Fine Arts Building
- Architect
- Solon S. Beman, 1898 addn & remodel
- Year
- 1885
- Style
- Art Nouveau
- City
- Chicago, IL
Built in 1884-1885 as the Studebaker Building, this 10-story structure at 410 S. Michigan Avenue was the carriage maker's Chicago sales and service operation, with manufacturing on the upper floors. Architect Solon Spencer Beman remodeled it in 1898, removing the original eighth floor and adding three new stories, and renamed it the Fine Arts Building for its new life as a home for artists' studios, galleries, and theaters.
the building
The entrance columns. The main entrance is flanked by two granite columns 3 feet 8 inches in diameter and 12 feet 10 inches tall, said to be the largest polished monolithic shafts in the country.
1898 murals. Beman's renovation added Art Nouveau interior motifs and murals by artists including Martha Susan Baker, Frederic Clay Bartlett, Oliver Dennett Grover, Frank Xavier Leyendecker, and Bertha Sophia Menzler-Peyton.
Women-run Arts and Crafts shops. In the early 20th century the building housed the Kalo Shop and Wilro Shop, women-owned firms specializing in Arts and Crafts metalwork and design.
the style
The Art Nouveau motifs and murals date specifically to Beman's 1898 remodel, giving the building's interior a decorative character distinct from its origins as a plain carriage showroom.
More on Art Nouveauthe architect
Solon Spencer Beman designed the original Studebaker Building in 1884-85 and returned in 1898 to remodel it into the Fine Arts Building, removing its top floor and adding three new ones.
significance
The Fine Arts Building sits within the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District, was designated a Chicago Landmark on June 7, 1978, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
nearby
- Buckingham Building
- Chicago Club
- Auditorium Building
- 333 South Wabash
- Leiter II Building
- Railway Exchange Building