13 hours ago
West Town home that was once a municipal bathhouse listed for nearly $6M
A six-bedroom, 9,740-square-foot house in West Town's East Village neighborhood that once was a municipal bathhouse for its area was listed on Friday for $5.995 million.
Built in the 1910s and known as the Lincoln Bathhouse, the building is one of only four surviving former municipal bathhouse structures in the city. At the peak, the city had numerous bathhouses, which provided public bathing options for low-income immigrants whose dwellings lacked indoor plumbing.
The Lincoln Bathhouse continued to operate until the start of 1973, when the Chicago Park District closed it. The initial plan was to tear it down to make way for a playlot. Ultimately, however, the building was preserved and converted to a single-family residence.
Like other bathhouses around the city, the Lincoln Bathhouse was constructed in a Roman architectural style. The house sits on an oversized lot and has seven bathrooms, one fireplace, skylights, a massive, light-filled great room with designer lighting and private yard views, a stainless steel kitchen and a lower level with a lounge, a home gym and three en-suite units.
Outside on the property are custom pavers, an outdoor kitchen, integrated lighting and a full bar.
Listing agent Jennifer Mills Klatt of Jameson Sotheby's International Realty told Elite Street that the house is an 'architecturally significant and unique private residence…it's like a treasure.'
'This was a vital resource to the neighborhood when indoor plumbing was still a luxury. This was not a spa-like bathhouse,' she said. 'Instead, it helped people and it helped families, especially immigrants. And now, it's still an historical landmark, if you will, but it's been transformed into a very chic modern residence. My clients put in quite a bit of money with an incredible renovation and masterfully reimagined this, blending history with their modern vibe. It's a show-stopper.'
The house also has an attached garage. Mills Klatt noted that although the house is a single-family residence, it has a business license intact if an owner wanted to use it to host events. What's more, a buyer also could separate the basement guest suites from the rest of the house, as they have their own heating and cooling units, she said, and the property has two active Airbnb licenses for an owner looking for an income-generating opportunity.
The current owners paid $2.075 million for the former bathhouse in 2013. The property had a $39,507 property tax bill in the 2023 tax year.
