A few days ago, I had the pleasure of meeting up with the interior designer and the listing agent for the Highland Park home that was featured in Ferris Bueller's Day Off back in '86 and is now on the market for $2.3 million. I was initially attracted to the house (like everyone else in America...) because of the movie magic attached to it. But as it turned out, the house itself has some interesting history. Plus, it's one of the most unique homes I've seen since I started with HomesPlus...and there have been A LOT of homes!
It all starts with the surroundings. The main house and garage (the actual garage, not the structure that they used as the garage in the movie - that's actually the pavillion house) are set no further back from the road than any other home in the neighborhood, but because of the way it was designed, it's not even visible from the street; the foliage provides incredible privacy...for a lot less than a big ol' iron gate. Gotta love nature, right?
As you've seen in pictures and of course in the movie, the home is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows that allow for an unparallelled view of the surrounding ravine...from nearly every room (bathrooms and kitchen excluded). The nature angle continues throughout the home. From wood ceilings to cork floors (underneath the carpet) to the steel-and-glass frame of the home - this place was way ahead of its time in terms of eco-friendliness. Which brings me to its other claim to fame...
It was built in 1953, designed by architect A. James Speyer. Speyer was the first grad student of world-famous architect Mies van der Rohe (responsible for Chicago structures 860-880 Lake Shore Dr. and the Farnsworth house among others). 20 years later, the owner added the now-famous pavillion house at the back of the property. This is the "garage" used in the movie. It mimics the house exactly, but actually was designed by another architect, David Haid, who happened to be a student of A. James Speyer. See how we've come full circle?
In all, this home is a work of art in and of itself. Despite the need for some updates, I suspect that the new owners of this incredible house will consider themselves quite lucky for grabbing a handsome piece of history.
Take a look at the tour...
