Gold Coast Treasure

What: Three-story, 25-foot-wide Georgian townhouse with four bedrooms, seven baths in 12,500 square feet.

Where: Chicago

Amenities: Seven fireplaces, library, two kitchens, wine cellar, garden terrace, two-car garage.

Asking Price: $6 million

Opening Bid*: $5.9 million

Listing Agents: Nancy Thomas, Koenig & Strey, (312) 671-1191, and Tom Gorman, Baird & Warner, (312) 640-7010

Due Diligence: George W. Meeker, a lawyer and confidant of Abraham Lincoln, commissioned this house in 1898, according to its listing. It was built by Chicago architectural firm Holabird & Root, which designed several of the city's first skyscrapers, and it's among the oldest residential properties on the city's Gold Coast. The front, with large bay windows on each floor, has landmark status that prevents new owners from making substantial changes. The home's current owners, retired banker Burton Gordon and his wife, Elaine, an author, purchased the house in 1965 and are only the third owners since it was built. (Edward Ryerson, the late chairman of Inland Steel, owned the property between 1919 and 1965.) Mr. Gordon, who was chief executive of Columbia National Bank & Trust, says the house's cabinetry, millwork and wood paneling are original, as are the seven hand-carved fireplaces. A sitting room, next to the master bedroom, has an original 19th-century daybed with hay mattress. The owners updated the heating, cooling and electrical systems a few years ago.

Additional Photos

Photos by: Scott Shigley

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