One Of Only 2 Howard Van Doren Shaw-Designed Evanston Homes Sells

EVANSTON, IL — One of the two Evanston homes designed by famed turn-of-the-century architect Howard Van Doren Shaw changed hands this week for the first time in decades.

The six-bedroom Italian Renaissance design at the corner of Orrington Avenue and Noyes Street last sold in 1995 for $780,000.

Next listed for sale in 2019 with an asking price of $1.9 million, the deal closed Tuesday for just shy of $1.49 million.

The home was built in 1909 for Carl Williams, a manufacturer of musical instruments, and later owned by his son, Bradley Williams.

It was later leased to the Czechoslovakian and German consulates in the 1930s, according to Chicago Magazine, before it was purchased by officials from nearby Northwestern University and used as tax-exempt housing for the school's provost through the 1970s.

In 1987, the house was purchased by Michael Anderson and Ingrid Sarapuu, and eight years later, recent sellers David and Ellen Wagner bought the property, later updating the kitchen and adding a family room.

According to its listing, the home is "elegant, historically significant" and "perfectly maintained," with original oak floors, architectural details and fixtures.

In the first decades of the 20th Century, Chicago-based architect Van Doren Shaw designed many country homes in the north suburbs, especially Lake Forest, where his own former summer residence is now home to the nonprofit Ragdale Foundation.

But according to registration materials establishing the Northeast Evanston Historic District, Shaw designed only two houses in Evanston.

The city's other Shaw-designed home, 747 Sheridan Road, was last sold in October 2000 and listed most recently in 2014 for $2.6 million.

The estimated market value of the Orrington Avenue home was just over $1.5 million for taxing purposes. Its annual property tax bill was nearly $42,000 last year.

• Address: 2233 Orrington Ave., Evanston, Illinois
• Built: 1909
• Lot Size: 0.37 acres
• Square Feet: 5,697
• Bedrooms: 6
• Bathrooms: 4 full, 1 half
• Last Sold: $780,000 in July 1995
• First Listed: $1.9 million in August 2019
• Closing Price: $1.4825 million on June 1

This listing originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.