A Lincoln Park home that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 will hit the market this March with an asking price of $2.4 million.
The home, located at 2121 North Hudson Street, was saved from the fire by its original owner, Chicago police officer Richard Bellinger, according to Crain’s Chicago. According to local legend, Bellinger wet the house down with water, cleared the property of dry leaves and tore up the wooden sidewalks and fence near the house.
The home was built in the late-1860s and was designed by W.W. Boyington, an architect of many pre-fire buildings in Chicago. Boyington also designed two other famous structures that survived the fire, the Water Tower and Pumping Station on Michigan Avenue.
Current owners Sophia de la Mar and Brayton Gray previously lived a few blocks from the Bellinger Cottage and would regularly walk past the house and admire it, according to Crains.
They purchased it for $1.4 million in 2005 and completed an extensive renovation that added a multi-story section to the back of the house, turning it into a four bedroom home with an attached garage. The house is set to hit the market in mid-March, and the sellers are represented by Bette Bleeker of @properties.
[Crain’s Chicago] — Miranda Davis