Lakefront wonder

Standing in a historic, pillared mansion on the shore of Lake Michigan, Lisa Pickell named the second-floor linen closet as her favorite feature.

"It reminds me what it was like when the home was built," she said.

The room is huge with cupboards and space where turn-of-the-century servants could iron and mend.

Of course, the home's 24 rooms also include at least one parlor, a library and sumptuous dining room, not to mention a sun-room and a breakfast room -- with windows and French doors on three sides.

Lisa Pickell is director of marketing for Orren Pickell Designers & Builders, which purchased the Lake Bluff estate to build six homes on its 22 acres of land.

The company has the 14,500-square-foot mansion with 3½ acres on the market for $10 million.

Named Lansdowne, this might be the last great golden age lakefront estate, built about 1911 for a member of the family that owned Rand McNally, the publishing and map giant.

Ronald Friedman and his wife, Patricia, purchased it in 1985 and refurbished it extensively. Friedman is a certified public accountant and in the automobile parts business.

Features in the floor plan like the double staircase that leads from the huge foyer were not changed, although the Friedmans added marble flooring. Oak parquet floors were kept in other rooms.

Orren Pickell, chief executive officer and president, points out the intricate plaster border at the top of the wall in the entry hall. The huge dining room also has an oval design in plaster on the ceiling. And even on the second floor, bedrooms have dentil tooth borders.

Pickell also is charmed by the completely renovated step-down powder room under one staircase. It has marble steps, a closet with an arch-top door and is large enough to accommodate ladies who dressed for an evening of dinner or dancing.

"It takes my breath away when I'm in this house, and I've seen a lot of houses," said the builder of luxury homes.

The windows seem large for the era, and French doors are plentiful, especially in rooms facing the lake.

Pickell said the house requires few changes. He did suggest the kitchen and most baths should be updated and the wall between the comparatively small kitchen and the family room could be removed to create an informal family living area.

The second floor has six bedrooms and five baths, while there are five bedrooms and two baths on the third floor.

Other features include a rear staircase, an elevator and nine furnaces.

Pickell said he will petition to have the front of the house declared a landmark, which would affect changes future owners could make.

The company has priced home sites on the estate from just under $2 million to $6 million for a lakefront lot.

Pickell started the marketing of the property with a polo match on the front lawn, reminiscent of the days George Patton and perhaps Dwight Eisenhower played polo there while stationed at Fort Sheridan. Both later became generals and American heroes in World War II, and Eisenhower was elected president.

The property was apparently a polo grounds before the house was built, Friedman said.

The house and a coach house on the other side of that yard were designed by Benjamin Marshall, an architect known for Chicago's Drake Hotel and the South Shore Country Club.

"It's not a massive house," Friedman said. "There are bigger houses. It's comfortable. The rooms are large and cheerful because of the way Marshall planned it."

Friedman tried for five years to find a buyer who would keep the property intact. Eventually he got permission from the village to subdivide the estate, but then Pickell convinced him he was the one to develop the property.

Friedman confirmed the eventual price was $16 million, down from the original $25 million asking price.

The natural features of the estate besides lake views include ravines and even a small island. The many trees include maples, oaks and pears.

The property is also full of man-made treasures.

Pickell said the coach house could be an extra garage and maybe a studio or guest quarters for one of the new homes.

Two bridges were designed by Jens Jensen, an early landscape designer, but much of the work he did on the property is gone.

If the lot with the oval swimming pool sells separately from the house, Pickell would like to move the pool cabana so it can be preserved. A little gazebo-shaped folly -- just for looks since the top is open metal work that wouldn't stop sun or rain -- should be saved, too, he said.

Pickell is negotiating with the village to try to make land plan changes that he says would preserve more trees and historic features.

Development work will start in a few weeks.

Statues, planters and benches will be sold at an auction in the fall, he said.