Born in New York City and trained at MIT, Chicago architect Andrew Rebori was adept at working on a grand scale. Take his Madonna della Strada Chapel at Loyola University or the classical revival Racquet Club in the Gold Coast. Married to a niece of Chicago Tribune publisher Robert McCormick, Rebori was nicely positioned to snag commissions from well-heeled city dwellers. His co-op apartments at 2430 North Lakeview Avenue, completed in 1927, were set up like mansions, with public rooms on one floor, bedrooms above, and impressive staircases in between.

Even when fashioning tighter quarters, he delivered the goods. Built as pieds-à-terre for North Shore millionaires who didn’t always want to trek home, the co-op units at 40–50 West Schiller Street are mini versions of his more opulent residences. Featuring fireplaces and formal dining rooms, the apartments share a spacious formal garden centered on a gurgling fountain. A particularly graceful unit, which has not been on the market in 20 years, was recently listed at $925,000.

At three stories and 18 units, the red brick property (built by the Dahl-Stedman Co., the firm that executed Buckingham Fountain) could pass for a pair of substantial single-family homes. Unit 1E measures only 1,700 square feet, but its detailing and layout project a house-like ambience. The double-height living room sports a cove ceiling. Built-in bookcases frame the entry to the adjacent dining room, which opens via French doors to the shared garden. The gently curving staircase to the second floor (where one of three bedrooms was converted to a walk-in closet) is fashioned with wrought-iron balusters. The movers and shakers of the Roaring Twenties used this sweet spot as a crash pad, but in 2023, it looks like a place to plant some roots.