Fine Arts Building 125th Anniversary

Join the celebration for the Fine Arts Building’s 125th anniversary on October 13th, now officially Fine Arts Building Day in Chicago! Read the Mayoral Proclamation about Fine Arts Building Day here.

Since 1898, the Fine Arts Building has been one of Chicago’s landmark artist havens and a home for art in all forms: from pioneers like Poetry magazine’s founding publisher Harriet Monroe, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, sculptor Lorado Taft, Wizard of Oz illustrator William W. Denslow, and the Chicago Little Theatre, to the ongoing legacies of painters, musicians, booksellers, puppeteers, dancers, photographers and craftspeople who inhabit the building today, the Fine Arts Building is buzzing with more than a century of Chicago creativity and innovation. A Chicago Landmark since 1978, the building features original manually operated elevators, Art Nouveau murals from the late 19th century and the recently renovated Studebaker Theater, one of the city’s oldest and most significant live theatrical venues.

From 5:00 – 9:00pm, visit the building for our free open studios event, with participating tenants including the 2nd Floor Art Gallery featuring artist Don Yang, Performers Music, Ann Pickett Studio and Gallery, portrait artist Lou Ann Burkhardt, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, Exile in Bookville, Jazz Institute of Chicago, illustrator and editorial cartoonist Richard Laurent, Liederstube, Monsieur Pamplemousse custom jewelry by Alex Agudo, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater, Patrice Olsen Fine Art, Ossia Musical Forum, Oak Street Design, and the Press Here Studio.

Explore these and more on all 10 floors of artist studios, plus discover the building’s 125 years of history with a self-guided walking tour of over 40 prominent historic studios, our Windows Into History exhibits on the 5th floor, and a photo exhibit featuring the Studebaker Theater’s legacy.

At 7:30pm, join us in the Studebaker Theater for a special piano performance by tenant Dr. Yulia Lipmanovich, a distinguished concert pianist and piano teacher, who will be recreating part of the original piano recital by Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler that opened the Studebaker 125 years ago.

Make sure to RSVP, and we can’t wait to celebrate 125 years of the Fine Arts Building with you!