A House on the North Side for Under $350,000? Galewood
Have you ever heard of Galewood?
It’s a lovely part of Chicago on the far, far west side. Actually- it is just north of Oak Park (north of North Avenue on Oak Park Avenue.)
Many of the homes were built in the 1930s and 1940s. From the Oak Park Board of Realtors:
Architecture: Galewood and neighboring Montclare have over 9,000 brick and stone homes. Most date from the 1940’s, and no two are identical. The architectural styles include English Tudor, ranch, turreted Normandy, Cape Cod and Georgian. The mix of styles makes a beautiful looking community.
Many of these homes were constructed and still belong to the original owners’ families. The community is stable. In many instances, grown children have purchased their parents’ or grandparents’ homes and remained in the neighborhood.
This community’s housing prices are favorable compared to adjacent suburbs. Galewood is an affordable touch of small-town America in the city of Chicago. You can park overnight in front of your house without a permit. Water is non-metered and there is no charge for refuse pickup.
There are several Metra stops in the neighborhood (the Milwaukee line.)
What do you get? Quite a bit for your money. Here is a “classic English tudor” with a non-renovated attic and a finished basement. Not much of a backyard as the porch takes up most of it (see virtual tour in the link below).
1627 N. Rutherford: 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 2 car garage
- Sold in September 2005 for $325,000
- Currently listed for $337,500
- Re/Max in the Village has the listing
Kind of reminds me of Beverly.
“The architectural styles include English Tutor”
Nice mistake.
[Editor’s Note: Thanks for catching this. I fixed it in the post but the Oak Park Realtors will have to deal with it on their own site.]
The kitchen seems small and there is hardly any counter space. But it has great curb appeal!
Eh, it’s not so small, but it is poorly laid out. The pantry is big and has a window, so there is raw space to make a more modern (and larger) kitchen.
I’ve been through this neighborhood a couple of times, and often wonder if perhaps I’d prefer one of these beautiful little houses to a condo.
The living room is great, and that kitchen and bath would renovate beautifully.
Laura: Check out 1625 N. Rutherford- the house right next door- for what it could look like completely renovated. It’s pricier though. Listed at $389,000.
Friends of mine had a house like this over in Schorsch Village (a little north of here) that they had completely redone. Absolutely beautiful. Their house also had the original rec room basement, complete with tiki hut bar — this one looks like it was re-done sometime in the 70s, which is a bit of a shame.
They really don’t build them like this anymore. For a small family or a settled couple, these houses are perfect.
Central air would be nice. Chicago gets HOT. Sabrina, thank your for covering the NW Side. Keep it up!!
These things have awesome potential…especially if you “finish” the attic by knocking out the floor/ceiling to make a pretty grand living/dining area. The full english basement of these provides the opportunity to finish to accomodate larger families; though they were built as 3bed/1bath, they can be easily converted to 4bed/2bath with a living room on the first floor and a family room in the basement.