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First look at Wrigleyville’s new baseball-inspired boutique hotel, The Wheelhouse

  • Hotel key cards at the new Wheelhouse Hotel are in...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    Hotel key cards at the new Wheelhouse Hotel are in keeping with the property's baseball theme.

  • Tables in the hotel lobby face Clark Street. Hotel guests...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    Tables in the hotel lobby face Clark Street. Hotel guests and other patrons can have pastries and coffee in the homey space.

  • A mini bar offers a box of Cracker Jack and...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    A mini bar offers a box of Cracker Jack and other treats at the Wheelhouse Hotel.

  • Nods to America's pastime are peppered throughout the hotel.

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    Nods to America's pastime are peppered throughout the hotel.

  • A quote from baseball legend Yogi Berra is posted outside...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    A quote from baseball legend Yogi Berra is posted outside a room at the new Wheelhouse Hotel.

  • A room at the new Wheelhouse Hotel, with a window...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    A room at the new Wheelhouse Hotel, with a window overlooking Clark Street.

  • Looking southeast down Clark Street from the hotel rooftop, which...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    Looking southeast down Clark Street from the hotel rooftop, which holds about 50 people. It's open to hotel guests and can be reserved for private functions.

  • The Wheelhouse Hotel's four-story greystone was built in the early...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    The Wheelhouse Hotel's four-story greystone was built in the early 1900s and used to be an apartment building.

  • Each of the guestrooms has a baseball-related quote posted outside...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    Each of the guestrooms has a baseball-related quote posted outside the door.

  • A candy bodega in the hotel lobby is stocked with...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    A candy bodega in the hotel lobby is stocked with sweet treats, including Cracker Jack, of course.

  • Bathrobes are among the amenities for guests at the new...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    Bathrobes are among the amenities for guests at the new Wheelhouse Hotel.

  • A room number is written in tile in front of...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    A room number is written in tile in front of the door at the new Wheelhouse Hotel.

  • A fourth-floor room at the new Wheelhouse Hotel, where ceilings...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    A fourth-floor room at the new Wheelhouse Hotel, where ceilings on the top floor measure 12 feet high.

  • A vintage scoreboard is a focal point of the lobby...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    A vintage scoreboard is a focal point of the lobby at the new Wheelhouse Hotel in Wrigleyville.

  • A hat and ice bucket are part of the decor...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    A hat and ice bucket are part of the decor in a guestroom at the new Wheelhouse Hotel.

  • Chairs from the early 1900s that once belonged to Selz...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    Chairs from the early 1900s that once belonged to Selz Chicago Shoes now sit at the end of a hallway in The Wheelhouse.

  • Nearly 400 baseball bats donated by Louisville Slugger form an...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    Nearly 400 baseball bats donated by Louisville Slugger form an art installation in the hotel lobby. People who've been to Bedderman Lodging's FieldHouse Jones property might see a similarity between this and the vintage tennis racket installation at FieldHouse Jones.

  • The bathrooms at the new Wheelhouse Hotel all have walk-in...

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    The bathrooms at the new Wheelhouse Hotel all have walk-in showers, no tubs.

  • A room at the new Wheelhouse Hotel, opening Sept. 1.

    Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

    A room at the new Wheelhouse Hotel, opening Sept. 1.

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A new player on the city’s lodging scene debuts Saturday, when The Wheelhouse Hotel opens in rapidly changing Wrigleyville.

The 21-room boutique property at 3475 N. Clark St. is a line drive away from Wrigley Field, and nods to America’s pastime are peppered throughout the restored four-story greystone.

A vintage green scoreboard is a focal point of the lobby, a living room-like space that exudes a hip-yet-homey vibe with its polished concrete floors, salvaged furniture, warm brick walls and wood beams on the high ceiling.

Hundreds of donated Louisville Slugger bats, some of which appear to be shooting like projectiles from the wall, make up an art installation near the reception desk. A blue gas station sign that once advertised prices at the pump has been retrofitted to show the going rate for tickets to a Cubs game. Baseball-related quotes are everywhere, from outside each of the guestrooms to a cinema lightbox showcasing words attributed to the game’s legendary Yogi Berra: “Little Things Are Big.”

