Submitted by Kristi Wachter on
Parfitt Brothers, Hill and Woltersdorf
About the Building
The main building has a Queen Anne style, while the later annexes tend toward Arts and Crafts.
The building's facade is brick. It features an arched stone entranceway and tall windows, which provide good interior lighting for working artists.
The building features dormers and a cast-iron frieze below the roof line.
A cast iron arcade highlights the corner storefronts.
The building is U-shaped, with a courtyard inside.
History
The Tree Studio building was built in the last years of the 19th Century by a judge, Lambert Tree, and his wife, Anne. The Trees wanted to provide affordable lodgings and working space for visual artists.
They added annexes in 1912 and 1913.
For many years, under the terms of the building's trust, only artists were permitted to live in Tree Studios.
In 1959, the studio building and annexes were sold to the neighboring Medinah Temple.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and it was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1997 after attention from the World Monuments Fund raised awareness that the building was at risk of demolition.
Recent occupants of the building include the Irvin Stein Foundation.
