One of my favorite things about Chicago, like most big cities, is the ubiquity of cultural gems at its lucky residents’ fingertips. I am always encouraging people on both my walking tours and my boat tours to strike out on their own and explore a few of Chicago’s other neighborhoods: I tell them that Chicago comprises so much more than the beautiful downtown area.

Lincoln Square is one such neighborhood that I recommend to visitors. Storied and quaint, yet very much alive and evolving, this very walkable neighborhood contains a great variety of restaurants, boutique stores, sprawling parks, and much more. And of course, hidden among other storefronts along a rather unassuming (though usually quietly bustling) stretch of North Lincoln Avenue, is (…drum roll please…) the last architectural creation of that irascible champion of the Chicago School Style, Louis Sullivan. It is the amazingly ornamented terracotta facade of the old Krause Music Store, located at 4611 North Lincoln Avenue — just across from the Davis Theater.

I made a special trip out there recently to see this Chicago Landmark again in person. I marveled again at the intricate, delicate ornamentation, the details reminiscent of Celtic knots and crosses (a tribute to Sullivan’s Irish heritage), the gently curling and dancing foliage. If you’ve never seen Louis Sullivan’s handiwork up close, this small masterpiece gives you a good idea of his aesthetic. Only two stories high, yet it “soars,” as Sullivan thought every inch of a building should do. And it’s Sullivan’s design on the facade, rather than the actual building behind it (designed by Krause’s neighbor, William C. Presto), that creates the dynamic visuals for this otherwise unassuming building.

The Krause Music Store has served several functions since its creation in 1922 (a date you can actually see — along with a “K” for Krause — in the massive cartouche atop the building’s leaf-covered, key-like ornament). Originally a music store, it served as a funeral parlor several decades, then an art gallery and gift shop. In 2005, it was bought and (thankfully!) restored by the owners of the marketing business that has occupied it for more than a decade, Studio V Design. Good news for fellow Sullivan-o-philes like me: it’s actually currently for sale! For a current asking price of $2.9 million, you can buy this landmark building, operating your business from the bottom floor and living in the 3-bedroom apartment above that. (And friends, not only do I accept tips on my tours, I also accept Sullivan landmark buildings. I’m just sayin’.)

One of six remaining Sullivan buildings with Chicago Landmark status, which it got in 1977, it was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Louis Sullivan’s style is beautifully represented in the green terracotta facade. And what of his famous “form (ever) follows function” dictum? Doesn’t this highly decorated facade somehow contradict this? I encourage you to look more closely…. As this was originally a music store, you’ll see the shape of a key in the top floor — like a key to open a music box. You’ll see what looks like a proscenium with a view to a recessed stage behind a picture window — a “performance” just for you, the viewer. What “form” is more fitting (or more lovely) for the “function” of a small music store tucked away in a quiet Chicago neighborhood?

There’s something so beautiful, I find, about the fact that this was Sullivan’s last piece. Despite years of alcoholism, debt troubles, and pushing people away with his temper, this man — who died so poor he couldn’t even afford his own gravestone (next to the massive tombs he had designed for Chicago’s elite) — managed to leave one last, small, fantastic testament to his artistic genius and influence. And if you would like to pay your respects, join me sometime on my From Great to Grave walking and L tour, where we explore a few stunning landmark buildings from some of Chicago’s greatest architects — including, of course, Louis Sullivan — before continuing our journey by L to visit their graves in Graceland Cemetery.

A guest visiting Sullivan’s grave on my “From Great to Grave” tour.

The Music of Sullivan: Krause Music Store