Historic Lake Forest Prairie School Design Returns To Market

LAKE FOREST, IL — The historic Harold J. Bryant house in Lake Forest returned to the market last week for the first time in more than four years. The award-winning 102-year-old home was listed Monday for nearly $200,000 below its 2014 asking price.

Located on 1.6 acres in the Green Bay Historic District just west of the Onwentsia Club, the three-story stucco Prairie Colonial design includes six bedrooms, four full and two half bathrooms, a hot tub and hardwood flooring throughout. The home won the 2008 Preservation Award from the Lake Forest Preservation Foundation.

The home was designed by the Chicago firm of Schmidt, Garden & Martin, considered one of the most progressive of the early 20th Century, according to the Chicago Landmark Commission. Some of the firms unique designs: The Humboldt Park Boathouse, the Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House (now known as 600 W. Chicago), Chapin and Gore, Michael Reese Hospital and more than 300 other hospitals, (Among other projects.)

Bryant bought 9.5 acres of the 1,500-acre estate of Louis F. Swift prior to marrying Elizabeth Parker, the sister-in-law of meatpacking heir A. Watson Armour, and commissioning the Ahwahnee Road house in 1914, according to the foundation. The home was sold to a prominent Chicago attorney in 1924.

In 2004, Gaslight Partners, an LLC created by Lake Forest executive Wayne Sorensen, purchased the house for $1.675 million, according to public records, seeking to return it to its original design. According to the foundation, the original gardens were retained and complimentary updates were made to the landscape.

The home was sold in 2011 for $1.675 million and again in November 2013 for $1.375 million. It returned to the market asking $1.6 million less than four months later.

The home's 2018 estimated market value is about $1.27 million, according to the Lake County Assessor's Office, and its 2017 tax bill was nearly $22,000.

• Address: 2 N Ahwahnee Rd, Lake Forest, Illinois
• Price: $1.3 million
• Square Feet: 4,927
• Lot Size: 1.57 acres
• Bedrooms: 6
• Bathrooms: 4 full, 2 half
• Built: 1916
• Last Sold: $1.375 million in November 2013
• First Listed: $1.6 million in March 2014
• Last Listed: Sept. 17

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