Address: 3260 N. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago.
Size: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths.
Rent: $2,425 a month.
Security deposit: 1 month’s rent.
Utilities: Resident pays cooking gas and electricity.
Parking: Garage, $155 a month.
It’s easy to imagine the glamorous Nick and Nora Charles from the “Thin Man” movies living and solving mysteries in this spacious apartment, which overlooks Lake Shore Drive.
Constructed in the 1930s, the brick and limestone building is of the same vintage as those black and white films. The white walls, wood parquet floors and arched doorways of the three-bedroom unit we visited would be the perfect backdrop for Nora, dressed in a fabulous gown, or for Nick, attired in a smoking jacket or tux.
After an evening on the town, they might hop from a cab and glide through the building’s front door into the large public lobby, which is as elegant as the building’s exterior. It is decorated in black, white and gold and features framed drawings of Grecian urns on the walls.
An elevator would carry the couple to the 11th floor, where they would disembark and turn the key in the front door of their apartment. If quiet is what they sought, it would likely be found here. There is just one other unit on this floor and only 33 units in the entire building, which is managed by Wirtz Realty of Chicago.
The unit’s entry foyer, also called the gallery, is large enough to accommodate a love seat, a table and a large vase.
Calling it a gallery is appropriate because one can imagine displaying artwork on the white walls. At each end of this space are two arched doorways. One leads into the dining room; the other into the living room. The foyer also features an arched nook in its creamy plaster walls where statuary could be displayed.
Walking to the left, one enters the dining room, which is 14 by 19 feet. Nora would hardly have to worry about guests feeling cramped at a dinner party held in this space. A party of eight could easily be seated at a large formal table, where the group would indulge in a multicourse meal. The room also has two mullioned windows and a door that leads into the kitchen.
This is a kitchen that was designed for people who were likely wealthy enough to have a cook, a maid, or both.
Just as restaurants do, the door to the kitchen features a circular window so a maid carrying a platter of food would not collide with the butler.
The entryway to the kitchen is actually a butler’s pantry that has built-in cabinets, some with glass mullioned doors flanking both sides. In addition to the cabinets, there is a door here that leads to a service elevator. This is where recyclables and garbage cans are conveniently placed for daily pickup.
Returning to the kitchen, one finds a space that is 10 by 13 feet. It has a white and gray floor that features a diamond pattern. There is a large window, white cabinets and white appliances, including a dishwasher. This room obviously was designed with the notion of entertaining in mind. It includes a double oven where the mashed potatoes can be warmed on one side while the turkey is roasting to a golden brown in the oven next to it.
A rectangular-shaped call system, labeled with the names of the apartment’s various, different rooms, is affixed to one wall of the kitchen. At a time when a maid was employed here, this system would have buzzed and lit up so that a maid could answer her employer’s call for assistance.
A doorway from the kitchen leads into what once would have been the maid’s bedroom. It is 10 by 10 feet and features two windows. There is a double closet where a maid’s uniforms were likely hung, as well as built-in cabinets above it.
Today, this room might be turned into a home office. It features proximity to the kitchen, where a snack could be fixed while working, as well as an adjoining bathroom, which has a white pedestal sink and a white tub.
This bathroom also features hookups for a washer and dryer should someone decide to use it as a laundry room rather than a bathroom. Otherwise, there is a common laundry room on the building’s second floor.
To see the unit’s larger bedrooms and their adjoining bathrooms, one must walk back through the kitchen and dining room, into the unit’s main foyer. A doorway off the foyer leads past the coat closet and into one of the apartment’s bathrooms.
This room is decorated with white tile with green accents.
Because it is close to the foyer, it would be used as a guest bathroom, as well as the bathroom for whomever occupies the smaller of the bedrooms. This bathroom also has a white pedestal sink, a white tub/shower and a doorway that leads into the smaller of the bedrooms.
At 13 by 18 feet, it is hard to consider this a smaller or second bedroom, but it is. It has two large windows and a closet with a mirror on the inside of the door where the latest fashions might be checked before venturing outdoors.
A second doorway from this bedroom leads into a small hallway outside the master bedroom. This small area might be considered a vanity or dressing area. It features a large walk-in cedar closet where one’s more expensive clothes, such as cashmere sweaters, would be stored.
There is another space that leads into the master bedroom. This space also has built-in closets on both sides.
The master bedroom measures 14 by 20 feet and has two large mullioned windows that overlook Lake Shore Drive and offer a view of the blue waters of Belmont Harbor. The adjoining bathroom is decorated much like the one attached to the second bedroom. Although decorated mostly in white tile, this bathroom has accents of black tile. There also is a white pedestal sink and white tub/shower.
A nearly identical view of the lake as seen from the unit’s master bedroom can be seen from the living room.
The living room can be reached from the master bedroom by returning through the vanity area to the unit’s entry foyer. Take a left and you find yourself walking through an arched doorway into the living room.
One’s eye is immediately drawn to the two mullioned windows through which Lake Michigan can be seen in the distance. This is where Nick and Nora, or any other couple living here, would entertain guests.
Perhaps, they would mix martinis in silver shakers before showing friends the view of the blue waters of Belmont Harbor, which is across the street.
The living room, which is 16 by 24 feet, has two large mullioned windows through which this view can be enjoyed.
For rental information, call 312-943-7000.
