I’m weird, but I actually prefer to see empty houses as opposed to staged houses (or houses that are currently occupied).
Pictures of the owners don’t bother me, but religion is such a touchy subject, I think it would be better to have it removed during showings.
I also feel mildly annoyed at all those signs people put up in their kitchens these days that say things like “Eat” or “Food.”
Love this place. Wish I had bought it.
i am not annoyed by eat and food signs but find them dumb. i mean you need a sign to figure out kitchen has an eating related function? also why limit this to kitchen? what about a poop sign in the bathroom?…lol
btw, i am so not fan of the interior decoration of this place, but i guess the owners can change that with some cash.
jenny, you’re a woman after my heart. That’s my biggest decorating pet peeve. Should be punishable by firing squad to the face.
There are two kinds of people in the world: people who something annoys them or isn’t what they like, and they just go on about their lives and don’t make too big of a deal out of it, and the other kind of people, who every time something isn’t exactly what they want or reflects a different person’s personal choice, have to go on and on about how they don’t agree with it or it isn’t right for them or blah blah blah they like something different.
And, religion is only a touchy subject if you’re a douchebag.
“I also feel mildly annoyed at all those signs people put up in their kitchens these days that say things like “Eat” or “Food.””
oh my jenny that is so 2001 the new words for the 2008 catalog are “cucina” and “induldge”
to to have the words “Madison” or “Parker” above your kids head *safely installed above the crib
“Pictures of the owners don’t bother me”
Went to see a house once where the owners wife’s picture was pinned up on the wall, topless and strapped with bullets and a giant automatic much the same as Jesse Ventura in Predator. (just not at all like Jesse Ventura).
Yes, what this place truly needs is to get rid of all that ugly classic craftsmanship done by an artisan’s hand in an bygone era in a way that will never again be done in the future of mankind, and replace it with a renovation lead by miumiu to “restore” it to whatever whim’s standard takes hold that day.
Rawr, kinda grouchy today, should have played 9 before work.
“And, religion is only a touchy subject if you’re a douchebag.”
oh really? I bet you would not be as tolerate of an atheist arguing how dumb the whole thing is, but we have to constantly listen to the cult telling us we would burn in hell and that is ok. Except under umbrella of religion, this would be hate speech!
tolerate= tolerant
“Rawr, kinda grouchy today, should have played 9 before work.”
Go at lunch… start the weekend early… enjoy the day!
I am an atheist and I will tell you all day how dumb I think religion is, but if you can’t at least mention something like that in a modern, diverse society you’re dysfunctional. Hemorrhoids are a touchy subject. If you’re so offended seeing a cross in a house you’re looking at, don’t buy it if you can’t change it. If you’re so offended just seeing a cross, careful, sometimes they are along the highway where people have died.
“what about a poop sign in the bathroom?”
doo doo, double duty
Not liking something does not make you dysfunctional. She was merely commenting that she finds it tasteless and creepy. She has a right to say that as the person had the right to ignore good advice of the agent and keep it there.
Good one DZ : )
JJJ,
sending over a hug-a-gram to smooth away the grouchies! its friday hug someone and enjoy the day (just dont hug a coworker)
Ze,
you have a great wife to let still do *that, she put her foot down by the second date with *that.
Well, I was trying to be polite when I referred to religion as a touchy subject. (…and yeah, I have to admit that a dead guy hanging from a cross is creepy to me and find it distracting when I view houses. I expect to see it in old churches, not in someone’s bedroom.)
miumiu, your comment about the poop sign made me laugh.
“Which- by the way- if anyone checked out the latest issue of Newsweek which ranked America’s “best” high schools would see that the top Chicago schools were:
Northside College Prep (ranked #24 out of 500 nationally)
Lane Tech (ranked #216 out of 500 nationally)
Lincoln Park (ranked #424 out of 500 nationally)”
How does payton etc. not make this list?
“Pictures of the owners don’t bother me, but religion is such a touchy subject, I think it would be better to have it removed during showings.”
Perhaps an entire altar or shrine to Cthulhu, but a simple cross and a stain glass picture of the dead jewish carpenter….the lady does protest too much.
“but a simple cross and a stain glass picture of the dead jewish carpenter….the lady does protest too much.”
i wonder if she would be able to walk in one of those church turned condos in west town? or would it offend her also in some way.
“She was merely commenting that she finds it tasteless and creepy.”
