The Schweppe Estate on Lake Michigan
The Schweppe estate is in Lake Forest, IL on Lake Michigan nestled by trees on over 5 acres.
We saw it before when I briefly featured it in Real Estate House Talk Sampler.
It’s a castle-like estate dripping with majesty and has been meticulously restored.
In a word: GLORIOUS!
History of The Schweppe Estate reads like a Who’s Who of Chicago: It was a wedding gift from Mr. and Mrs. John G. Shedd (The Shedd Aquarium) to their daughter Laura and new husband, Charles Schweppe.
Per Examiner, Laura died of a heart attack at the age of 58. Then the house sat empty for 46 years after the suicide by gunshot to the head of Charles Schweppe. He left a note saying “I’ve been awake all night. It’s terrible”
Historical mansions often come with ghost stories. Rumor has it that during the long years the estate sat empty, Charles and Laura haunted the bedrooms and ghostly servants roamed the hallways.
Let’s get our ladies and gents clothes on to visit a palace.
The close up gives us a peep into its magnificent grand entrance.
A multitude of craftsman worked on the restoration. It was designed in 1917.
Golden, gilded glory from another era. It’s like dining in a ballroom
The Schweppe Estate listing details are astounding: “The superior construction and level of intricate hand-carved architectural details and finishes rival the grand estates on the east coast. Built of superior materials, this concrete, steel and brick structure features intricate hand-carved limestone, monumental limestone stairs, limestone fountains and balustrades, Flemish bond masonry walls, slate and copper roofs, decorative copper scuppers, flashing, gutters and downspouts and leaded glass windows with limestone surrounds.”
The Schweppe Estate stretches out in all directions.
10 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms and can be all yours for $12,000,000. She is not a cozy cottage or happy, bright eclectic home, but I wanted to give you a peep into McMansion living. This is a home with some of the finest architectural details done by Italian artisans and Bavarian stone crafters.
Check out Coldwell Banker who holds the home hostage until someone buys her and see many more views of The Schweppe Estate.