The Givens Castle

Chicago, a city known for its bustling city life and towering skyscrapers, also takes pride in a differently styled historical landmark - an old Irish castle.

Located at 10244 S. Longwood Dr., in the affluent Beverly neighborhood on the city's far southwest side, the Givens Castle, built in 1886, is one of the neighborhood's oldest treasures.

Adding even more glamour is the "love story" behind the limestone castle. It was built by Robert G. Givens, an American businessman who worked as a real estate promoter and a novelist, to impress his fiancée. There are several different tales about the design of the building, some saying that it was a replica of her family castle, some that it was a sketch he drew of an existing ivy castle in his native Ireland. Unconfirmed stories say that the bride died before she had the chance to live in the castle.

According to the Beverly Area Planning Association, the 3-story castle cost $80,000 to build, due to the cost of hauling the exact same type of limestone to build the replica as was used in the original Irish castle. Written descriptions describe the castle as originally having fifteen beautifully furnished rooms decorated with rich tapestries, lit with stained glass windows, elegant chandeliers and big copper gaslights. It was warmed with tiled fireplaces. It is believed that Givens lived in the home between 1886 and 1894, then again from 1904 to 1909.

Property records show that Givens sold the property to John B. Burdett in 1909, who sold it in 1920 for $7,000 to Mrs. Bonnie Siemens and husband, Dr. Miroslaw Siemens. According to the current owners, Dr Siemens had his office in the castle, until he filed bankruptcy in 1935, and the castle was put into a trust in 1937. The building was bought by the Beverly Unitarian Fellowship in 1942, for $14,000. It was merged into the Beverly Unitarian Church in 1951, the interior of the building was redesigned by members of the congregation, and a school building was built adjacent to the castle in 1959.

The Chicago Female College was located inside the castle for an unknown length of time before it was purchased by the church. Urban legend has it that the house is haunted by the spirit of one of the students who died there in the 1930's, making the building famous to some for reasons other than its history and architecture.

The Givens Castle was designated a Chicago landmark on November 13, 1981. It sits on the Blue Island Ridge, which is the highest elevation in Chicago, and is located along the historic Longwood Drive District. This is a 12-block stretch of mansions that sits on a natural ridgeline, standing about 35 feet or more above Lake Michigan. It was referred to as "blue island" by early settlers because of a blue mist that often covered the area. According to the Ridge Historical Society in Beverly, this moraine was created by glaciers during the last ice age. The name Blue Island now refers to a suburb that lies just south of the Beverly/Morgan Park communities.

The quiet suburban-like area of Beverly, sometimes referred to as the "village in the city" is well known for its architecture and according to the Beverly Area Planning Association, "boasts every American house style built between 1844 and World War II." These include Italianate, Carpenter Gothic, Queen Anne and Prairie Style houses just to name a few. World renowned architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Burley Griffin have designed some of the neighborhood's beautiful structures.

Pottawatomie Native Americans resided in the community until they met in the last great council with white men in 1833, and it was "decided" that they would move out of Illinois, according to the Ridge Historical Society. The last of the Indians did not leave the area until 1847. The area, which is just west of what is now known as Vincennes Ave, was once a trade route between Chicago and Vincennes, Indiana for farmers and trappers called the Vincennes Trail, until the land was sold for residential development in the 1860's.

Beverly is now home to a large Irish-American community, although people of all races and backgrounds reside there.