Tabassum Blog 12

 The Krause Music Store, is an award winning adaptive re-use of a 1922-vintage structure. It was the final work of the famed architect Louis Sullivan. The Krause Music Store is the last of the 126 buildings designed by Louis Sullivan. From the phrase “form follows function”, Sullivan believed that the function of a building gave rise to its form and that the two should work in concert with each other to be beautiful.With its curvilinear plant forms and intricate framing of the picture window, the facade of this building is Sullivan’s belief in organic architecture. In 1921, William P. Krause hired architect William Presto to design a music store with an apartment above, but Presto turned around and  commissioned Sullivan to design the facade. It was created  to serve the dual purpose of a residence and a music shop, at a total cost of $22,000. Genius Sullivan in ill health designed the entire facade with ornamentation; richly detailed in geometric and curvilinear forms of nature. The material for the facade was furnished by the American Terra Cotta Company for $3,770. The building was completed in 1922. The store opened to sell pianos and sheet music, and was a pioneering retailer for the introduction of the radio. It was registered as a Chicago Landmark by the City of Chicago in 1977.