The Lorado Taft Midway Studios are a historic artist studio complex at South Ingleside Avenue and East 60th Street, on the campus of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
on the South Side of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. The architecturally haphazard structure, originating as two converted barns and a Victorian house, was used from 1906 to 1929 as the studio of
Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for deca ...
(1860-1936), one of the most influential sculptors of the period.
A
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
, it now houses the university's visual arts department.
[Blanche Higgins Schroer (April 3, 1976) , National Park Service and ]
Description and history
The Lorado Taft Midway Studio is a conglomeration of structures standing on the south side of the University of Chicago campus, on the west side of South Ingleside Avenue at East 60th Street. The northern end of the structure is a two-story Victorian house, from which a series of single-story sections extend southward, joining the house to adjacent two-story barn structures, one with a gabled roof and the other with a hip roof. Historically, these elements framed a courtyard that was open to the west, except for a fringing hedge and fence; this has since been filled by additional studio space. The interior is as rambling as the exterior, much of it composed of a warren of smaller studio spaces.
Lorado Taft was educated at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
, receiving both a bachelor's (1879) and master's degree (1880) in art. In the 1880s he continued his studies in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and returned to Chicago in 1885, joining the faculty of the
Chicago Art Institute
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
in 1886.
In 1906, Taft moved his main studio from the
Chicago Loop
The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...
to a brick barn near the
Midway Plaisance
The Midway Plaisance, known locally as the Midway, is a public park on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is one mile long by 220 yards wide and extends along 59th and 60th streets, joining Washington Park at its west end and Jackson Park ...
. Later, he connected a pair of frame barns to the main building to serve as male and female
dormitories
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
. The structure was redesigned by the architectural firm of
Pond and Pond to contain 13 studios for Taft and affiliated sculptors.
The building was designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
on December 21, 1965, and was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on October 15, 1966.
It is one of the four
Chicago Registered Historic Places from the original October 15, 1966 National Register of Historic Places list (along with
Chicago Pile-1,
Hull House
Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of the city, Hull House (named after the original house's first owner Cha ...
, and
Robie House
The Frederick C. Robie House is a U.S. National Historic Landmark now on the campus of the University of Chicago in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park in Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1909 and 1910, the building was designed as a sing ...
).
On December 1, 1993, it was named a
Chicago Landmark.
[
Today, the building is home to the university's Department of Visual Arts and Creative Writing program, and has been renovated to be classrooms, offices, and studios for students and faculty.
]
Gallery
File:20070601 Lorado Taft Midway Studio (2).JPG, Entrance
File:20070601 Lorado Taft Midway Studio.JPG, View from southeast
File:Taft at work on Fountain of Time.jpg, Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for deca ...
at work on ''Fountain of the Great Lakes
''Fountain of the Great Lakes'', or ''Spirit of the Great Lakes Fountain'', is an allegorical sculpture and fountain by Lorado Taft. The bronze artwork, created between 1907 and 1913, depicts five women arranged so that the fountains waterfall r ...
'' in 1913 in his Midway Studios
File:Woodlawn_Streetmap_Image.png, Lorado Taft Midway Studios (red rectangle) is just south of the Midway Plaisance. ''Fountain of Time
''Fountain of Time'', or simply ''Time'', is a sculpture by Lorado Taft, measuring in length, situated at the western edge of the Midway Plaisance within Washington Park in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The sculpture is inspired ...
'' (red oval) is in the southeast portion of Washington Park immediately west of the Midway Plaisance
The Midway Plaisance, known locally as the Midway, is a public park on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is one mile long by 220 yards wide and extends along 59th and 60th streets, joining Washington Park at its west end and Jackson Park ...
. (Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, several boat harbors, two botanic conservatories ...
in green, University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in pink)
See also
*List of National Historic Landmarks in Illinois
There are 88 National Historic Landmarks in Illinois, including Eads Bridge, which spans into Missouri and which the National Park Service credits to Missouri's National Historic Landmark list. Also included are two sites that were once National ...
*
Notes
External links
Guide to the University of Chicago Midway Studios Records 1887-1994
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, Lorado, Midway Studios
Buildings and structures completed in 1906
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago
National Historic Landmarks in Chicago
University of Chicago
Chicago Landmarks
1906 establishments in Illinois