The North Mansion in Berger Park was built for pharmaceutical company executive Samuel Gunder, who lived in the house from 1910 to 1919. The yellow brick American Foursquare home, with its restrained ornamentation, was used as a residence for many years by the Viatorian religious order. They sold the property to the Chicago Park District in 1981 for half as much money as private developers would have paid, hoping to preserve the mansions and open space for the community rather than see them redeveloped. The Park District originally intended to remove the North Mansion, but the Edgewater Community Council raised funds to rehab it for use as a cultural center.
