Chicago Architecture Biennial Tour

Welcome to the Fine Arts Building!

Please follow this guide to enjoy a self-guided tour through over 125 years of Chicago artistry.

Take in the entrance

The phrase “All Passes – Art Alone Endures” welcomes you to this creative space. Originally constructed in 1885 by Solon S. Beman as a carriage assembly and showroom for the Studebaker Carriage Company, the building was hailed as the “model carriage factory in this country, if not in the world.”

By 1895, the Studebaker company was expanding so quickly that plans were made to move to a brand new, larger warehouse and manufacturing plant on Wabash Avenue. With the existing structure on Michigan Ave, Studebakers invested over $500,000 to remodel the building into an artists’ haven of studios, offices, and theaters. This extensive renovation was one of Chicago’s first large-scale examples of adaptive reuse and set the stage for one of the city’s earliest arts hubs to be born.

Today, the Fine Arts Building is one of Chicago’s most historic and vibrant cultural centers, and serves as the creative home for painters, writers, puppeteers, architects, opera singers, luthiers, jewelers, and more.

Ride the manually operated elevators to the 10th floor

These elevators are original to the Fine Arts Building and take visitors to any floor in the building. Ride the elevator to the 10th floor to be greeted by the stunning Art Nouveau murals.

While on the 10th floor, make sure to take in the placards positioned outside of prominent historic studios, including William W. Denslow’s studio (the original illustrator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Frank Lloyd Wright, Lorado Taft, and more.

Explore the Fine Arts Building

From the 10th floor, we invite you to take the stairs and work your way through the building, enjoying the history, architecture, and art on display throughout the space.

Participating Studios and Points of Interest:

Fine Arts Building Murals: 10th floor

Art Nouveau murals dating from approximately 1900, painted by early Fine Arts Building tenants including Oliver Dennett Grover, Martha S. Baker, and Frank X. Leyendecker.

Hammersley Architecture: Studio 917

A progressive architecture and planning firm whose work focuses on social equity, creative programming, community engagement, and high-quality, beautiful design.

Windows Into History: 5th floor

Two exhibits, Art Alone Endures and Staging Ground, which tell the story of the Fine Arts Building’s early years and its emergence as one of Chicago’s most vibrant creative hubs.

Center for Mad Culture: Studio 419

A gallery offering art exhibitions, poetry readings, workshops, a mad/disability research library, and other opportunities centered around madness.

Hard Return Gallery: Studio 306

HARD RETURN is an artist-run gallery dedicated to urgency, risk, and the raw edges of creation. The gallery operates in the space between idea and artifact—where work is still warm from the artist’s hands—and invite the public to witness art in motion.

Exile in Bookville: 2nd floor

Author and Fine Arts Building tenant Keir Graff will be signing copies of his book Chicago’s Fine Arts Building: Music, Magic, and Murder.

Abstraction and Distraction, Fine Arts Building Group Show: 2nd Floor Gallery

Works by Fine Arts Building artists.

Thank you for visiting!

We hope to see you at the Fine Arts Building again soon.