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Hemingway’s house for sale in Oak Park
Ernest Hemingway's boyhood home in Oak Park is for sale, listing at $525,000.
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Updated: March 24, 2012 8:12AM
The boyhood home of Ernest Hemingway is on the market for $525,000.
Steve Scheuring, an agent with Baird & Warner in Oak Park, has landed the listing. What a fantastic opportunity for anyone wanting to own a piece of American history.
The Clarence and Grace Hemingway home, 600 N. Kenilworth, is currently owned by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation, which purchased the house, a multi-family dwelling with three apartments, from a private owner in 2002. The foundation had the idea of turning the home back to its original glory and using it for foundation events, readings, educational events and other functions pertaining to its mission. However, the organization investigated uses that would further its mission and came to the conclusion the uses either don’t fit the mission or are not attainable for other reasons, Scheuring said.
The home was designed by architect Henry G. Fiddelke, in collaboration with Grace Hall Hemingway, Ernest’s mother. The Hemingway family moved to the house in 1906, and apparently it was in this home that Ernest recovered from his war wounds and the romantic misfortune he later writes about in his semi-autographical novel, “A Farewell to Arms.”
“The building was built originally as a glorious home for entertaining,” said Scheuring. “Ernest’s mother was really the one that took charge in assisting the design of the home. It once had a music room off the north side and she (Grace) held music events in the home while the front two rooms off the entry foyer were his father’s physician offices.”
The house is currently a three-flat, yet the main floor living room is still the original size and is beautiful, Scheuring said.
With the price being what it is, “I think there is a real opportunity here for all types of buyers,” he said.
Scheuring said there are two options: keep the place as a three-flat or de-convert it back to a single-family home. Either way, the foundation is looking for a buyer who will appreciate the home’s “historic and literary value” and treat the property accordingly.
“It really could be an amazing home,” said Scheuring, who can be reached at steve.scheuring@ bairdwarner.com.
Condo talk
Oak Park and the Association of Condominium, Townhouse and Homeowners Associations (ACTHA) are sponsoring a training program to help associations increase their knowledge of proven, thriving practices. The info is designed for individuals currently on an association board, thinking of joining a board or just wanting to understand how an association should operate.
Sessions start at 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. No advance registration/fee unless you’re pursuing certification. Here are upcoming dates for the few sessions:
Feb. 29: Governance of an Association
March 14: Administration of an Association
March 28: Meetings/Elections of an Association
For more info contact (708) 358-5410 or housing@oak-park.us. Anyone interested in certification contact (312) 987-1906 or kevin@actha.org
