Astor Street

Lonely Planet review

In 1882 Bertha and Potter Palmer were the power couple of Chicago. His web of businesses included the city's best hotel and a huge general merchandise store he later sold to a clerk named Marshall Field. Their relocation north from Prairie Ave to a mansion on N Lake Shore Dr set off a lemming-like rush of Chicago's wealthy to follow. The mansions along Astor St, especially the 1300 to 1500 blocks, reflect the grandeur of that heady age.

The large but only 11-room Charnley-Persky House (312-915-0105; www.charnleyhouse.org; 1365 N Astor St) was designed by architect Louis Sullivan, with some collaboration from his junior draftsman at the time, none other than a very young Frank Lloyd Wright. With his soon-to-be-trademarked bombast, FLW proclaimed that it was the 'first modern building.' That's because it did away with Victorian gaudiness in favor of plain, abstract forms that went on to become the modern style. It was completed in 1892 and now houses the Society of Architectural Historians.

The Cyrus McCormick Mansion (1500 N Astor St) is one of the neighborhood standouts. The 1893 neoclassical home was designed by New York architect Stanford White. McCormick and his family had the whole place to themselves, but it's now divided up into condos. It's still the high-rent district - a three-bedroom, three-bathroom unit goes for around US$2 million (washer and dryer included).

The 1885 mansion that serves as the Archbishop's Residence (1555 N State St) spans the entire block to Astor. The sweet crib, complete with 19 chimneys, is one of the many perks that comes with leading the Chicago Catholic Archdiocese. Seven archbishops have lived here, and world leaders from Franklin D Roosevelt to Pope John Paul II have crashed at the residence while in town.

Don't forget to check out another special house in the 'hood: Hugh Hefner's first Playboy Mansion is nearby.