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| Since the city rebuilt itself after the great fire in 1871, Chicago has been known for its generations of remarkable architecture. The Lincoln Square area is no exception. From beautiful old wood-frame Victorians, to greystones, to the lovely bungalows and mansions of Ravenswood Manor, Lincoln Square's architecture marks some of the best examples of signature Chicago style through the years. Visit the neighborhood and take a walking tour to experience its character and charm. |
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| Guide Home | Public Art | History | Architecture |
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Museum of Decorative Arts Building
Of all the beautiful buildings in Lincoln Square, one stands out that's a little different, a little more ornate than the rest. That's because it was the last project of renowned architect, Louis Sullivan, who was responsible for such famous Chicago landmarks as the Auditorium Theatre, the old Chicago Stock Exchange and the Carson Pirie Scott building on State Street. In the 1920s, William P. Krause commissioned architect William Presto to build a music store with an apartment located above it where he could live. Presto approached Sullivan, master of the Chicago School architectural style for help with the design. Walking down Lincoln, it's impossible to miss the building's elaborate facade with built-in lights, which slopes back from the sidewalk and invites passers-by to walk along its grey, white and black tiles. The ornamental letter "K" at the top of the facade pays homage to William Krause to this day. Although the building has endured for nearly a century, unfortunately Krause's music shop was only in business for about seven years. When his business closed, he rented the building out to a funeral home, which remained for many years. William Krause eventually met an untimely end in the upstairs apartment. |
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| Today, the Sullivan masterpiece is an appropriate home for the Museum of Decorative Arts, a collection of decorative arts and objects dating from 1870 to 1930. It includes both items on exhibit and items available for sale from the Victorian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Arts & Crafts movements. The museum allows the community a chance to learn more about the rich traditions of decorative arts. |
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Conrad Sulzer Regional Branch
Lincoln Square's neighborhood library was once located in the same art deco building that the Old Town School of Folk Music now occupies. When the popular Hild Library outgrew its space in the 1980s, the architecture firm Hammond, Beeby and Babka designed a new building that would house more than 250,000 books and would become a central attraction for Chicago's North Side as the Conrad Sulzer Regional Branch. The architects created a building that blends neighborhood traditions with the technology and functionality needed to run one of the largest neighborhood branches in the CPL system. |
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| Described by the architects as "hybrid Mies van der Rohe and Schinckel," the library is friendly, full of light and includes custom-made furniture with design themes based on German mythology. The architects involved the community closely with the design process, and created public meeting spaces within the building so that it could serve as a central gathering place. Hammond, Beeby and Babka went on to build another famous building for the CPL, the Harold Washington Library, which was built in 1993. |
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