Tree studio building

DEFINITION

Established in Chicago in 1894 by Judge Lambert Tree and his wife, Anne Tree, it was an artist studio-lodging building that also had commercial space so that rent could be kept low. It was located behind the Tree mansion on Wabash Avenue between Ohio and Ontario Streets and created as an entity by a legal trust providing that only artists could be residents. The second floor had large studios that faced an open courtyard, which provided natural lighting, something that was limited in Chicago. The Studio Building was established by the Trees to keep and attract artists who had exhibited at the Chicago Exposition in 1893. Inhabitants included Albin Polasek, John Storrs, Ruth Ford and Pauline Palmer. The Trust remained until 1959, when the building's neighbor, the Medinah Temple, occupied it. Source: Susan Weininger, "Chicago Modern, Pursuit of the New", pp. 144; Wikipedia (LPD)