Every University of Chicago tour guide will tell you that the teen dystopian movie “Divergent” was filmed in Mansueto. Aside from that, it’s one of the quietest libraries on campus, making it an ideal location to shelter in while it rains. Since the library is a giant, clear dome, you can see and hear rain falling above and around you. (Alexis Franciszkowicz)
Fine Arts Building Act One: The Golden Age, A Building Reborn The building itself is actually 138 years old, opening its doors in 1885 as the Studebaker Brothers’ Lake Front Carriage Repository. But they quickly outgrew their showplace. When the Fine Arts Building reopened in October 1898, it had been staged as an artist-only space. The building was a hit. In its first few years, artists and crafters of every kind…
Fine Arts Building Staff Profile: A Job with Ups and Downs Press the doorbell-style button to call an elevator—a pleasingly mechanical BRRING!—and you’ll hear a soft rattle of chains as the car descends from above. Step inside, and the operator closes the heavy outer door with a crisp BANG, then lowers the rod that locks it in place. The elevator men (they are all men) navigate not by pressing buttons but…
Fine Arts Building Staff Profile: Stationary Engineer on the Move The term “stationary engineer” goes back to the days when sawmills, power plants, and factories were powered by steam engines mounted to the floor. In the 1800s, before safety was standard, a boiler blew up somewhere in the United States every thirty-six hours.
Fine Arts Building Act Two: Depression and Decline, Charles Curtiss Dies The Fine Arts Building was not just a home for Chicago’s working artists and crafters but a performance showplace, the city’s most popular destination for musical instruction, and a hotbed of intellectual ferment where artistic ideas and social movements were born. But there were signs the building’s influence was starting to wane.
