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Historic Chicago Mansion Sells for Half its Original Asking Price

The Lake Bluff home designed by famed architect David Adler goes for $3.2 million

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A French country-style home in Lake Bluff, Illinois, designed in the 1920s by prolific Chicago architect David Adler sold last week for about half its original asking price.

The historic five-bedroom mansion in a village 35 miles north of Chicago sold for $3.2 million, according to a listing by @properties. That’s a 47% price cut from the seller’s original asking price of $5.995 million from when the property first went on the market in April 2013.

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Mr. Adler completed the stunning chateau in 1923, designing it after "La Lanterne" in Versailles, according to the listing by @properties.

The property is known as the Carolyn Morse Ely estate after its original owner, the daughter of steel tycoon Jay C. Morse, who hired Mr. Adler to build the home, according to Lake Bluff town records. The house and its original cottages—now separate, remodeled properties—are among several Lake Bluff estates listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The home still has many of its original interior elements, such as an antique Chinese mural in the living room, pine walls that were imported from France, sconces, chandeliers and restored antique wallpapers, according to the listing.

The property’s listing agent, Andra O’Neill, declined to comment on the property per the seller’s wishes.

The two-story chateau also has six bathrooms, three half bathrooms, an attached garage, a 330-square-foot porch and a 240-square-foot basement, according to a property assessment from this year.  

The total estate has been cut down to just six of the 17 acres it was originally built on, though the property still include gardens and views over a ravine.

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The sellers, Thomas and Jane O’Neil, bought the home in 1998 for $2.4 million, according to Lake County property and assessment records.

They put the property up for sale for the first time in April 2013 for nearly $6 million. The mansion then sat on the market for a year until they cut the price by half a million dollars, according to listing history on Zillow. The home went through several such price cuts until it was whittled down to $3.995 million in June.