Dear Mr. Nickerson, I love your house!

Time Out Chicago’s latest issue goes on and on about spa deals, and SpaFinder’s much anticipated Deal Days are coming up soon. But what are you going to do after that luxurious massage and facial? If you still want to feel like a million bucks and see, well, over a million bucks worth of stuff, you should head over to the Driehaus Museum on Erie and Wabash!

The museum is housed in the Gilded Age home of banker Samuel Mayo Nickerson and is gorgeously lavish, complete with 18 different types of marble (it was nicknamed the Marble Palace) throughout the house and other treasures that must be experienced first-hand.

Nickerson’s home was built from 1879 – 1883 during America’s Gilded Age (1878 – 1889), a term coined by Mark Twain to satirise the greed and wealth associated with rapid industrial change. During that time, oil, steel and railway tycoons were making bank and bragging about it by getting the top architects and craftsmen to make mini-palaces for them.

Picture courtesy of Cape Cod History

Mr. Nickerson moved to Chicago in 1858 and made his fortune in the liquor distillery business. Turns out he made a deal with the Union Army to supply them with liquor for both drinking and making explosives. Smart man! Once he became rich and his first Chicago house burned down in the Great Fire of 1871, he decided to build a new place.

After the Great Fire Mr. Nickerson was known to be a bit paranoid about his place burning down, so every floor and wall has a brick wall behind it, and even the ceiling has a vaulted brick wall behind it. Essentially the Marble Palace is a box inside of a box.

Unfortunately you cannot take pictures of the home on the tour, so instead of giving you a complete visual tour I have decided to show you two rooms that I really liked and then tell you some fun facts about the house and its inhabitants!

The Marble Palace cost $450,000 to build and was designed by architects Burling and Whitehouse. It may not seem like a lot of money, but the average family income in the late 19th century was only $380/year, so you can imagine how lavish the home seemed to the normal Tom and Mary!

Photo courtesy of the Driehaus Museum

The reception room above is by far the most breathtaking in the house. Turquoise ceramic tiles cover the walls and handcrafted, intricate walnut woodwork makes the room feel inviting. The lamp in the right hand side of the picture was made by Tiffany and co. and features eight authentic nautilus shells. It’s a one-of-a-kind, naturally!

This room also features a built in cabinet that has a different lock for every single door and drawer. Since Mr. Nickerson was rich and a banker, he really put some thought into how to burglar-proof his place. His solution? Having over 400 locks installed on all of his cabinets, drawers, etc. and having an individual key for each one.

Yes, every lock has a small plaque underneath with a number, which corresponded to the key that could unlock it.

In addition he had a huge safe built on the north side of the home (first floor) that contained another safe inside. Paranoid much?

Mrs. Nickerson had a different approach to burglars. In 1899 a night watchman woke Mrs. Nickerson up to tell her that a burglar was running away with $400 worth of silver and jewels. Instead of ordering someone to go after the burglar, she ran after him/them herself! Unfortunately, they got away.

Photo courtesy of the Driehaus Museum

The drawing room (above) was primarily designed by George A. Schastey. It features a tripartite pattern with satinwood wainscoting (bottom) and complex geometric marquetry work. Marquetry work is defined by inlaying pieces of veneer in wood to create patterns. Shimmery peach-coloured material makes up the second part of the room (e.g. the wall fill), and decorative metal panels with stylised sunflowers make up the frieze (top).

You can watch a virtual tour of the Nickerson’s house below, but be warned: it is not nearly as interesting as going to the museum yourself and taking the tour.