C.J.: A mansion on W. 70th Street? Nah; how about on Antrim Road?

No doubt about it, Antrim Road sounds ritzier than W. 70th Street.

But Anne Wichmann claims that's not why she and her husband, David Wichmann, a UnitedHealth Group exec veep, successfully fought Edina to keep 7000 Antrim Road as the address of the mansion that the city has valued at $1.5 mil.

"It had nothing to do with status, it has nothing to do with the numbers, it has nothing to do with anything except that this property has had this address for all those years," she told me.

Her recollection of discussions on the subject varies from that of the city official who informed the Wichmanns that because their corner manse's facade and garage entrance are both on W. 70th Street, 70th should have been their street address, not the side street Antrim. Antrim is, by the way, a county in Northern Ireland.

"Our concern is that emergency services be able to find the house," city building official Steve Kirchman told me. "That's all I care about."

It's apparently not uncommon for some people to feel that a street address with a name is classier than one with a number.

When I told Kirchman my call was about the house at 70th and Antrim, he recalled the unusual meeting -- Wichmann described it to me as a "thorough presentation" -- city officials had with the Wichmanns.

I wondered: Did Kirchman acquiesce because wealthy people usually get their way?

"Well, we would listen to anybody with that same argument," Kirchman said. "And, of course, they more readily agreed [to build the monument sign]. They are probably spending, I'm speculating, $10,000 on that monument."

Wichmann said the address has been 7000 Antrim for decades before her family purchased the property.

Why was that allowed? "It's not that we allowed it," Kirchman said. "It just never came to our attention. If the fire department or police had brought it to my attention, then we would have talked to the owners about changing it."

Said Wichmann: "What a paperwork nightmare. We're the third owners of this property and throughout all this time all the legal documents" have read 7000 Antrim. "... I truly want the fire marshal to be able to find me because my family is number one importance," she said.

Big dream, smaller lot The specs on this house are a look into the lifestyles of wealthy health care executives. The Wichmanns' dream home has 9,999 square feet, five bedrooms and an average ceiling height of 10 feet, according to city records. They tore down a $375,000 house on the property, on land valued at $750,000, to build this manse.

"This is about an acre and a half property," Wichmann told me. "I am a very private person. I don't know why people would be calling you and concerned about it."

I think that has something to do with the scale of the house. When told I thought the house needed about four more acres, she said, "Actually it doesn't. We feel we've built a beautiful home. We've been very fortunate to be able to build our dream."

Unfortunately, Wichmann is realizing her dream home at a time when there's a backlash over ostentatious, out-of-place housing.

In October, I got a 332.TIPS call about the house from a woman named Laura.

Enjoy the view while you can.

Wichmann told me they've planted a hundred or so trees that, when mature, will conceal the house.

Dublin was fine by Dave Speaking of Famous Dave, chair emeritus of the Minnetonka-based restaurant chain he created, it's time to clear up some inaccurate gossip about his Antrim Road address.

It's not true that Dave and Kathy Anderson got the city to change the address of the Dublin Road property to Antrim Road.

"I had no problem with Dublin Road," Kathy Anderson said Monday.

The small house formerly on the property, from which salvageable materials were given to Habitat for Humanity, had a Dublin Road address because of its garage and front. "The city took care of the everything," Anderson said.