The interest of the wealthy in building domestic castles did not die out with William Randolph Hearst and William Gillette. Thankfully some eccentrics are still building castles to this day. Here in Chicago, Rudy Acosta, real-estate developer and owner of The Legion Records, is building a 6700 square-foot castle on a tiny triangular lot overlooking the Kennedy expressway.

The house obviously does not fit in with the others on the street and has roused the anger of many of the neighbors. When plans for the building were made public in 2005 many residents sought to block its construction, but the zoning change and plans had already been approved. With all the controversy and delays, the castle has not yet been finished, but the main defenses against hostile neighbors are already well fortified on the north side of the building, as seen in the photo.

The walls of the building are confined to the very edges of the small property, making it appear even larger than expected. The front of the house on Parkview Terrace features a towering front entry hall and third-story balconies which look out over the great sunken moat of the freeway just across the street. Frankly it is not a picturesque spot to build a mansion of any kind. The lot had been vacant for many years, probably since the construction of the highway. With the non-stop roar of traffic, those walls had better be thick and well-insulated for any peace and quiet in this house.


Copyright 2007 Matt Bergstrom