728 1/2 Hinman Avenue Unit 2S
Evanston, IL 60202

This one bedroom home sits in a stately courtyard building on Hinman Avenue, just off the Main Dempster Mile, and it holds light from morning through evening thanks to east and west exposures at both ends of the floor plan. The living room opens into a corner bay of windows looking over the courtyard and out into the treetops, a view that stays green all summer and quiet all year. Original crown molding runs the perimeter. Refinished oak floors carry through every room. Beyond the living room is something most one bedroom homes gave up decades ago: a true separate dining room. A bank of three windows fills it through the afternoon. It seats a full table with room to spare, and it works just as easily as a study, a home office, or a second living space, which is the kind of flexibility that changes how a year in a home actually feels. The kitchen is the surprise. It was designed by de Giulio design, the Wilmette firm known internationally for custom kitchen architecture, and it was built for this exact space rather than pulled off a shelf. Warm cherry cabinetry climbs to the ceiling. Arched steel shelving arcs above the counters. Granite and butcher block share the work surfaces, so there is a proper prep counter and a proper baking counter. A pass through was cut into the wall and finished with a butcher block ledge, which turns cooking into something you do with company rather than alone. A gas range, dishwasher, and the building's original glass paneled service door finish it. The bedroom sits off the dining room at the quiet interior of the home, with a ceiling fan and generous closet space. The bathroom is fully vintage and fully intact: original tile, pedestal sink, recessed medicine cabinet, hex floor, and a window at the tub. This is the kind of character that gets torn out of most buildings and never comes back. Heat is included. Window air conditioning is included. Laundry and bike storage are in the basement, and the lake is close enough that the bike gets used. The building is a classic Evanston courtyard walk up on a residential stretch of Hinman where the loudest thing most nights is wind off the water. The previous resident stayed more than twenty years, which explains how one can live in and fall in love with such a home. Outside, the Main Dempster Mile begins within a couple of blocks, more than two hundred independent businesses along Chicago Avenue, Main Street, and Dempster Street. Coffee in the morning, groceries on the way home, dinner without moving the car. Blind Faith Cafe, La Principal, and Button Bakery are all part of it, and SPACE brings live music within walking distance. Two CTA Purple Line stations and the Main Street Metra station sit inside the same district, so the Loop is a straightforward ride and Northwestern is minutes north. Lake Michigan is a short walk east, with Lee Street Beach, South Boulevard Beach, and the lakefront paths that connect them. A Saturday here: coffee and the bakery early, the beach or a lakefront ride midday, a wander through the shops on Main, dinner on Chicago Avenue, home before the light goes. Available immediately on a twelve month lease. Pets welcome. Heat included. Tenant pays electricity, gas, cable, and internet. Street parking.