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About our Castle Home

History

The Givins Beverly Castle

1886 – real estate promoter and novelist Robert C. Givins, built the limestone structure
1909 – the castle was sold for $20,000 to the Burdett family
1942 – the Beverly Unitarian Fellowship purchased the Castle
1960 – preschool and office wing were added
2023 – COMPLETION OF STRUCTURAL RESTORATION

No depiction of the Beverly-Morgan Park neighborhood is complete without the iconic turrets of the Givins Beverly Castle located at 10244 South Longwood Drive in Chicago.

The Givins Beverly Castle, distinguished by its turrets, is nearly synonymous with the Beverly-Morgan Park neighborhood itself. This iconic structure serves the entire community every day as a preschool, an event center, meeting hall and site for vibrant conversation, learning and civic engagement.  The Castle was a favorite subject of the late noted artist, Jack Simmerling

In 1886, real estate promoter and novelist Robert C. Givins, reportedly inspired by the castles he saw and sketched when he visited his ancestral home of Ireland, built the limestone structure at 103rd and Longwood, now at the heart of this diverse, historic Chicago neighborhood. The building has served as the Givins home, a preparatory school for girls, and a home again for the Burdett and Siemens families.

In 1942, the Beverly Unitarian Fellowship purchased the Castle, adding the preschool and office wing in 1959/60. To this day, the members of the Beverly Unitarian Church — successor to the Fellowship — are the caretakers of this community treasure.  More than 130 years since its construction, the Givins Beverly Castle has been recognized by the Chicago Landmarks Commission as a contributing structure in the Longwood Drive District.  It also contributes to the Ridge Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior).  Read all about the site’s rich history in Chicago’s Only Castle by Errol Magidson, 2023, or visit www.chicagosonlycastle.org.

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