The Finer Points of 4545 N. Lincoln Ave

Old Town School of Folk Music is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The School has come a long way from its start in a bank building on North Ave to now owning three main facilities in Lincoln Park and Lincoln Square plus supporting programs at two dozen schools, parks, and community centers throughout Chicago.

In 2012, the School opened its newest building across the street from our existing Lincoln Ave. location, adding 16 sound-engineered classrooms, 3 dance studios, and a 150-seat black box theatre. While many of you may have roamed the halls over the last 5 years, either on your way to a class or concert in Szold Hall, you may not have learned the details of all the East Building has to offer.

Exterior Artwork: The exterior of our East Building is worth spending some time viewing. The School held an open-submission competition seeking an artist to design the decorative panels on the front façade. The winner, artist Margaret Ketcham, devised the panels, each weighing 2,700 pounds and representing the word music in twenty-nine different languages, showcasing cultures from every continent.

The Staircase: Ascending up the glass staircase from the main lobby to the second level, you will be greeted by a plethora of colorful musical imagery. These are the works of famous cartoonist and illustrator R. Crumb. These images were originally produced as small trading cards that were sold in three separate box collections of 36 cards; Heroes of Blues, Early Jazz Greats, and Pioneers of Country Music. R. Crumb drew the musicians from existing studio and family photographs and inspired by his love of music.

Rights to the artwork were given to the School as a donation from Mr. Crumb and Shanachie Entertainment. Each glass panel weighs over 200 pounds!

Eco-Friendly Structure: From the super-efficient plumbing fixtures and green roof to the materials used to make the floors of the lobby, this building has been designed and built to shrink its environmental footprint. The building received the Gold standard in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s (LEED) ratings due to its decreased need for municipal water supply, reduction of stormwater runoff, and maximization of natural light usage. 95% of construction waste was recycled, and recycled materials went into the building, too, including beer bottles, which now give the sparkles in the main lobby floor.

American Music Posters: Walk through the halls of the second and third floors and admire an exhibit that explores the history of American folk and popular music through promotional posters. Taken from the collections of Ronald Cohen and the Peace Museum, 75 posters illustrate music and musicians dating back to the early 20th century, including many artists who performed at the Old Town School over the decades.

Piano Lab: A recent addition to the building is the new piano lab, which consists of 9 pianos, allowing the school to offer group piano classes.

Historical Guitars and Lyric Sheets: Just inside the entry is a humidity-controlled cabinet that displays the last guitar that John Lennon ever played in a live public performance. The guitar was a gift of the Peace Museum. Also housed in this display case is the guitar that Big Bill Broonzy played for the last decade of his prodigious life. Big Bill was featured at Old Town School’s very first meeting in 1957. Off the main lobby you will find original U2 lyric sheets penned by Bono for Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year’s Day.