“That’s sort of our mantra with this hotel,” said Robby Baum, co-owner of Bedderman Lodging, the developer of the property. “We’re only 21 rooms, but there’s a lot of big ideas and big design here. And we pay attention to the small matters.”

Chicago-based Bedderman bills itself as a pioneer of alternative lodging, offering elevated hostel-type accommodations within neighborhoods, as opposed to traditional big-hotel territory downtown. Its portfolio includes Urban Holiday Lofts in Bucktown, Holiday Jones in Wicker Park and FieldHouse Jones on the edge of River North.

The Wheelhouse marks a departure for Bedderman; it’s the company’s most upscale lodging, with no hostel-style rooms that can be shared by strangers.

“This property has really been an evolution of our brand,” Baum said. “It’s a bit more mature than the work we’ve done. We wanted to elevate what we’ve been doing but still maintain the fun aspect of what we have in our other locations.”

Jars of candy, chocolate bars and, of course, Cracker Jack, are for sale in the lobby, along with baseball bobbleheads and sterling-silver cuff links made out of teams’ pin-back buttons ($125).

Guestroom minibars are stocked with Big League Chew bubble gum, Baby Ruth bars and locally made products, like gourmet pretzels from Southport Grocery and Cafe and canned gin and tonics by Chicago Distilling Co.

While all of the guestrooms have an earthy, urban loft feel in various shades of peach, yellow, orange and blue, no two rooms look exactly alike. Some have four bunk beds. Others have a king bed and a sofa lounge. Those on the top level, the fourth floor, have soaring, 12-foot ceilings.

Half a dozen rooms have balconies, largely facing the backs of other buildings. Rooms with windows overlooking Clark Street will be prime perches for people-watching on game days.

Black-and-white tile mosaic floors give a vintage touch to the bathrooms — all with walk-in showers, no tubs.

The hotel doesn’t have a fitness center or spa, but it does have an expansive rooftop deck (with a bar) reserved for guests and private functions. The views of the downtown skyline in the distance are impressive. Not too far away is a clear shot of The Wheelhouse’s closest competitor, the 173-room Hotel Zachary that opened earlier this year, and a partial peek at Wrigley’s lights.

On the ground-floor lobby, a stone archway leads into Union Full Board, a full-service eatery from Evanston’s Union Restaurant Group. The menu features Detroit-style, square-cut pizzas and small plates.

Union also will operate the downstairs cocktail bar called Tinker to Evers. Like the name of the hotel, Tinker to Evers is another baseball reference, this one pertaining to one of the most famous double-play combinations in the history of the sport.

Both Union Full Board and Tinker to Evers are expected to open not long after the hotel, which Baum and his business partner, Mike Downing, had hoped to launch in tandem with the beginning of baseball season.

“An older building like this has so many nuances,” Baum said about the early 20th-century greystone that had been an apartment building. “Different layers of construction have been done over the years. Peeling back those layers of the onion took a little more time than we expected.”

Bedderman started the project two years ago, “although it feels like five,” joked Downing. “Some of the things we thought were up to code weren’t, so all of that had to be fixed.”

Original plans called for constructing a new building on the vacant lot next door to add 28 more hotel rooms. They’ve since scotched that idea, opting instead to build a 2,000-square-foot patio to accommodate diners at Union Full Board.

“We want to have that open at the start of next season,” Baum said.

There’s no doubt that when the Cubs play home games, The Wheelhouse stands to be a winner. A recent look at online rates in September showed a room going for $158 on a Monday night. A week later, when the Cubs are in town, that same room was listed for $543.

“We know a good portion of our business will be from the baseball season, but we want to focus on being a neighborhood location too,” Baum said. “With baseball — cross your fingers with playoffs and the World Series — and concerts, that’s maybe 100 days of special events in the area. That’s still more than two-thirds of the year that aren’t game-related. We want this to be a comfortable, fun environment for everyone, anytime.”

lrackl@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lorirackl