Chicago’s ‘Most Astonishing’ Penthouse Is Still Seeking a Buyer at $8.5 Million
Though it’s been billed as “the most astonishing penthouse ever built in the city of Chicago,” this eye-popping duplex remains available and unsold, even after numerous price chops and years on the market. Nestled in an exclusive Rosario Candela-designed prewar building, amid the city’s historic Gold Coast neighborhood, the place officially hit the market with an impressive $17 million price tag back in November 2020, after being floated as an off-market listing at $24.5 million. As of today, the slimmed-down asking price is $8.5 million.
Sited within a 57-unit co-op constructed way back in the late 1920s by McNally & Quinn, at a rumored cost of $5 million, the penthouse holds court on the 25-story building’s top two floors and was originally occupied by George Woodruff, a banker who also served as treasurer for the 1930s Chicago World’s Fair. Other dignitaries who have resided in the Lake Shore Drive stalwart through the years range from William Wrigley Jr. to Chauncey Blair.
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Last sold in the mid-1970s to DoAll Saws executive Michael Wilkie, who passed away in September 2021 at age 80, the property features six bedrooms and seven baths in a whopping 8,000 square feet of ornate living space accented throughout with the original limestone staircases, stained glass windows, stone friezes, hand-carved wood doors and bronze hardware. There’s also 5,000 square feet of outdoor space divided up between a fountain-clad garden, covered loggia, enclosed patio and terraces.
Highlights include a private elevator, which opens into an entry foyer that flows to a lengthy walnut-paneled hallway sporting a groin-vaulted, hand-frescoed ceiling. A “showpiece” living room displays a high coffered ceiling, carved-stone fireplace and arched Palladian windows, and a casual dining area connects to a gourmet kitchen outfitted with custom cabinetry, a marble-clad island and top-tier appliances. Elsewhere is a formal dining room, library and wet bar-equipped lounge area, along with a partial third floor hosting a game room.
A wealth of building amenities also are available courtesy of hefty $10,623 monthly HOA charge, including a 24-hour doorman, an on-site manager and engineer, a fitness room and valet parking. An added bonus: Pets are welcome!
The listing is held by Tim Salm of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty.
Click here for more photos of Chicago’s Woodruff penthouse.
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