Donovan Mansion Up For Auction
Auction set for late physician's house
(EMAILWIRE.COM, April 17, 2006 ) Springfield, IL -- The house on the hill - the blond brick-and-stone mansion at Chatham Road and Laurel Street - seems to be stuck in time.
It sits in one of Springfield's toniest neighborhoods, right across the road from Illini Country Club. But the mansion is boarded up and has partial fire damage. There are signs that squatters once called it home, and teenagers might have used it for parties.
But when the house was built - in the late 1940s or early 1950s - it was all class.
Dr. John Donovan and his wife, Rosemary, designed the 16-room, 5,744-square-foot home, which sits on 1.1 acres. Rosemary was from Joliet, and the house is made of Joliet limestone. She also decorated the mansion.
The two-story foyer has an ornate, winding art nouveau staircase that leads to the second floor. Mural wallpaper adorns the dining room and stairs. A massive stone fireplace rises from the family room in the basement to the first floor, providing heat to the formal living room and the mahogany library. Period ceramic tile adorns several of the home's six full bathrooms. Some of the hardwood floors remain intact.
As far as anyone knows, no one has lived in the house for the past eight years, and no one outside the Donovan family ever has owned the home.
That will change Wednesday, when the house will be sold at auction by Patricia Doyle Associates Auction & Realty. Information about the auction is available at the company's Web site at www.doyleauctions.com.
"We had about 200 people who came through on one open house and about 400 in the other," said M.T. Vann, auctioneer and managing broker of the property. She said about 98 percent of the visitors were curious Springfield residents, something she encourages.
"I fully expect there will be 200 to 300 people at the auction, and about 10 to 20 of those will be serious bidders. The people who are most interested in this see it as the house on the hill.
"About half want to remodel, and half want to bulldoze for its hilltop location."
Vann is having visitors guess how much they think the property will sell for. The prevailing average is well above $200,000.
"That's what the community thinks it will sell for, and I would concur with that," she said.
The house itself is enough to inspire curiosity, thanks to its size and location.
But the Donovan family has quite a history of its own.
Dr. Donovan was known as a physician, but also as a local landlord - and a bit of a curmudgeon.
A devout Catholic, Donovan and his wife went to church every day, first at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and later, after their move to 2001 W. Laurel St., Blessed Sacrament Church.
Donovan told The State Journal-Register in 1990 that his father told him that, to succeed and prosper, he should buy land.
"He certainly heeded that advice," the reporter wrote about Donovan, who was then 88 years old.
Donovan owned dozens of properties throughout his life, including apartment buildings, farmland at Archer Elevator and Lenhart roads, a 431-acre farm in Morgan County and a home in suburban Chicago.
The story surmised that it was his work as a property owner that "changed his image - at least, among some people - from the respectable Dr. Jekyll into the controversial Mr. Hyde."
Donovan spent much of the later part of his life battling the city, the state and the federal government over his properties, most notably the land eventually that would become the Tara Hills subdivision, adjoining the Laurel Street property.
There, now, one can find houses up to the $750,000 price range. But when Tara Hills was being developed, part of the land was filled with junk and trash that Donovan had removed from his rental properties and dumped behind his home. It was that project that seemed to bring Donovan most of his headaches.
Donovan died, at age 91, in February 1994. He left two children, Dianne Matthiesen and David Donovan.
According to those familiar with the case, Dianne and David fought furiously over their father's estate, which at the time was conservatively estimated, though apparently never inventoried, to be worth about $4.65 million.
Some say Matthiesen even hired attorneys to convince her father, on his hospital deathbed, to make her his executor. She refused to comment for this story.
Court records indicate the two children battled with each other until February of 2000, when they finally settled. Matthiesen took a portion of the estate, and the rest went to David Donovan, who became executor over the rest of the estate.
David worked with his father in his real estate business for much of his life. The younger Donovan also owned the Springfield Currency Exchange on South 14th Street and in that role was once charged with buying stolen merchandise. The charges later were dropped.
While overseeing his father's estate, David took some family friends - Adam, Toby and Carl Giganti - to court over Dr. Donovan's property at Archer Elevator and Lenhart Roads. That case was settled in September 2004. The Giganti family agreed to pay the Donovan estate an undisclosed amount, apparently in the $800,000 range, of which apparently 50 percent went to pay attorneys' fees.
But David Donovan died in January 2002, and his death played a great part in the Giganti land controversy. It was difficult for the courts to determine what should happen with the property because David was dead and could not testify.
