Inside the Fine Arts Building- October 19, 2025

I’ve been wanting to post here for a couple of weeks but life has just been zainy. Octobers are like that- there is just so much hustle to embrace the remaining nice days of fall. I had my conference in Boston, my husband travelled for work twice, and we had family in town for almost a full week, on top of Halloween, work, and training for a future gig that I’ve been doing on the side.

I wrote the following passage a couple days after I got back from Boston but then never had time to revise it and post. So- here it is (finally)- without even much editing being done, because I am just tired of having it sit here in drafted!

Chicago Open House weekend, where many buildings around the city open up their doors to the public, took place over the weekend of October 18-19th. My husband and I snuck out on a mini day date that Sunday to go tour the Fine Arts Building, which is my very favorite building in the city. I visited the Fine Arts Building with some friends during Open House Chicago a couple of years ago, and the entire time all I could think of is how much I wanted to go back and bring my husband along. Well, then last year he had to travel for work, so that was out. And finally- this year, we were able to go.

There are many spaces that always make me feel comfortable, complete, and whole. Bookstores do this for me, as does the members lounge at the Art Institute, and, without hesitation, the Fine Arts Building (while the Fine Arts Building is my favorite Chicago BUILDING, the Art Institute members lounge is my favorite ROOM, and Sandmeyers Bookstore is my favorite STORE. Distinctions like this are important!). There is just something about the Fine Arts Building, knowing that it has for over 100 years been a hub for artists and creators. There is a warmth that I feel every time I go, an invitation to join in. The building is steeped in the memory of performances and music, moments that only happen when a select group of humans perform or create or absorb, when all the conditions come together for something miraculous. You KNOW that those walls contain echos of beauty, you can literally feel that when walking those hallways. The floors slope as you walk, almost to a point of feeling concerned for the structural integrity of the building, especially along the hallway that runs parallel to Michigan Avenue. According to the recently published book on the building (photo below), the mail slots in the doors make clanging noises in the winter, a result of the temperature difference between the office spaces and the hallways. It is no doubt haunted.

I often say that one day I will have an office in the Fine Arts Building. It will happen.

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