Image Courtesy of Coldwell Banker

When I was touring South Africa as a recent high school graduate in the summer of 1996, a strange pattern caught me by surprise. In more than a few instances, when I informed a stranger that I hailed from the city of Chicago, Illinois, their first question was: “Are there still gangsters?” The second was usually, “Did anyone in your family know Al Capone?”

Though the notorious organized crime boss born as Alphonse Gabriel Capone died in 1947 (reportedly, from an advanced case of syphilis), being dead for 64 years hasn’t done a thing to diminish interest in his legend. Pop culture has continued the nation’s love affair with the glamorous and brutal Capone through such mediums as the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Untouchables. More recently, Capone has appeared as a character on HBO‘s Steve Bushemi vehicle, Boardwalk Empire.

Now, interested real estate investors can get a lot closer to the legend than fictional portrayals of “Scarface” can offer. For a listing price of $234,900 via agent Cindy Heckelsberg of Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell, you can purchase this three bedroom, one and a half bathroom home that was rumored to be one of Capone’s gin mills, a site of illicit spirit production during the Prohibition era.

Located in Yorkville, Illinois, just a short distance from the city proper, the single-family detached property was built in a rustic, log cabin style. While the first floor is an original part of the architecture, the second floor was a later addition designed to increase living space.

It’s fun (and maybe scary) to consider the activities that took place in the home while Capone was the owner. A perfect mystery just in time for Halloween!