{"product_id":"chicagos-fine-arts-building-music-magic-and-murder-hardcover","title":"Chicago's Fine Arts Building: Music, Magic, and Murder - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKeir Graff\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eGillian Flynn\u003c\/b\u003e (Foreword by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLet Keir Graff take you inside Chicago's Fine Arts Building - a building that hides worlds behind its doors. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExploring the Fine Arts Building's warren of hallways is like stepping into a time machine. It's not a museum--it's a place of work. The walls reverberate with timeless music. Sopranos soar up to the high notes as violin bows draw tunes from strings. Someone plays a piano so busily they must have twelve fingers. Dancers' feet thud against wooden floors. A tuba burps out \"Ride of the Valkyries\" as the doors of the manually operated elevators provide percussive slams. And more quietly, behind closed doors, painters paint, writers write, and luthiers shave soft ribbons from billets of spruce.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eChicago's Fine Arts Building\u003c\/i\u003e, celebrated writer and Fine Arts Building tenant Keir Graff takes readers behind the scenes of this cultural hub. Initially conceived as a space for artists' studios, a home for the city's working artists, the building was an immediate success, but the Great Depression brought a long, slow decline to the building. Graff explores the building's history, its revitalization, and its cultural place in the city of Chicago. Featuring interviews with current tenants and access to the building's archives, including historical photos and artifacts, and a foreword by bestselling author Gillian Flynn, \u003ci\u003eChicago's Fine Arts Building\u003c\/i\u003e sheds a new light on this storied building and its long history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOther Chicago landmarks have more stunning architecture or are more perfectly restored, but none of them has aged so well--because in the Fine Arts Building, it's the work that has been preserved. Two centuries have turned and its purpose remains the same: to provide artists and artisans space to pursue their callings, and community with other creatives, too, offering a living demonstration that something good happens when so many work so closely to each other. Which is not to say it's always been easy. Whatever comes easily in the arts?\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKeir Graff\u003c\/b\u003e writes thrillers, mysteries, and contemporary fiction for adults, and adventure novels for younger readers. Recent works include \u003ci\u003eThe Royal Game\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Three Mrs. Wrights\u003c\/i\u003e, both coauthored with Linda Joffe Hull under the pen name Linda Keir. With James Patterson, he is the co-author of \u003ci\u003eThe Poison Puzzle\u003c\/i\u003e, the first book in the MK's Detective Club middle-grade series, and working solo he has published four middle-grade novels, including \u003ci\u003eThe Tiny Mansion\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Phantom Tower\u003c\/i\u003e (a \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e Best Children's Book), and \u003ci\u003eThe Matchstick Castle\u003c\/i\u003e (an Illinois Reads official selection). He is the editor of the anthology \u003ci\u003eA Million Acres: Montana Writers Reflect on Land and Open Space\u003c\/i\u003e and coeditor (with James Grady) of the crime-fiction anthology \u003ci\u003eMontana Noir\u003c\/i\u003e (one of \u003ci\u003eParade\u003c\/i\u003e's \"Books We Love\"). The former executive editor of \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, Graff lives in Chicago, where he is the cofounder and cohost of the much-loved literary gathering Publishing Cocktails. He provides writing advice and book recommendations in his free monthly newsletter, Graff Paper.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 184\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 11.5 x 8.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 03, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52090821148973,"sku":"9781951963330","price":44.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/chicagos-fine-arts-building-music-magic-and-murder-hardcover-3588365.webp?v=1780162816","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/chicagos-fine-arts-building-music-magic-and-murder-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}