Fine Arts Building, Chicago

Built around 1884, this stone-clad beauty kicked off the architectural groove along South Michigan Avenue. Picture a chunky Romanesque base, elegant arches perched on beefy red granite columns, and voilà—instant showroom glam for Studebaker carriages on the first five floors. These arches didn’t just look good—they functioned like giant picture windows for horsepower on wheels. And up top—a shift in tempo: smaller, clustered windows marking the spaces where carriages and wagons were once assembled, piece by clunky piece...

Years later, Studebaker exited the stage, and in waltzed Charles C. Curtiss—a music publisher with a taste for reinvention. He commissioned architect Beman to turn the place into a one-stop creative playground. Out went the wheels, in came the arts. The building grew up—literally—gaining three new skylit floors to house studios and artistic ambition. Eventually, this revamped gem even hosted suffragettes and, by the 1920s, found itself at the heart of Chicago’s literary whirl.

Step inside today, and you're in for a maze of wood-paneled hallways humming with history. There’s the whimsical Venetian Court, a vertical slice of charm complete with internal balconies, plus original Art Nouveau murals that refuse to be ignored. The building now houses ten floors of artistic energy—painters, pianists, dancers, and dreamers all under one roof. Pop by the FAB Second Floor Art Gallery or listen for the gentle piano echoes from PianoForte down below.

There may be no curtain calls or dance classes for visitors, but art is everywhere here, if you know where to look. So, given the opportunity, don't hesitate to take a stroll through the courtyard, let the soaring sopranos and brooding baritones serenade you, and enjoy the sweet chaos of artists doing what they do best—creating magic in broad daylight.