Jim Lovell, who was one of the first three astronauts to orbit the moon in 1968 as part of the Apollo 8 mission, placed the 4,613-square-foot brick and stone English manor-style house that he and his wife own in Lake Forest on the market for $2.99 million.
Lovell, 94, also is known for commanding the Apollo 13 spaceflight in 1970, which was intended to land on the moon but after an oxygen tank failed became an ultimately successful effort to bring its three astronauts safely back to Earth. After resigning as a captain in the Navy, Lovell went to work in the corporate world, and he and his wife relocated to Lake Forest in the early 1980s, while he was an executive with Centel Corp.
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Lovell and his wife, Marilyn, paid $2.79 million in 1999 for their Lake Forest home. Built in 1995 by architect and homebuilder Gene Martin, the five-bedroom house has five full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, three fireplaces, custom millwork throughout, floor-to-ceiling windows, a formal living room with 10-foot ceilings, and an eat-in kitchen with granite countertops and a brick fireplace.
Other features include a paneled library, a finished lower level with a recreation room and office and a synthetic slate roof. The 0.92-acre property is a short distance from Lake Michigan.
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“What makes it great — other than that it’s Capt. Lovell’s home — is that it’s located right across the street from the lake, so it has the premier, premier address in Lake Forest, and it actually has seasonal water views of Lake Michigan from the second-floor bedrooms,” listing agent Lisa Dooley Trace of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate told Elite Street. “It’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a gorgeous property, and it’s a Gene Martin home, who’s a highly respected Lake Forest builder. The home is in beautiful condition, and it’s truly such a magnificent address and the homes on this road are just all beautiful large estates. This one’s wonderful because it’s an estate but it’s not so huge — this is very homey and warm and wonderful.”
The mansion recently was listed in real estate agents’ private listing network. It is currently scheduled to be made a public, or active, listing on Aug. 22.
The mansion had a $37,199 property tax bill in the 2020 tax year.
Trace told Elite Street that the Lovells are selling the house because they are “downsizing” but that they plan to stay in the area. The couple in 2018 sold their four-bedroom, 4,895-square-foot vacation house on Lake Lyndon B. Johnson in Horseshoe Bay, Tex. after having listed it for $2.67 million.
Goldsborough is a freelance writer.
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