ANDERSONVILLE — A unique, historic home in Andersonville has hit the market, offering the chance to live “in an 18th Century museum.”
The ornate graystone at 1430 W. Berwyn Ave. is listed for $1.2 million. Owned by the Flores family since the 1970s, it is the first time the home has been on the market in over 40 years, according to its listing.
Known as the Castle on Berwyn, the home was built in 1904 by noted architect George Pfeiffer. Original oak flooring, decorative millwork and an elaborate, stained-glass chandelier remain in the home.
“The building maintains its historic charm and integrity – inside and out,” the listing reads. “An extraordinary opportunity to own one of Andersonville’s most significant Greystones.”
Since it was bought by Ron Flores in the mid 1970s, the home has only grown more ornamental and historic. The house, which sits on an extra-wide city lot, was known as much for its Gothic architecture as its historic sculptures and ornaments that dotted the home and its yards.
Stone carvings of historic busts and angelic figures were fixtures on the Berwyn Avenue home and its side lot. Perhaps the most significant addition to the home is the female figures added to the top of its turret. The figurines were designed to resemble aged bronze, according to an article in Crain’s.
Many of the home’s sculptures and ornaments were sold off last year by Kathy Klink-Flores, whose late husband, Ron, bought the house in the 1970s, according to the Edgeville Buzz. The items were sold as they became too costly to upkeep.
After years of preserving the home and adding to its historic charm, Klink-Flores said she made the tough decision to list the home in the hopes that a more well-heeled preservationist will carry on the legacy.
“This house is of the community,” Klink-Flores said. “It’s a well known property. It’s very important to me that the building is preserved.”
The home still resembles a stately, Victorian-era mansion. Its Airbnb listing mentions the home’s antique furniture and fixtures, likening it to an “18th Century museum.”
Interior photos show stained-glass windows, an original fireplace and elaborate woodwork. Its yard is intricately manicured, with pavers and statues making it look like an historic courtyard.
Klink-Flores left some of the artifacts and features installed by her late husband. That includes an outdoor fountain, which Ron designed and built himself using stone preserved from other historic Chicago buildings/ The fountain could be made operational, Klink-Flores said.
“I left some in hopes that a new owner would keep them in honor of my husband’s legacy,” she said.
The Castle on Berwyn exists as a three-flat, though its listing says the home is ripe for a single-family conversion. It has seven bedrooms and three bathrooms, according to the listing.
The home is rated “orange” by the city’s Landmarks Survey, the second-highest historic preservation designation in Chicago. It is not a city landmark, but any demolition request of the home would require a 90-day delay to determine if the home should be preserved.
The home resides in a portion of Andersonville that was downzoned in 2018 to allow for only the construction of single family homes. The downzoning effort was sparked by Castle on Berwyn owner Klink-Flores, who sought to save the “sister” home next-door to hers that was bought by a developer who wanted to raze it for new condos.
The Castle On Berwyn was officially listed for sale Monday with an asking price of $1.195 million. Klink-Flores said the selling the home is not an easy decision, and that she hopes a like-minded buyer will keep the home preserved for another 100 years.
“The building is a period time piece,” she said. “If I was independently wealthy and could keep it up, I would.”
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