But David's accountant, Craig Lewis, could. Lewis' knowledge of the Giganti case apparently led to its ultimate settlement in favor of the Donovan estate. Lewis was executor of David's estate.
In his will, David Donovan indicated he wanted money from his estate put into a trust and for interest from that trust to be divided among David's own six children. They apparently now live in the Chicago area, where they moved in 1977 after David and their mother, Barbara, divorced.
Recently, however, attorneys representing David's children have been fighting with Lewis over money he paid himself for his services and his use of a house owned by the estate on West Lake Shore Drive in Springfield.
Lewis apparently has agreed to buy the home from the estate and a contract is pending, people familiar with the case said.
The children's attorneys also say in court papers that if Lewis had sold off items or land from the estate shortly after David's death, the estate would have been worth even more. Instead, many of the items have deteriorated and are no longer worth much, or taxes and insurance had to be paid to hold on to them, they say.
Lewis' attorney, Carl Hoffee, declined to comment for this story. Court records indicate that a judge removed Lewis last fall as executor.
Some others associated with the case, however, argue that Lewis acted responsibly in connection with the Donovan estate, particularly in winning a favorable settlement from the Gigantis and in keeping taxes to a minimum.
One person associated with the case said Lewis moved into the house on West Lake Shore, where David formerly lived, because he couldn't get anyone to insure it while it was vacant and that he used money from the estate to fix up the home. Lewis intended to do the same later with the Laurel Street house, the person said.
That portion of the estate still is being hashed out.
When it is, and once the mansion on Laurel and some other bits and pieces of property are disposed of, a conservative estimate of the value of the estate is about $1 million.
Also part of the auction is David Donovan's 1986 Rolls Royce Corniche convertible, which has some damage.
A third open house is scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday. The house also will be open starting at noon Wednesday. The auction is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Court records indicate the contents of the house, including furniture, dishes, mirrors, and other items, were largely auctioned off in 2003. Few Donovan family belongings remain.
Two safes still remain in the home, but both have been opened and no valuables were found.
"There were no Al Capone mysteries," Vann said.
But the home's history, and its location, location, location, are expected to draw a crowd - and perhaps a pretty price - on Wednesday.
Sarah Antonacci can be reached at 788-1529 or sarah.antonacci@sj-r.com.
It sits in one of Springfield's toniest neighborhoods, right across the road from Illini Country Club. But the mansion is boarded up and has partial fire damage. There are signs that squatters once called it home, and teenagers might have used it for parties.
But when the house was built - in the late 1940s or early 1950s - it was all class.
Dr. John Donovan and his wife, Rosemary, designed the 16-room, 5,744-square-foot home, which sits on 1.1 acres. Rosemary was from Joliet, and the house is made of Joliet limestone. She also decorated the mansion.
The two-story foyer has an ornate, winding art nouveau staircase that leads to the second floor. Mural wallpaper adorns the dining room and stairs. A massive stone fireplace rises from the family room in the basement to the first floor, providing heat to the formal living room and the mahogany library. Period ceramic tile adorns several of the home's six full bathrooms. Some of the hardwood floors remain intact.
As far as anyone knows, no one has lived in the house for the past eight years, and no one outside the Donovan family ever has owned the home.
That will change Wednesday, when the house will be sold at auction by Patricia Doyle Associates Auction & Realty. Information about the auction is available at the company's Web site at www.doyleauctions.com.
"We had about 200 people who came through on one open house and about 400 in the other," said M.T. Vann, auctioneer and managing broker of the property. She said about 98 percent of the visitors were curious Springfield residents, something she encourages.
"I fully expect there will be 200 to 300 people at the auction, and about 10 to 20 of those will be serious bidders. The people who are most interested in this see it as the house on the hill.
"About half want to remodel, and half want to bulldoze for its hilltop location."
Vann is having visitors guess how much they think the property will sell for. The prevailing average is well above $200,000.
"That's what the community thinks it will sell for, and I would concur with that," she said.
The house itself is enough to inspire curiosity, thanks to its size and location.
But the Donovan family has quite a history of its own.
Dr. Donovan was known as a physician, but also as a local landlord - and a bit of a curmudgeon.
A devout Catholic, Donovan and his wife went to church every day, first at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and later, after their move to 2001 W. Laurel St., Blessed Sacrament Church.
Donovan told The State Journal-Register in 1990 that his father told him that, to succeed and prosper, he should buy land.
"He certainly heeded that advice," the reporter wrote about Donovan, who was then 88 years old.
