A 6-Bedroom Charles Palmer Romanesque Mansion: 1318 N. Astor in the Gold Coast
This 6-bedroom single family home at 1318 N. Astor (the house on the right in the picture above, although the house on the left, 1316 N Astor, is also on the market) came on the market in July 2020.
Built in 1889, it’s on an irregular lot measuring 20.9 x 131.8 x 20.7 x 128.7.
It has an elevator and a 2-car heated garage.
The listing calls it a Charles Palmer Romanesque mansion.
While it has 5 fireplaces, it doesn’t appear to have any of its original interior finishes.
The listing says that the kitchen, primary bath and guest bath were newly finished and were designed by award winning designer Mick De Giulio.
The kitchen has brushed iceberg quartzite counter tops, custom walnut cabinetry, Ann Sacks tiles, top of the line appliances and a custom stainless hood.
The family room and primary bathroom both open to private terraces.
The listing also says there is an automatic sprinkler system built from the ground floor to the fourth floor.
The primary bath and terrace also have heated floors.
Four of the bedrooms are on the third and fourth floors with two others in the lower level.
The house also has Carlisle wide plank floors in the upstairs bedrooms.
There’s an exercise room in the photographs and it has a game room.
The house also has a library.
It has central air.
Is this house prime for those who want vintage on the outside, but not on the inside?
Jian Fu and Ting Ma at Anasia have the listing (it’s agent owned). See the pictures here (no floor plan).
1318 N. Astor: 6 bedrooms, 5 baths, 2 half baths, 7500 square feet
- Sold in November 1997 for $726,000
- Sold in June 2001 for $3.85 million
- Sold in August 2011 for $4.154 million
- Originally listed in July 2020 for $5.1 million
- Currently still listed at $5.1 million
- Taxes of $125,343
- Central Air
- 2-car heated garage
- 2 terraces
- Bedroom #1: 18×24 (fourth floor)
- Bedroom #2: 18×23 (third floor)
- Bedroom #3: 23×15 (third floor)
- Bedroom #4: 12×16 (third floor)
- Bedroom #5: 23×18 (lower level)
- Bedroom #6: 23×14 (lower level)
- Living room: 18×23 (second floor)
- Dining room: 15×17 (second floor)
- Kitchen: 14×21 (second floor)
- Family room: 11×19 (second floor)
- Breakfast room: 16×10 (second floor)
- Game room: 23×14 (main floor)
- Library: 23×12 (main floor)
- Laundry room: 14×9 (main floor)
“ The listing says that the kitchen, primary bath and guest bath were newly finished and were designed by award winning designer Mick De Giulio.”
You make a big deal about this and have one shitty picture? Based on the photo I can see why
Terrible, like really terrible. This is a prime example of just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Hate to say it but after looking at the pics, this should just be torn down.
Does Imelda Marcos live here?
Who needs a laptop & workstation in the shitter?
It’s a makeup counter. I’m guessing the photographer or agent put some accessories/laptop there to keep it from feeling blank. Likely the buyer will not refer to this space as the “shitter” – so no loss on their part.
Nice place. Narrow. Taste specific. I don’t know … does Astor still hold the cachet it has in previous eras in Chicago? Would take 1.0M+ for starters to reno this to suit the style of a new owner – unless they find a magic unicorn who wants it as is.
Terrible renovation choices to what was once probably a spectacular home… Why?
It isn’t how I would renovate or decorate the place, but I think it looks pretty awesome and shows that a family can comfortably live there (and will also say that my father-in-law often keeps his laptop on his Astor St bathroom (in a condo so a fraction of the size of the subject bathroom) counter, frequently enough that our kids joke that it’s his office). Or maybe my current house is simply so small and dumpy that it would be hard for me to knock this place?
I am going to be selfish here and try to evoke conversation about a different place.
Considering purchasing a unit at 444 W Belmont. Looking for opinions and insights on this building?
Judging from the bland interior, I can see why this one is only asking about half the price of that beauty on State featured the other day.
444 Belmont: Recent listing online looks pretty nice. Some vintage touches but modern finishes, too. Building has a nice street presence.
Belmont wouldn’t be my preferred street to live on due to noise, but this stretch of Belmont has come a long way from when I grew up nearby in the 1970s.
Back then the blocks of Belmont east of Broadway were pretty scummy and a lot of fringy-type characters were often walking around. Renovations hadn’t been done on most of the buildings. Now there’s a lot of new construction and older buildings like 444 are in much better shape.
