Music, Magic, and Murder: A Storytelling Tour of Chicago's Most Fascinating Building

In the 127 years since its dedication, Chicago’s Fine Arts Building has witnessed the creation of countless works of art—and even a murder or two. In his new book, Chicago’s Fine Arts Building: Music, Magic, and Murder (Trope Publishing, 2025), Keir Graff tells the story of a place that time forgot—but that is still possible to visit. Standing proudly at 410 South Michigan Avenue, the Fine Arts Building is home to musicians, painters, violin makers, dancers, singers, architects, filmmakers, writers, and an endlessly surprising assortment of other creatives. It’s a place where the halls reverberate with music, punctuated by the slamming doors of manually operated elevators. Accompanied by a dynamic multimedia presentation featuring contemporary photographs and rare historic images, Graff will share the building’s most memorable stories while explaining how this unique cultural treasure has defied the odds. The Fine Arts Building remains Chicago’s most vibrant and diverse home for artists while touching the lives of countless thousands of art lovers. It’s a story Graff is uniquely situated to tell—he’s a building tenant, too.