The Schweppe Mansion

This 27-room Lake Forest mansion, which is considered to be one of the most impressive ever built in the Chicago area. It was constructed in 1915 as a wedding gift from former Marshall Field Co. president John G. Shedd to his daughter, Laura, who was newly married to Charles Schweppe. The estate, known as Mayflower Place, was designed by architect Frederick Wainwright Perkins. According to Dennis Rodkin's Deal Estate blog, royalty has stayed at the place on at least two different occasions: Laura Shedd Schweppe reportedly hosted a crown prince and princess of Sweden, and socialite Wallis Simpson and husband, Edward, Duke of Windsor, reportedly slept in a bedroom on the western end of the homes second floor. The home once had as many as 20 bedrooms, but now has 11. The house was vacant for nearly a half century after Charles Schweppe committed suicide in 1941 (his wife had died four years earlier and let most of the estate to her children). Donna Denten and a former husband bought the mansion for $5 million in 1987 from A. Watson Armour III, and started a lengthy restoration and updating that reportedly employed more than 70 craftspeople.

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