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Tree Studio Building and Annexes
open-in-new
<h2 id="origin">Origin</h2> <p>Tree arranged to have the original Tree building constructed in 1894, designed by the <a href="/facts/Architecture/FccThs8G">architecture</a> firm of <a href="/facts/Parfitt_Brothers/NSWXA0lQ">Parfitt Brothers</a>. The building is constructed with steel frames and is three stories high. The ground level is covered in a <a href="/facts/Cast_iron/lASt55k2">cast iron</a> arcade and designed as storefronts, while the second story is covered in a <a href="/facts/Roman_brick/PhIm3wQJ">Roman brick</a> and is designed to serve as artist studios with large windows to allow natural light to enter.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> </p><p>Tree created a legal trust which stipulated that only artists could live in Tree Studios. This trust remained in force until 1959 when the complex was sold to the <a href="/facts/Medinah_Temple/NNcqR7q0">Medinah Temple</a>, with which the studio complex shared a block.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="notable-artists">Notable artists</h2> <p>Some of the studio's residents have included sculptors <a href="/facts/Albin_Polasek/nKbx6uD7">Albin Polasek</a>, his student <a href="/facts/John_David_Brcin/Uyw1MsG1">John David Brcin</a>, <a href="/facts/John_Storrs_(sculptor)/RMvDqegV">John Storrs</a>, and <a href="/facts/Nancy_Cox-McCormack/tR9zGCjJ">Nancy Cox-McCormack</a>; illustrator <a href="/facts/J._Allen_St._John/00myA7j6">J. Allen St. John</a>; muralists <a href="/facts/Frances_Badger/w89PlT46">Frances Badger</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> <a href="/facts/John_Warner_Norton/IUVvJ9PN">John Warner Norton</a> and <a href="/facts/Louis_Grell/gbcoCaIP">Louis Grell</a>; painters <a href="http://shellstrom.com">Scott Shellstrom</a>,William Carr Olendorf,<a href="/facts/Ruth_VanSickle_Ford/fXXFv5Tf">Ruth VanSickle Ford</a>, Robert Wadsworth Grafton, James Murray Haddow, Antonin Sterba, James J. Ingwersen, John Doctoroff, Gus Likan, Richard Florsheim, <a href="/facts/Leopold_Seyffert/kEmbp309">Leopold Seyffert</a> and <a href="/facts/Pauline_Palmer/NQ58tfLq">Pauline Palmer</a>, Carl Tolpo and Lily Tolpo; and actors <a href="/facts/Peter_Falk/1Iur1nvy">Peter Falk</a> and <a href="/facts/Burgess_Meredith/Ty2BClmE">Burgess Meredith</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> Painter <a href="/facts/Indiana_Gyberson/Pp8X8lDc">Indiana Gyberson</a> was also a resident for some time,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> as was painter <a href="/facts/Anna_Lynch_(painter)/8LCW9UaT">Anna Lynch</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="2000-world-monuments-watch">2000 World Monuments Watch</h2> <p>The studios and temple were included in the <a href="/facts/2000_World_Monuments_Watch/Anp5njdX">2000 World Monuments Watch</a> by the <a href="/facts/World_Monuments_Fund/75G5JlEq">World Monuments Fund</a>, after citizens became concerned that the complex would be demolished and a high rise tower constructed in its place. With support from the financial services company <a href="/facts/American_Express/3W30blIe">American Express</a> WMF awarded a grant toward the preparation of an architectural significance survey and a feasibility study for the site. The results of the significance survey led to the sites being designated as Chicago <a href="/facts/Landmarks/4DBsBDr1">landmarks</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="restoration-and-historic-landmark">Restoration and historic landmark</h2> <p>Restoration of the property was guided by Albert Friedman,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> who purchased the property in 2001, following which construction workers and artisans labored side-by-side, rebuilding Tree Studios by hand. Architectural details were re-created from surviving fragments in on-site woodworking shops.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>The <a href="/facts/State_Street_(Chicago)/Akswkplr">State Street</a> building was listed as a <a href="/facts/Chicago_Landmark/vuw2scPE">Chicago Landmark</a> on February 26, 1997. The Ohio Street and Ontario Street annexes and courtyard were added as Chicago Landmarks on June 27, 2001.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> The complex was listed on the <a href="/facts/National_Register_of_Historic_Places/leUNvfW6">National Register of Historic Places</a> on December 16, 1974.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Chicago_architecture/Tv7RtCWI">Chicago architecture</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tree Studio Building. <ul><li><a href="http://www.FriedmanProperties.com">Friedman Properties</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ivyroomchicago.com">The Ivy Room at Tree Studios</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.friedmanproperties.com/portfolio/tree-studios-shared-offices">Property owner's web page for Tree Studios</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Tree Studio Building". Chicago: A National Register of Historic Places Travel itinerary. National Park Services. Retrieved July 9, 2007. <a href="http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/chicago/c5.htm" target="_blank">http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/chicago/c5.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Tree Studio Building". Chicago: A National Register of Historic Places Travel itinerary. National Park Services. Retrieved July 9, 2007. <a href="http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/chicago/c5.htm" target="_blank">http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/chicago/c5.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Schulman, Daniel. "Frances Badger". chicagomodern.org. Retrieved December 3, 2016. <a href="http://www.chicagomodern.org/artists/frances_badger" target="_blank">http://www.chicagomodern.org/artists/frances_badger</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Tree Studios, Annexes, and Courtyard". Chicago Landmarks. City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division. 2003. Retrieved July 9, 2007. <a href="http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/T/TreeStudios.html" target="_blank">http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/T/TreeStudios.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Indiana Gyberson – M. Christine Schwartz Collection". Retrieved February 28, 2017. <a href="https://schwartzcollection.com/artist/indiana-gyberson/" target="_blank">https://schwartzcollection.com/artist/indiana-gyberson/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Anna Lynch – M. Christine Schwartz Collection". Retrieved February 28, 2017. <a href="https://schwartzcollection.com/artist/anna-lynch/" target="_blank">https://schwartzcollection.com/artist/anna-lynch/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Tree Studios and Medinah Temple <a href="http://www.wmf.org/project/tree-studios-and-medinah-temple" target="_blank">http://www.wmf.org/project/tree-studios-and-medinah-temple</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Tree Studios Medinah Temple". The Suites Collection. Friedman Properties. 2006. Archived from the original on February 26, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2007. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070226194620/http://www.thesuitescollection.com/tree/history.asp" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070226194620/http://www.thesuitescollection.com/tree/history.asp</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Tree Studios - Shared Offices | Friedman Properties". www.friedmanproperties.com. Retrieved February 21, 2017. <a href="http://www.friedmanproperties.com/portfolio/tree-studios-shared-offices" target="_blank">http://www.friedmanproperties.com/portfolio/tree-studios-shared-offices</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Tree Studios, Annexes, and Courtyard". Chicago Landmarks. City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division. 2003. Retrieved July 9, 2007. <a href="http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/T/TreeStudios.html" target="_blank">http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/T/TreeStudios.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natregsearchresult.do?fullresult=true&recordid=506 [dead link] <a href="http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natregsearchresult.do?fullresult=true&recordid=506" target="_blank">http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natregsearchresult.do?fullresult=true&recordid=506</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>