Hail Mary Pass For Historic Wheaton Mansion?

WHEATON, IL — Just a few weeks after it seemed the fate of Wheaton's historic House of Seven Gables was doomed, it seems there may be hope for the mansion yet. Developers have already started to demolish surrounding buildings at the Loretto Convent Property, but two anonymous residents have just come forward to purchase and move the mansion to a nearby location, according to Daily Herald.

The residents, who chose not to be named, still face a few challenges, Daily Herald reports. Pulte Homes has committed to a July 10 deadline for the mansion's removal so they can continue redevelopment of the property as scheduled. Valerie Dolenga, a spokesperson for Pulte Holmes, told Daily Herald that the company is "cautiously optimistic that the mansion can be preserved."

Thus far, efforts to preserve the historic Tudor mansion have been come up short. The Wheaton Park District held a special meeting to discuss the future of the House of Seven Gables on May 24. After the meeting, plans for preservation fell through. Unfortunately the costs of moving and maintaining the historic building have continued to be roadblocks along the way. Preservationists organized their own efforts to save the House of Seven Gables, but met with similar challenges.

The House of Seven Gables was designed by Jarvis Hunt and built in 1897. Lauded by preservationists as "a profound treasure of cultural and historical significance," the Gilded Age-style mansion served as the clubhouse for the prestigious Chicago Golf Club before becoming part of Loretto Convent.

When planning the House of Seven Gables, Jarvis was inspired by the ill-fated mansion in the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel of the same name. Its gabled design and hand-carved interior echo Hawthorne's fictionalized House of Seven Gables, but unlike the novel's mansion, it's starting to look like Wheaton's House of Seven Gables may not end up abandoned after all.

Patch file photo