The Givins Castle

Chicago's most famous castle, dubbed the "Irish Castle" by neighbors, is a crenelated curiosity perched atop the steep ridge that runs through Beverly and Morgan Park. It is the area's calling card, with a history that traces to Robert C. Givins in 1887, the first of only five owners. Givins, a real estate developer, used it to spark residential growth along the Rock Island Line. Built as an extravagant private residence, purportedly a gift to Givins' wife, today the Beverly Unitarian Church calls it home. Givins spent the then enormous sum of $80,000 constructing the mansion of solid Joliet limestone, intended to resemble a castle he visited once in Ireland, but also recalling the Richardsonian Romanesque style popular at the time.

Robert C. Givins, 1887