Yes, but it’s that attitude that caused the mezuzah litigation, which was unnecessary.
“How does payton etc. not make this list?”
Had the same thought.
Quick review would indicate that the admin at Payton, Young, etc didn’t respond to the Newsweek survey–they sent out surveys to ~10,000 of the (apparently) ~27,000 public high schools and got responses from ~1,100 (crummy response rate), and then ranked the top ~40%. Wallah!
How does payton etc. not make this list?
Filling out the Newsweek form/survey was optional. It is unknown if they did it.
When I sold my last place, I had to take down my “Katrina” statue. Can people really not see past a dressed skeleton? 🙂
“And, religion is only a touchy subject if you’re a douchebag.”
That sounds just about right. And different people will have different beliefs and faiths (or lack of faith).
Just like some people’s favorite color is Blue and others is Green. There’s nothing about the differences that has to be ‘touchy’; it’s only the people with poor social skills and lack of perspective that MAKE it touchy.
Also, if the symbol in question would have been a Star of David or the Islam Crescent and Star, I bet the original comment wouldn’t have been made (even if they felt the same way about those). It’s only because Christianity is in the majority that people seem to think it’s completely ok to criticize it.
Actually, I think those old churches turned houses are interesting. I guess I’m in the minority, but I just find it odd when people hang crosses in their homes and personally find it distracting.
Being a seller is rough.
jenny is clearly a vampire
“but I just find it odd when people hang crosses in their homes and personally find it distracting.”
when you looking at houses and the thing that draws your attention is the crosses, then please please please get two really dang good home inspectors.
Most people who view a home aren’t gonna want to buy it — if they did houses would sell like hotcakes. But people feel the need to have a good reason or excuse so they latch on to something like Groove’s bong, Question’s Katrina statue or a budda in the bedroom.
Knowing this, I suspect Realtors set the expectation so that when your place doesn’t sell they can blame the jesus statue instead of some intangible. Its not likeyou can get in your Delorean and prove anyone wrong.
“It’s only because Christianity is in the majority that people seem to think it’s completely ok to criticize it.”
Might have something to do with the number of judgmental DBs who happen to be Christian and tell everyone who disagrees with them that they will burn in hell.
Just a thought. Tho I do agree that objecting to someone else’s display of religious stuff in their own home even if for sale–note anything related to blood sacrifice excluded, sorry santerians–is not … how to say in a not-too-offensive fashion … kosher?
“Its not likeyou can get in your Delorean and prove anyone wrong.”
Speak for yourself, Icarus.
“when you looking at houses and the thing that draws your attention is the crosses, then please please please get two really dang good home inspectors.”
do home inspectors charge extra for exercisms?
The newsweek article also talked about changing the ranking criteria for this year, it may has something to do with it.
I was watching one of those shows that features home sellers on HGTV. On the show, the real estate agent suggested that the owner have a “house whisperer” come over to figure out why it wasn’t selling. The “house whisperer” said the house had sad energy and the owner should throw more more parties.
The house still did not sell.
“It’s only because Christianity is in the majority that people seem to think it’s completely ok to criticize it.”
fair point, but i find a crucified human with blood coming off nails a tad bit more gruesome than a star. might be me though.
“fair point, but i find a crucified human with blood coming off nails a tad bit more gruesome than a star. might be me though.”
some stars are written in blood, really neither bother me as much as fake wood paneling and tv’s over fireplaces when there is enough room for many other options.
i would buy a full on santeria house before a house that had one room fake wood paneled
“Not to get too off-topic, but why did HD decide to become Bizarro HD?”
Exact same question here.
“Not to get too off-topic, but why did HD decide to become Bizarro HD?”
Everyone was jumping on him for being a debbie downer so he’s abusing sarcasm as an overadjustment. Kinda like over reacting to two pieces of wood nailed perpendictularly and hanged on a wall.
“It’s only because Christianity is in the majority that people seem to think it’s completely ok to criticize it.”
Clearly no-one criticizes the Jews…certainly not Muslims anyway. And no-one criticizes Islam…*definitely* not American Christians.
Nope, it’s those poor put upon Christians who get shit. And all the other people get away with it because they are minorities and we are all too PC. Such a cruel, cruel world.
I make it about two weeks ago where hd started doing it occasionally, and then it’s been full bore for a few days now.
I’m not doing anything. I’ve seen the light. we’ve hit the bottom, in fact, I missed the bottom. Homes are selling, bidding wars, selling at ask. It’s on.
