A 125-year-old historic Kenwood mansion with ties to Chicago’s Goodman Theater is on the market.
The Queen Anne Victorian at 5026 South Greenwood Avenue is listing for $4.5 million, according to Curbed.
It was built in 1892 for lumber baron William Goodman and his wife, Erna. The couple went on to establish Goodman Theater on North Dearborn Street in honor of their son, Kenneth, a playwright who died in the 1918 flu epidemic.
The Goodman Mansion is now owned by civil rights attorney James Montgomery and his wife, Pauline. It stands a few doors down from the home where Barack and Michelle Obama lived until moving into the White House in 2009. Its history includes stints as a finishing school for girls and a junior military academy, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The 18,000-square-foot Goodman Mansion has seven bedrooms, 12 fireplaces and a grand ballroom. The Montgomerys added upgrades including new plumbing, wiring, eight-zone climate control, a built-in audio system and an elevator.
James Montgomery was corporation counsel for the city of Chicago under Mayor Harold Washington, and is a member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, according to his online biography.
The Goodman Mansion is listed by Eugene Fu of @properties. It is a few blocks from where Bill and Melinda Gates reportedly bought a home in neighboring Hyde Park in April. [Curbed] — John O’Brien