When the sun sets at 2000 Lincoln Park West, a luxury apartment building on Chicago’s North Side, it’s possible — particularly during spring and summer — to hear lions roaring.
Those shaggy-maned animals are housed at Lincoln Park Zoo, which is just across the street from this 195-unit building.
The limestone-clad structure is home to another Chicago landmark — Richard Melman’s original R.J. Grunt’s restaurant.
The history of this building, however, actually goes back much further. It opened its ornately decorated, gold front door as a residential hotel in 1927.
Although many apartment buildings in the Lincoln Park neighborhood are going condo, this one is bucking the trend. It is managed by Realty & Mortgage Co. of Chicago.
As it did when it opened, it continues to provide rental living — the units go for between $900 to $1,100 a month for a 400- to 550-square-foot studio to $3,045 for a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment.
The lobby recently was renovated to maintain its original, luxe atmosphere. It features carved African walnut on the walls, ornate brass chandeliers, and muted patterns of red and black in the marble floors.
The unit we visited is on the building’s 16th floor. A large foyer with a parquet wood floor is the first space into which a visitor steps.
This space, which also contains a walk-in closet, is large enough to hold a love seat, some artwork on the walls and an occasional table.
A turn to the right through an arched doorway from this foyer takes you into the 14-by-22-foot living room. This room is on the building’s northeast corner and offers, from a bank of five windows, views of Lincoln Park Zoo and Lake Michigan in the distance.
The spacious room is made to seem more cozy by a fireplace with a black and white marble hearth and a white mantel above it. Although the fireplace lends an air of warmth — in appearance only — it is decorative and cannot be used for actually burning logs.
Another doorway from the living room leads into the 12-by-15-foot dining room. This room also has parquet floors and decorative molding that lend old-fashioned appeal. In addition, there is a brass chandelier at the room’s center and two windows that also overlook the zoo and the lake. One of the unit’s old-time features can be found in the 16-by-7-foot kitchen which is just next to the dining room. It has been updated in shades of white and is brightened by the sun that flows through a single window.
There are white, paneled cabinets in this long, narrow space, as well as new white appliances. At one end of the room is a service door with a wooden flap near the bottom where, at one time, people may have left their shoes outside to be shined or where an ice vendor made a delivery.
Getting to the bedrooms from the kitchen involves retracing your steps to the entry foyer. A short hallway that extends from here includes a cedar closet and leads to the bedrooms.
The first of the bedrooms is 12 by 19 feet and has two windows that provide a view to Lake Shore Drive as it streteches north. This room has an adjoining bathroom that has a white tile floor, a white tub and vanity, a window with a white shutter and the original, cream-colored tiles on the walls.
Although this bathroom does not have a tub, it has a glass-enclosed shower that is equipped with a series of shower heads that provide pulsating jets of water.
The final room to be seen is the master bedroom which can be reached through a doorway at the end of the hallway. Closing this door is just what is needed to create the feel of a private suite.
Immediately to the left is a bathroom. The bedroom is straight ahead through another arched doorway. The bathroom here has a white tile floor, a white tub and vanity, along with a built-in medicine chest topped by a bar of Hollywood lights. The master bedroom is 11 by 18 feet and has two windows that look to the east, a ceiling fan and a walk-in closet.
On one wall is another door that conceals a shallow closet which, at one time, contained a Murphy bed. Although the closet no longer is used to hide a bed, it can be equipped with a desk and shelving for holding a modern-day convenience–a computer.
The building features a 24-hour laundry room in the basement, as well as an exercise room and a rooftop deck. For rental information, call 773-549-2000.
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Lakefront rental
Address: 2000 Lincoln Park West Chicago
Size: Two bedroom, two bath
Rent: $3,045
Security Deposit: $3,045
Utilities: Resident pays electricity.
Parking: 24-hour valet service at a nearby garage.Lakefront rental
