Chicago's Fine Arts Building features massive polished granite columns

Located at 410 S Michigan Avenue across from Grant Park, the Fine Arts Building is a 10-story edifice in the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District. Originally built for the Studebaker company in 1884–1885 by Solon Spencer Beman, the building was extensively remodeled in 1898. During this renovation, Beman removed the eighth story and added three new stories. The building's main entrance features two granite columns, measuring 3 feet 8 inches in diameter and 12 feet 10 inches high, which were said to be the largest polished monolithic shafts in the country.

The interior is decorated with Art Nouveau motifs and murals by artists including Martha Susan Baker, Frederic Clay Bartlett, Oliver Dennett Grover, Frank Xavier Leyendecker, and Bertha Sophia Menzler-Peyton. The building currently houses artists' lofts, art galleries, theatre, dance and recording studios, interior and web design firms, and musical instrument makers. It also holds offices of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, the Jazz Institute of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.

One of its prominent features is the Studebaker Theater, dedicated in 1898. After undergoing a major renovation in 1917 and later being restored to live theater in 2015, it now serves as the home of NPR's Wait Wait. Don't Tell Me! The building also has a history as a center for the Little Theatre Movement, housing the Chicago Little Theatre from 1912 to 1917.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons