Book Review: Chicago’s Fine Arts Building
Chicago’s Fine Arts Building: Music, Magic, and Murder. Keir Graff, Trope Editions, June 3, 2025, ebook, 184pages.
Reviewed by Gabrielle Robinson.
In Chicago’s Fine Arts Building: Music, Magic, and Murder author Keir Graff has assembled a stunning coffee table book of images and history about one of Chicago’s perhaps lesser-known treasures.
“No Chicago building hides more worlds than the Fine Arts Building,” Graff says.
What makes this book special is its range. The photographs span the grand to the minute. A two-page image of the Studebaker Theater reveals “the most beautiful music hall ever built” while close-ups of the building’s ornately decorated mailboxes or elevator throttle explore the intricate details hidden in the nooks and crannies of the architecture.
The same goes for his account of the history of the building and its inhabitants. Graff features the major players, owners, architects, and politicians, but also highlights individual artists who have made it their home. Together, they create an organic community that also allows visitors an intimate insight into their work.
The building opened as the Studebaker Carriage Depository in 1885, but Studebaker soon outgrew its space. This led to its reimagination as the Fine Arts Building with a performance space below the main floor and ten floors of artist studios above. It re-opened under the ownership of Charles Curtiss, son of two-time mayor James Curtiss, in 1898.
Graff depicts the many ups and downs of this center for the arts. Its most recent renaissance began in 2005 when Bob Berger bought the building for $10.4 million. After Berger’s death, his daughter Erica took over and initiated another major renovation in 2021. As a result, the Fine Arts Building once again is a gathering place for artists of all kinds.
Today, the facility is a haven for painters, authors, sculptors, dance instructors, a film maker, a puppeteer, a paperweight dealer, a collagist, and more. Graff himself, author of 15 books from suspense novels to children’s books, has his studio here.
Graff’s handsome book will, no doubt, reignite interest in viewing the building in person. Those who walk the corridors may be treated to the sound of music from chamber musicians, a voice instructor, or Chicago’s Youth Symphony Orchestra. Stopping into the Performers Music Store and a bookstore and visiting with Master instrument makers will round out your visit.
In the brief time since I received a copy of Chicago’s Fine Arts Building, I have discovered so many people who did not know about the building but are excited to explore it soon. It’s already on my to-visit list.
