Historic Elbridge Keith House on Prairie Avenue Finally Sells for a Cool $2.3 Million

One of the most intriguing properties in the Sloop (if you like mansions) has finally been sold (via Tribune):

A 150-year-old, seven-bedroom mansion built in the South Loop during the Gilded Age sold Thursday for $2.3 million.

One of only a handful of mansions left on South Prairie Avenue, the Elbridge Keith house is named after its first owner. It was used for decades by a publishing company and later held Wilbert and Marilyn Hasbrouck’s architectural bookstore, the Prairie Avenue Bookshop, and their publishing company.

The sellers include Chicago Reader publisher Tracy Baim and her sister, who inherited the mansion from their late mother and stepfather, Joy Darrow Pratt and Steven Pratt. The home is filled with family history, Baim said, including her own wedding and her brother’s, as well as their parents’ memorials.

This property has been on the market for awhile and we assumed there most have been some issues preventing it from being sold.  That said, it is a beautiful house and as stated above has served many purposes over the years.

Interestingly - the article says the new owner intends to use it as a single family home.  While we sort of dreamed about how this property could be utilized for the neighborhood, it's good to see people still willing to put down serious coin to move into the Sloop.  

With that said, congrats to the new owner!