Winnetka
List Price: $5.9 million
Sale price: $5 million

Occupying the end of a narrow, tree-shaded lane and fronted by a stone-walled motor court, this vine-covered Tudor-style residence might easily be a venerable manor house nestled in the hills of western England. Instead, the home is situated on Chicago’s North Shore, and one of its former owners was a quintessential emblem of postwar America.

In 1998, Ned Jannotta Jr. and Erika Pearsall bought the house for $1.75 million from the estate of Gertrude Nielsen. She was the wife of Arthur C. Nielsen, who in 1923 founded A. C. Nielsen, which conducted market research. After World War II, the company’s television ratings became the standard gauge for measuring TV viewership. Arthur Nielsen died in 1980; Gertrude Nielsen, a well-known philanthropist, died in 1998.

The 14-room house, built in 1937, has six bedrooms, four fireplaces, and a library. The one-and-a-half-acre property has a pool, a tennis court, and extensive gardens. Recent renovations included installation of a designer kitchen, a home theatre, and, in what was once the attic, a great room, a home gym, and that sixth bedroom. Neither Jannotta nor the couple’s real-estate agent, Paige Dooley of the Hudson Company, was available for comment. The name of the buyer could not be identified from public records.

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Photograph: Chrisguillen.com