There’s a quaint stone bridge, along with a greenhouse and scads of mature specimen trees. Throughout the grounds, flower gardens are complemented by stone paths, retaining walls and planters. Out front are a set of train tracks and a vintage hand cart. (Don’t you just love the whims of the wealthy?) The appealing building includes a large main room, two offices, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. There is also the Captain’s House for guests, with three bedrooms and 2.5 baths, as well as the so-called Train House,” an 1,800-square-foot structure built in 2001 to resemble an old-timey train station and to accommodate the owner’s large train set. Outside, there’s a swimming pool and hot tub, along with a two-bedroom pool house. There are six bedrooms on the second floor. The finished attic space is used as a playroom, complete with a climbing tree, while the lower level offers a media room and a game room with a pool table and darts. An amazing, one-of-a-kind oval kitchen features a large central island and a La Cornue range. The first floor includes a salon, a family room with a built-in bar, an office, a large living room, two separate dining areas, and a library. There is also original stained and leaded glass, including on the front door with “Aloha Lodge” spelled out. Lovely lake views are abundant inside and out. The main house was extensively renovated and greatly expanded in 2011, conserving the impeccably crafted original features, including beadboard walls, dentil moldings, built-ins, and window seats. Sticking with the theme, the Drakes named their steamboat Ka’iulani after the last princess and heir to the Hawaiian throne. The 12-acre spread boasts more than 360 feet of shoreline, which includes a large pier with five boat slips, a throwback to the days when summer guests shuttled around the lake via steamboat or paddlewheel.
The property is being sold by the heirs and estate of late businessman Harold Bryon Smith Jr., scion of a prominent Chicago manufacturing and banking family. But now, the 11-bedroom, 16-bathroom compound is being offered by Brandie Malay Siavelis Christie’s International Real Estate for $35 million, making it the priciest listing in the entire state. Ah, the whims of rich folks! In truth, due to their globe-circling sojourns, the Drake family had deep ties to various members of the deposed Hawaiian royal family.Īloha Lodge served as the Drake family’s summer and weekend retreat for more than 35 years. It was Drake, the founder of Chicago’s historic Drake and Blackstone hotels, who gave the estate its unexpected name. Drake commissioned noted architect Howard Van Doren Shaw to build him a grand lakeside mansion. The city’s wealthy families, with names like Wrigley and Schwinn, loved the clear, spring-fed lake and built lavish estates there. In 1900, Chicago hospitality heir and hotelier Tracy C.
Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva has been a tony summer destination for Chicago society since the late 1800s. Aloha from Wisconsin! That’s right, Wisconsin. The Aloha Lodge, a historic 20,000-square-foot compound on the shore of Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva, is, of course, named after the traditional Wisconsinite greeting meaning both “hello” and “goodbye.” Wait, no, that’s Hawaii.
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