RE/MAX Agent Maureen O’Brien Puts Her Local Knowledge to Good Use in "Chicago’s Gold Coast"

Chicago, IL, August 05, 2012 --(PR.com)-- The Gold Coast area of Chicago’s Near North Side has long been both home and workplace for Maureen O’Brien, a broker associate with RE/MAX Premier Properties. It has become her literary subject, too. O’Brien, who has been selling real estate since the 1970s, is a co-author of “Chicago’s Gold Coast,” a history of the wealthy lakefront neighborhood published in July by Arcadia Publishing.

A current board member and past president of the Gold Coast Neighborhood Association, O’Brien has lived in the neighborhood while selling real estate there. As a result, she is intimately familiar with all aspects of the area, especially its intriguing history and wonderful mix of residential architecture.

O’Brien’s co-authors include her daughter, Kathleen Willis Morton, who is an established writer, and Wilbert Jones. Much of the outstanding photography is by Robert Dowey. Also included is a forward by noted Chicago financier Richard Driehaus.

The book traces the development of the Gold Coast from its origins as swamp land to its current place as one of America’s wealthiest and most sought-after urban neighborhoods. The new book has earned positive reviews from Gold Coast residents and the press, according to O’Brien.

Arcadia Publishing is known for its books on local neighborhoods and the history behind them. It has also earned a reputation for publishing evocative photos of neighborhoods as they have grown and changed over the years.

“The Gold Coast is such a unique place with a strong sense of community,” O’Brien said. “It’s just a special part of Chicago.”

While it took the three authors about a year to write the book, O’Brien enjoyed the experience so much that she and her daughter are making plans to write a second book together. This one will detail the history of another famed Chicago neighborhood, Old Town, which is just a block or two west of the Gold Coast.

RE/MAX has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989. The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, with headquarters in Elgin, Ill., consists of 2,100 sales associates and 110 individually owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services. Its www.illinoisproperty.com and www.remax.com websites are leaders in consumer visits among real estate franchise brands. Its mobile search, m.illinoisproperty.com, allows users to conduct real estate searches on any mobile device with Internet access. The northern Illinois network is part of RE/MAX LLC, a global real estate organization with 88,000 sales associates in 90 nations.