Chicago's Only Castle

The Castle, located in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago at 10244 S. Longwood Drive, was built in 1886 and 1887. It looks like a real medieval castle. If you love seeing historic images of Chicago and reading about Chicago's history from the late 1860s on, this paperback, in color with over 500 images, is for you, and this second edition is 75 pages longer than the first. Chicago's Only Castle regales its reader with the history of a treasure buried on Chicago's far Southwest Side of which few people beyond the neighborhood seem to be aware. The compelling stories of the five keepers of the Castle unfold against the backdrop of, and directly connect to, Chicago's rich history, including the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the cable-car era, the dawn of the automobile, the Century of Progress International Exposition of 1933-34, and myriad little-known details about Chicago's past. The inspiration behind the building, and its first occupant, was Robert Cartwright Givins, a Renaissance man of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who immigrated from Canada and whose grandfather was a celebrated colonel there in the War of 1812. Givins, noted for his always-clever real estate promotions, was a well-known Chicago personality; a developer active across the City, Cook County, and other places in the United States; a popular novelist of his day; a vocal citizens' advocate; and, together with wife Emma, a globetrotter whose travel reviews were published in the Chicago Evening Post. He was at one time announced in local papers as a candidate for mayor of Chicago. In addition to Givins, Julia Thayer of the Chicago Female College, the Burdett family, the Siemens family, and Beverly Unitarian Church have been "keepers" of the Castle, and their dynamic stories are told in the book, as well. Julia Thayer was a poet and president of the Chicago Female College, a finishing school for girls, that was housed in the Castle for a time, J. B. Burdett, was an inventor, a manufacturer, and an early automobilist. Burdett and wife Jessie won one of the earliest automobile races in Chicago, the 40-mile journey to Joliet held in 1901. Miroslaw Siemens, a prominent Chicago physician of Ukrainian descent was influential in preserving the history of the Ukraine. He was a founder of the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago and a benefactor of St. Nicholas Catholic Cathedral when it first opened as a church. He was the leader of the group that sponsored the Ukrainian National Pavilion at Chicago's Century of Progress World's Fair held in 1933-34. Son Roman Siemens grew up in the Castle and later became the only doctor at the famous Battle of Bastogne in World War II. Beverly Unitarian Church, the last and present Castle-keeper, has a long and rich history beginning in 1878 in Englewood, then a Chicago suburb, It has fervently supported equal rights, justice for all, seeking truth, and helping the less fortunate. The first minister was a woman, Rev. Florence Kollock, who was revered by the congregation as was her successor, Rev. Rufus White. Decades later, Rev. Hunter Leggitt marched in Selma and Montgomery with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1965 to protest the unequal voting rights in the South. Subsequently, Rosa Parks spoke at the Castle. The Church and the community had the Castle restored during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also a hardback available, which is only a few dollars more. Our website is www.chicagosonlycastle.org.