Those of you who haven’t been to the Lincoln Square neighborhood in some time will discover changes: new stores, restaurants, renovated two-flats. The most garish (and, for some, disturbing) is the transformation of the southeast corner of Lincoln and Wilson Avenues, where what used to be a laundromat is now a Starbucks.
This sort of upscaling was inevitable, and the opening of the wonderful new home of the Old Town School of Folk Music a couple of years ago in a former library on Lincoln, just south of Wilson, helped speed the transformation, introducing people to the area in great numbers.
But before you begin cursing that devil known as gentrification, be aware that the neighborhood still has genuine charm. It is dotted with many joys, among them that pastry lovers’ paradise, Cafe Selmarie; one of the best toy stores in the country, Timeless Toys; the terrific Grecian Taverna; Fine Wine Brokers, as cozy and unintimidating a wine store as there is in town; and the quiet glory that is the facade of the building at 4611 N. Lincoln.
This is the work of architect Louis Sullivan, justifiably immortal for such buildings as the Auditorium Theatre, the Carson Pirie Scott store on State Street and the old Chicago Stock Exchange.
Until a few years ago, the building housed the Kelmscott Gallery, and long ago it was the Krause Music Store. It is now the Museum of Decorative Arts, as well as a store that sells distinctive ties, prints, photos, cards, books, jewelry, clothing and other interesting items, some made by local artisans.
A pleasant woman named Carol Schmidt, an artist, former schoolteacher and a lifelong collector of items from the Victorian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Arts and Crafts periods (roughly 1870-1930), owns the museum. It features prints, ceramics, furniture, commercial art and, my favorite, “Sprite,” a 4-foot-tall sculpture by Alfonso Iannelli originally designed for the Midway Gardens in 1913.
“This was always my dream, to have something that was part museum and part store,” said Schmidt. “The neighbors have been supportive and very friendly.”
The intricate terra cotta exterior of the building has been gracing the neighborhood since 1922. It was Sullivan’s last known work and will, one assumes, be around long after the Starbucks on the corner has become something else.
