Krause Music Store

Wheeler Kearns and McGuire Igleski restore Louis Sullivan's last work to its former luster and create a serene work space within.

By Joann Gonchar, AIA
This is an excerpt of an article from the July 2008 edition of Architectural Record.

The two-story storefront at 4611 North Lincoln Avenue on Chicago’s North Side may not be Louis Sullivan’s highest-profile commission, but its delicate ornament and graceful proportions certainly reveal his skillful hand. The focal point of the terra-cotta facade is a deeply recessed, prosceniumlike display window. From its lintel, a leafy profusion of ornament extends, ending in an elaborate cartouche that projects above the parapet and surrounds a letter K.

The initial refers to William Krause, who commissioned architect William Presto in the early 1920s to design a music store with living quarters above. Presto in turn hired Sullivan, by then elderly and plagued by financial difficulties and poor health, to design the facade. The store, which opened in 1922, was Sullivan’s last architectural project—he died less than two years later.

The music store occupied the ground floor for less than a decade before Krause rented it to a funeral home. The building contained a gallery and gift shop in 2005, when nearby residents Peter and Pooja Vukosavich acquired the structure with the idea of moving their marketing and communications business within walking distance of their home.

But the former music store was more than a convenient location for the Vukosaviches. They had long admired the structure and hoped to help ensure its preservation. The city had designated the facade a Chicago Landmark almost 30 years earlier, but the couple wanted further protection for the building. So soon after completing the purchase, they began the paperwork for placing it on the National Register of Historic Places (a status it achieved in 2006).

Formal name of project: Krause Music Store

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Gross square footage: 4,400 sq.ft.

Completion Date: 2007

Owner:
Pooja and Peter Vukosavich, Studio V Design, Inc.

Architect:
Wheeler Kearns Architects
343 South Dearborn Street, Suite 200
Chicago, IL  60604
T: 312.939.7787
F: 312.939.5108

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