{"nrhp_refnum":"74000756","name":"Tree Studio Building and Annexes","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4 E. Ohio St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.89282219900008,"lon":-87.62783300799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-12-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of three buildings at 4 E. Ohio Street in Chicago: the original Tree Studio building (1894) and two adjoining annexes on Ohio and Ontario streets (1912-13), arranged in a U around a courtyard and built to provide artists' studios and housing.","why_significant":"The complex is considered one of Chicago's more unusual building types, built to give artists low-cost housing and studio space and home to well-known local artists such as sculptor Emil Zettler. The original building is a good example of eastern Queen Anne style tied to English sources. The Ontario Annex is a bold adaptation of Viennese secessionist design with no parallel in Chicago.","narrative":"Tree Studio Building and its two annexes form a U-shaped group of artists' studios and apartments at 4 E. Ohio Street in Chicago. The original two-story steel-framed building dates from 1894 and has a cast iron arcade of small shops along State Street, buff Roman brick above, and a landscaped courtyard behind. Annexes on Ohio and Ontario streets followed in 1912 and 1913, both designed by Hill & Woltersdorf. The Ontario Annex adapts Viennese secessionist architecture and carries a terra cotta relief by sculptor Michael Thomas Murphy. Judge and diplomat Lambert Tree set up a trust to provide moderately priced quarters for artists only. Residents have included sculptor Emil Zettler and illustrator James Allen St. John. The complex was recognized for its unusual planning, its Queen Anne and secessionist architecture, and its social purpose in supporting artists. Apart from a later music hall built beside the courtyard, the buildings remain as originally constructed.","period_of_significance":"1894, 1912, 1913 (19th and 20th centuries)","architect_builder":"Parfitt Bros. of Brooklyn, N.Y., with Hill & Woltersdorf of Chicago as associate architects (original building, 1894); Hill & Woltersdorf (Ohio and Ontario annexes, 1912 and 1913)","architectural_style":"Late Queen Anne with Classical detailing (original building); Ohio Annex eclectic Queen Anne and Classic; Ontario Annex Viennese secessionist","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, unaltered and occupied, used as private residences and art studios; the only intrusion is a later music practice hall built by the Medinah Temple Association next to the courtyard.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.586027-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/8922/28892208/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/74000756.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000756/31d88daf98-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000756/31d88daf98-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Studio_BLG_Chicago.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Studio_BLG_Chicago.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892208","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_Studio_Building_and_Annexes","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7837565"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/tree-studio-building-and-annexes-74000756/"}