In the spring of 2005 the owners of the Mark Morton Estate located in Carol Stream (Wheaton), Illinois decided to sell the valuable 63 acre plot of land. The 8,000 square foot Georgian Mansion built in 1930 had fallen into disrepair and the land out valued the home. In April of 2005 Architectural Antiques bought the salvage rights to 3 solid paneled rooms.

Built with a pricetag of $460,000 as one of downtown Waukegan’s two lux hotels: the Karcher Building was designed by architects BK Gibson of Chicago, and welcomed its first guests on June 28, 1928.

The hotel’s 150 rooms were frequented over the following decades by families attending graduation ceremonies at nearby Naval Station Great Lakes, and those who could not find rooms in Chicago. For those latter guests: the Hotel featured a rooftop-mounted spotlight aimed at the lake to help guests find the hotel from the train station – a feature the hotel proudly advertised wherever possible with the tagline: “Follow the beacon light to the Karcher Hotel.” Though dark, it’s still there, today.