Only two families have lived in an 1896-built granite Victorian on Ridge Avenue, and it’s listed for the first time in 50 years as the priciest home in Evanston, Illinois, right outside Chicago.
Esther and Roger Berman purchased the 8,600-square-foot, 11-bedroom, eight-bathroom home in 1978 at an estate sale for themselves and their only child, Ron Berman. It’s now listed at $3.2 million.
The three staircases and seemingly never-ending doors were a playground for then 6-year-old Ron, who says it’s time for a large family to steward the home.
“It is a true mansion. It’s got the rounded turrets and balconies all over the place, which you can image — the best hide-and-go-seek house of all time,” Berman said in an interview. “It’s like a Scottish castle got dropped off in the middle of Evanston.”
Listing agent Linda Levin said the home, located at 1232 Ridge Ave., can work for a number of buyers, such as a large family, a professor at nearby Northwestern University, or a family that would want to restore a home.
Architect Stephen A. Jennings designed the home, along with several others nearby that are protected with landmark status. This home falls in the Evanston Ridge Historic District, characterized by Italianate, Queen Anne, and Prairie School homes that were built between 1860 and 1930 for wealthy Chicagoans. The Ridge Avenue home ventures out from Jennings’ typical work and was likely his most expensive, according to historical documents.
Berman and his father made slight updates to the home by hand throughout their ownership and worked to maintain many original details, going down to sanding the wood after more than a decade of neglect before purchasing. Original details include the seven fireplaces, wooden staircases with intricate twisted stair banisters, and wainscoting that continues to the third floor.
“These were people that appreciated this. The love of this house is extraordinary,” said Levin.
The staircase also includes organ pipes built into a landing — though no longer operable.
A nearby church purchased the organ mechanics during the same estate sale in which the Bermans bought the home, and they kept the pipes.
“There’s only one word for when people walk into that house. It’s ‘jawdrop,’” said Berman.
Other for-sale properties in the Evanston Ridge Historic District are listed for upward of $2.8 million, including a 1909-built home designed by architect Ernest Mayo for $2.6 million and an 1894 home from architect Harry Bergen Wheelock for $2.8 million.
The priciest home to sell so far this year was a 6,000-square-foot 1920s home for $2.2 million last month. Just a few blocks north of the Ridge Avenue property, an 1865-built Italianate home sold for $1.75 million in March. According to media reports, the most expensive home to sell in Evanston was a $4.9 million mansion at 10,000 square feet in 2016.