NEED ONE MORE UNIQUELY-CHICAGO CHRISTMAS GIFT? AL CAPONE'S CHICAGO HOME FOR SALE!

CURRENT OWNER OF 7244 SOUTH PRAIRIE AVENUE, CHICAGO, TO SELL HOME WITH NOTORIOUS HISTORY THIS SPRING!

Perhaps you're the one who already has everything - and everything else all lined up under the Christmas Tree this morning!  Well, just in case you're looking for one more uniquely-Chicago gift, one will be available after the New Year.

The early-1900's era two-flat building where Al Capone lived when he first came to Chicago will be for sale!  Its current owner, Barbara Hogsette has plans to relocate out of state in a few months, and needs to sell.  She will be asking somewhere in the mid- $400's.  You interested?

Check out Google Street View and you'll find the red-brick building blending right in to the other Chicago-style Bungalows and small apartment buildings up and down the street.  It's located in the middle-class Park Manor Neighborhood of Chicago, about 9 miles directly south of Downtown Chicago and The Loop.  Then, as today, the two-flat is in a very quiet residential neighborhood, far from the hub bub of the city.

(Photo courtesy of The Chicago History Museum - CHS DN-19356)

The Capone family purchased the building in August, 1923 for $5,500, according to Cook County Deed Records.  To protect his family from his own nefarious activities, the home was deeded to his wife, Mae, and his mother, Teresa.  After Al Capone died in 1947, his mother remained in the house until 1952, when it was taken over by a neighborhood bank.

When Hogsette purchased the home in 1963, for $29,500, she knew little about its notorious past owner.  To this day, the exterior, and many vintage interior features, remain virtually unchanged to the days when The Capones were on title.  There are three bedrooms on each level, no-longer-available green and white tile in the entry foyer, and long, narrow Chicago-style hallways with dark-stained hardwood floors.

The building also features a full basement with an old wine cellar.  When Hogsette closed on the home 45 years ago, the basement contained a long table and a couple of antique telephones which police believed to be a part of Capone's bookie operation.

Said Hogsette, a retired school teacher, "I've read some things about [Capone], and I've seen the 'Untouchables,' but I never really thought about this being his home.  This is my home. I never thought it was that sensational that he had lived here."

To this day, the home is quite inconspicuous in the neighborhood.  No plaques designated that Chicago Gangster Capone once lived here.  Over the years, Hogsette and others have been resistant to give the home any more notoriety, although unofficial Chicago Tour Buses include the home in drive-by each summer.

Do you want a piece of Chicago History?   Here's your chance!

BTW . . . Our Team would be more than happy to represent you as Buyer's Agents should you buy!

See our post today @ BlogChicagoHomes.com for more, with a link to Joel Hood's story in today's Chicago Tribune.

And have a Blessed Holiday, from Our Team to Yours!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO