In 2000, the Tribune real estate section ran an interesting item about an 1895 Old Town mansion that had been built for John F. Jelke, the man who invented margarine. According to that article, Jelke produced a pair of 'colorful' heirs — one was a "high-class pimp" and the other threatened to kill Richard Nixon — who later sold the manse, and it became a halfway house in the '40s. An interior designer bought the place in 1979, and in the early '80s he added an elevator to the home's northern side (which is visible from the street) and a roof deck. Then, in 1987, Antoinette Giancana, the daughter of a Chicago mob boss, posed for a Playboy pictorial in the home's marble tub. The place has seven restored fireplaces, a five-car garage, lots of original woodwork, and according to the listing, the lower level is currently configured as a separate 2BD, 2BA in-law unit. When the Trib article ran, the 9,200-square-foot home was listed for $3.5 million, and it later sold for $2.95 million in 2002. It's now priced at $3.2 million.
· Luxury and lore on the gold coast [Chicago Tribune]
· Listing: 1352 N. LaSalle Blvd. [Realtor.com]
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