No bottom. But I will laugh at your new call when you’re proven wrong along with all the others.
This is my first time on CC and I can not believe how whiny some of you all are. Complaining about religious objects and what not. Get over it!!!
“Not to get too off-topic, but why did HD decide to become Bizarro HD?”
He replaced his useless bearish posts with useless bullish posts. Really no change.
I dislike all religions… although, I have special disdain for religions that require women to wear veils.
“I dislike all religions… although, I have special disdain for religions that require women to wear veils.”
Meh, the veils in particular, I don’t have a problem with. It is the attitude behind them that bothers me (women need to be protected and men shouldn’t be tempted). And unfortunately, that attitude is pervasive in the extreme wings of a number of religions (ultra-orthodox Judaism and Islam are the two I’ve personally experienced this most often in, though Mormons and Amish might fall into this trap as well…not sure).
What’s more useless than my comments? Your comments on my uselessness. Go figure.
“chukdotcom on June 24th, 2011 at 10:44 am
“Not to get too off-topic, but why did HD decide to become Bizarro HD?”
He replaced his useless bearish posts with useless bullish posts. Really no change.”
Newsweek’s 2010 top 500 included:
Jones (#229)
Whitney Young (#290)
Northside (#70)
Lincoln Park (#95)
Lane was down at #749
They eliminated the IB/AICE tests per graduate and AICE average score from the criteria for 2011
HD you now need to change your name to HomeAdd! At least until the zoloft wears off.
“They eliminated the IB/AICE tests per graduate and AICE average score from the criteria for 2011”
Hmm. Methodology sez “AP/IB/AICE tests per graduate (25%)” and “Average AP/IB/AICE exam score (10%)”
Link: http://www.newsweek.com/2011/06/20/best-american-high-schools-how-we-compiled-the-list.html
WOW. Prospect is ranked higher than New Trier. Go NW suburbs!!
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Arlington-Heights/2182-N-Charter-Point-Dr-60004/home/13850285
Here’s some truly amazing deals in Prospect Heights. With access to a high school better than New Trier. maybe I’ll move back here, it’s very near to where I grew up.
“The roads are the dustiest, the winds are the gustiest
The gates are the rustiest, the pies are the crustiest
The songs the lustiest, the friends the trustiest
Way back home
(Back home)
The trees are the sappiest, the days are the nappiest
The dogs are the yappiest, the kids are the scrappiest
The jokes the snappiest, the folks the happiest
Way back home
Don’t know why I left the homestead
I really must confess
I’m a weary exile
Singing my song of loneliness”
‘but i will laugh at your new call when you are proven wrong along with all the others,and i don’t care what u think kyle, you’re a f’n ….’
bob you are definitely playing cartman in my southpark cc script.
anon (tfo) on June 24th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
“Hmm. Methodology sez “AP/IB/AICE tests per graduate (25%)” and “Average AP/IB/AICE exam score (10%)”
Perhaps I had it mixed up. The 2010 FAQ is currently a dead link, leading me to wonder just what the hell I was looking at.
I love the home and the neighborhood. 5 BRs and 5.5 baths is huge. Lucky family who gets to live there.
I love this house and envy the buyer. Wonderful neighborhood, too.
About bedrooms in the basement…strange how basements are now considered living space. Used to be that beds and baths in the basement didn’t count as real living space.
#”Actually i agree with jenny. it is creepy and personal. i would remove religious object before taking real estate photos.”
Crucifixes in the bedroom have always creeped me out. “C’mon baby, let’s do it while Jesus watches.” ICK.
okay everyone
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally;
A crucifix is a usually three-dimensional cross with a representation of Jesus’ body (from Latin cruci fixus meaning “(one) fixed to a cross”)
crosses just get weird when they are taken to the nth degree a la the Osbournes. Crosses for religious purposes, meh, crosses bedazzled onto t-shirts and hung in groups for no real purpose other than decoration – douchey.
“okay everyone
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally;
A crucifix is a usually three-dimensional cross with a representation of Jesus’ body (from Latin cruci fixus meaning “(one) fixed to a cross”)”
Thanks, wikipedia.
This home is my kind of real estate porn.
I don’t think this house was a deal, but I think it’s worth the money. If I had that type of coin I would spend it on this, totally.
“Crucifixes in the bedroom have always creeped me out. “C’mon baby, let’s do it while Jesus watches.” ICK.”
lol…good one.