“Terrible renovation choices to what was once probably a spectacular home”
Waaaay less renovated than you think by the current owners–pix from the ’11 sale are in the ‘sale history’ section.
“It’s a makeup counter. I’m guessing the photographer or agent put some accessories/laptop there to keep it from feeling blank. Likely the buyer will not refer to this space as the “shitter” – so no loss on their part.”
Mick De Giulio will not have his pièce de résistance besmirched by the placing a laptop, Mouse and mousepad in the shitter he designed
Not what I would spend this kind of dough on…Needs a lot of cosmetic work to make it one’s own as others have noted. Sometimes people are too enthralled with their stuff and it clouds the judgement of a prospective buyer . . . From a staging perspective, I don’t get the logic of including the pink entry hall but not more pictures of the supposed fabulous recent renovations…..Also the closet full of heavily worn looking shoes….why? Shoes near the chaise lounge that looks like it came off the set of Beetlejuice makes me think this person wears shoes in the house? Eeew. Poor staging decision IMHO.
But I think the “work” needed here to de-personalize isn’t all that much . . . it just *seems* like a lot which is really going to work against the seller.
How in the heck does this place have a similar property tax liability to that beauty at 1515 N State Parkway???
going back through the MLS listings since 2010 and noting the realtor descriptions for each one, I think the place was last renovated in early 2010 at the latest… and it shows…
I wept when I viewed the photos. I agree with all the negative comments- after a reno like this, you might as well just demolish the place.
The house would picture better if the current owners moved out and painted the inside white. I am having a hard time looking beyond their decor.
So far, Tuesday’s house is winning Gold Coast Mansion week for me.
Thanks Dan #2, appreciate the perspective!
You’re welcome, KK. Happy to help when it comes to my old neighborhood. I’m in Streeterville now.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
“Considering purchasing a unit at 444 W Belmont. Looking for opinions and insights on this building?”
KK: I hope you’ve used the “search” bar on this site to look up all the discussions we’ve had about the building.
I’ve cribbed on it several times over the years. There may be some insights in those comments, fingers crossed.
Thanks Sabrina, I certainly have.
But if I learned anything from 2020…it is that things can change very quickly!
KK – 2020 is on my list of future possibilities. How did it change? For the worse?
“2020 is on my list of future possibilities.”
Do tell us about your time travel machine Dan.
But first: why go back to last year??
@KK RE: 444 Belmont
I lived in the large old apartment building behind (north) of 444 W Belmont as recently as 2018. Moved due to the glassy high-rise apartments being built right outside my window and eliminating my view and sunlight (among other reasons). This building butts up next to 444 on the west side, not sure how that is now in terms of privacy, sunlight, noise, etc. I could see into the 444 units and their private exterior space. Looks nice, never loud neighbors, seemed maintained well. Happy I lived on Melrose facing south and not directly on Belmont due to the noise and traffic. “Route 77 Belmont to Cumberland…beep beep beep” became background noise but I can’t imagine being any closer to it.
Don’t know if I’d ever live in East Lake View again. It’s crowded, kind of the “landing pad” for college grads and transplants with money, seemingly increasing empty storefronts/high turnover, lots of chains taking over. Great (but crowded) CTA and lake access.
@KK my two cents, I’ve never lived right there, but near enough that I go by there on Belmont from LSD plenty. My concern would be what in the unit faces Belmont and how high up are you? Low floor and bedroom facing Belmont? No way.
Zonamiss already mentioned the bus. I’ll add on just the general traffic. In pre-COVID times, the traffic backed up past 444 westbound from Broadway (sometimes all the way from Clark/Halsted) a lot of the day and on weekends even worse at night (uberlyfts taking people to Boystown and Clark St). Even now it backs up plenty.
Also don’t discount Wrigley traffic when people can go to games again. People trying to park will likely use Irving, but uberlyfts will use Belmont. Though maybe most of that traffic goes up inner drive to Addison?
If you’re trying to use the LSD buses (135/146) for a commute downtown, getting on at Belmont can really suck (again, pre-COVID info). Like totally SRO by the time the bus gets to Belmont.
Sorry, that was all pretty negative. The positives are that it’s a pretty good spot, lots to easily walk to on Broadway and Halsted/Clark aren’t too far either.
Funny, annon. I must have misread. I thought the poster meant 2020 Lincoln Park West, not the year 2020! My bad.