One of Hinsdale's most notable homes - the William Whitney house at 142 E. First St. - has been listed on the private market at $2,399,000, according to listing agent Kris Berger of Compass.
The Italianate structure is owned by Grace Episcopal Church and has served as its rectory for years. Congregation members voted 161-8 in March to sell the house and obtained permission from the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago to do so.
The house was built in 1869 for the Stoddards and was later occupied by Whitney, one of the men responsible for incorporating the Village of Hinsdale. The home was the first building in town to be added to the National Register of Historic Places (1989). It was a Hinsdale Historic Preservation Award winner in 1990 and was added to the village's Historically Significant Structures Property List last year. The home also was a possible residence for Berger's family. Her family moved to Hinsdale when she was 7, and her parents considered buying it before they found a house in Fullersburg Woods.
"I remember going through it," she said.
Berger pointed to the home's prominent location and grand appearance as two of its assets.
"It's just an iconic, beautiful home. That's why Hallmark used it originally in one of its commercials, because it's so pretty," she said, noting that others might have different tastes. "It might not be everybody's style - but I think it is."
Another historic home, Woodside, at 425 E. Sixth St., which originally belonged to village founder William Robbins, sold June 14 for $6,050,000. Lisa Read, an agent with @properties Christie's International Real Estate's Hinsdale office, represented the buyer in the fifth-highest resale on record in DuPage County.
