The house is now a museum, and has some incredible history:
It survived fires, was a church for a short time, and during one of its moves (in 1977), was lifted entirely over the el tracks.
The house was built for Henry B Clarke, a New Yorker who moved to Chicago a few years before. According to Wikipedia, the house was built by John Rye, who later married the Clarkes' housemaid.
It is (obviously) a Chicago Landmark, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.