Donovan owned dozens of properties throughout his life, including apartment buildings, farmland at Archer Elevator and Lenhart roads, a 431-acre farm in Morgan County and a home in suburban Chicago.
The story surmised that it was his work as a property owner that "changed his image - at least, among some people - from the respectable Dr. Jekyll into the controversial Mr. Hyde."
Donovan spent much of the later part of his life battling the city, the state and the federal government over his properties, most notably the land eventually that would become the Tara Hills subdivision, adjoining the Laurel Street property.
There, now, one can find houses up to the $750,000 price range. But when Tara Hills was being developed, part of the land was filled with junk and trash that Donovan had removed from his rental properties and dumped behind his home. It was that project that seemed to bring Donovan most of his headaches.
Donovan died, at age 91, in February 1994. He left two children, Dianne Matthiesen and David Donovan.
According to those familiar with the case, Dianne and David fought furiously over their father's estate, which at the time was conservatively estimated, though apparently never inventoried, to be worth about $4.65 million.
Some say Matthiesen even hired attorneys to convince her father, on his hospital deathbed, to make her his executor. She refused to comment for this story.
Court records indicate the two children battled with each other until February of 2000, when they finally settled. Matthiesen took a portion of the estate, and the rest went to David Donovan, who became executor over the rest of the estate.
David worked with his father in his real estate business for much of his life. The younger Donovan also owned the Springfield Currency Exchange on South 14th Street and in that role was once charged with buying stolen merchandise. The charges later were dropped.
While overseeing his father's estate, David took some family friends - Adam, Toby and Carl Giganti - to court over Dr. Donovan's property at Archer Elevator and Lenhart Roads. That case was settled in September 2004. The Giganti family agreed to pay the Donovan estate an undisclosed amount, apparently in the $800,000 range, of which apparently 50 percent went to pay attorneys' fees.
But David Donovan died in January 2002, and his death played a great part in the Giganti land controversy. It was difficult for the courts to determine what should happen with the property because David was dead and could not testify.
But David's accountant, Craig Lewis, could. Lewis' knowledge of the Giganti case apparently led to its ultimate settlement in favor of the Donovan estate. Lewis was executor of David's estate.
In his will, David Donovan indicated he wanted money from his estate put into a trust and for interest from that trust to be divided among David's own six children. They apparently now live in the Chicago area, where they moved in 1977 after David and their mother, Barbara, divorced.
Recently, however, attorneys representing David's children have been fighting with Lewis over money he paid himself for his services and his use of a house owned by the estate on West Lake Shore Drive in Springfield.
Lewis apparently has agreed to buy the home from the estate and a contract is pending, people familiar with the case said.
The children's attorneys also say in court papers that if Lewis had sold off items or land from the estate shortly after David's death, the estate would have been worth even more. Instead, many of the items have deteriorated and are no longer worth much, or taxes and insurance had to be paid to hold on to them, they say.
Lewis' attorney, Carl Hoffee, declined to comment for this story. Court records indicate that a judge removed Lewis last fall as executor.
Some others associated with the case, however, argue that Lewis acted responsibly in connection with the Donovan estate, particularly in winning a favorable settlement from the Gigantis and in keeping taxes to a minimum.
One person associated with the case said Lewis moved into the house on West Lake Shore, where David formerly lived, because he couldn't get anyone to insure it while it was vacant and that he used money from the estate to fix up the home. Lewis intended to do the same later with the Laurel Street house, the person said.
That portion of the estate still is being hashed out.
When it is, and once the mansion on Laurel and some other bits and pieces of property are disposed of, a conservative estimate of the value of the estate is about $1 million.
Also part of the auction is David Donovan's 1986 Rolls Royce Corniche convertible, which has some damage.
A third open house is scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday. The house also will be open starting at noon Wednesday. The auction is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Court records indicate the contents of the house, including furniture, dishes, mirrors, and other items, were largely auctioned off in 2003. Few Donovan family belongings remain.
Two safes still remain in the home, but both have been opened and no valuables were found.
"There were no Al Capone mysteries," Vann said.
But the home's history, and its location, location, location, are expected to draw a crowd - and perhaps a pretty price - on Wednesday.
Sarah Antonacci can be reached at 788-1529 or sarah.antonacci@sj-r.com.
Contact Information:
Patricia Doyle Associates Auction & Real
M.T.Vann
Tel:
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
Patricia Doyle Associates Auction & Real
M.T.Vann
Tel:
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
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