Oct 27, 2008
Sale of the Week: Gadzooks! Teardown Planned for Hinsdale Tudor
List Price: $3,900,000
Sale Price: $3,575,000
The Property: This mammoth, lavishly detailed Tudor mansion, completed in 1932 in a section of Hinsdale known as the Woodlands, was sold in late September to only its fourth owner—who plans to demolish it and build a new home on the 2.2-acre lot. The Chicago architecture firm Armstrong, Furst and Tilton designed the 14-room house, which was built for the family that owned Naperville’s old Kroehler furniture factory. It was later remodeled by Harold Zook, the Hinsdale architect who designed some of the town’s most distinctive homes and “signed” them with a spider-web pattern (in this house, it’s emblazoned in a door to the back yard).
At least 100 feet wide, the residence has a relatively simple beamed and gabled front, but out back, it has turrets and lots of stone and wood accents. The original structure includes a four-car garage and a dog kennel; Zook’s additions included a swimming pool and pool house (both torn down some years ago). Inside there is plenty of vintage craftwork in stained glass, tile, plaster, and wood. One limestone fireplace is a replica of the main fireplace at the University Club in downtown Chicago.
(Any piece of this house that you can haul away will be available at a demolition sale, as yet unscheduled. You can also sign up there to be notified of the sale date.)
The seller Edward Paloyan, a surgeon, bought the house in 1978 with his wife, who has since died. “The quality of the house is unbelievable,” says Paloyan. “There were craftsmen brought in from Europe to make some of the ceilings; everything was done with amazing detail. It took the Kroehlers five years to build it, during the Depression.”
Paloyan, who has remarried and moved to another home, says that he initially insisted that the house be sold only to a buyer who would keep it standing. But it quickly became clear, he says, “that no one was going to do that.” What does he think of the fact that it will soon be torn down? “Not much.”
The buyer, Khurram Hussain, did not respond to requests for an interview about the house.
Price Points: Paloyan first put the house on the market in June, with an asking price of $4.2 million. When he bought the house, back in 1978, it had sat empty and unsold for about two years. He says that he paid “about $475,000,” which he remembers as being only 5 to 10 percent more than the prices he was seeing on houses half its size. “We couldn’t resist,” he says.
Listing Agent: Christopher Crawford, Sothebys Realty, 630-323-4800; chris.crawford@sothebysrealty.com
Posted at 08:15 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink
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Reader Comments:
What a shame.
This is why we moved from Hinsdale to Barrington in 2004.
Unfortunately for Hinsdale zoning board, there is no way to legislate good taste.
They may be able to dismantle the bricks, however the 30 years of Memories will last forever in my Heart !!!!!
I attended the demo sale on this house. The detail on the doors, fireplaces and panelling was incredible, but there was no steal on these pieces ( the one less ostentatious fireplace went for $7,000 while I was there ). But 3.6 million for a teardown in a down economy? Who is this guy and what does he do so that I can follow in his footsteps?
90% of the interior materials of this house were diverted, thank goodness. I too attended this sale and managed to walk away with some great pieces for a great price.