Three Arts Club proposed to become burial place for the dead

A purchase offer has been made by a group that plans to turn the Three Arts Club into a columbarium, a place with vaults that hold the cremated remains of the dead. A place once filled with the most vibrant, alive women will soon become a somber place for the dead -- unless we can stop it. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?article_id=32573&seenIt=1

A group of about 15 people met yesterday afternoon at a cafe nearby the Club. They were mostly nearby neighbors and some former residents. All were concerned.

What it would take now to get the building -- a solid purchase offer for about $7 million, plus money to restore and run the place as a home and club for women in the arts.

Our dream -- to have women from all over the U.S. and all over the world come to stay at the Club in Chicago to work on and share their creativity.

Poll: Should Three Arts Club Reopen for Women?

Our recent poll asked the question: “Should the Three Arts Club return to being a home and club for women in the arts?” 52% responded, “Yes, I hope it happens.” 41% replied, “Yes, and I am willing to help.” 0% replied, “No.” And 5% replied, “I need more information to decide.”

In this photo, the Three Arts Club is shown empty and dark, as it has been for about five years now, since the Board of Directors abandoned the Club's proper mission of running a home and club for women in the arts, sold the building, and left with the proceeds. The building is now in a state of limbo, owned by someone else -- as we are hoping it can be returned to the women and to its intended use.

If you wish to help, please email: THREEARTSFRIENDS@GMAIL.COM

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Dorothy Mills, lived at Three Arts while at Goodman Theater

This is Dorothy Mills, who lived at the Three Arts Club when she was studying at the Goodman Theater School.  She has many fond memories of the Club.   She believes the Club, if revived, could provide many more generations of women with a good place to live while studying or practicing in the arts.

Dorothy is shown with a quilt of the insignia of the Three Arts Club -- the same that is on a mural in a cove above a window on the front of the building.

From Barb Mills:

I made the quilt for Dorothy for Mother's Day since she always talks about the Three Arts Club. I am the younger (Barbara Mills) she is the older (Dorothy Mills) my mother-in-law.

It is what is called a "whole cloth" quilt made of silk which just means I did not make it from a bunch of different pieces. I painted the copy of the Three Arts Mosaic with silk paint and then quilted by hand. It also has vintage buttons and some antique gold embroidery floss from about 1909. It took about a month to make.

Barb took the photos of the building that are shown on this website during a visit to Chicago with Dorothy a couple of years ago.  They arrived at the Three Arts Club and were surprised to find it vacant.  They were allowed in and did take some nice photos.  The building looked much lovelier when it was filled with beautiful wooden, antique furniture, interesting donated art on the walls, a large Grandfather clock in the front hall, giant vases filled with fresh flowers, the sparkling fountain in the courtyard, and 50-100 of the most talented women in the world.  Now it sits vacant.

Three Arts Club - First Floor Plan - original

This is the original floor plan of the Three Arts Club first floor.  In the center is the courtyard, called here "Garden," which has a European-style fountain in the center, and French doors leading to each wing of the building.  The "enclosed porch" became known as the Tea Room, favored by the residents for its coved ceilings and meditative feel.   The room shown on the north side of the courtyard as the "Living Room" became the Ball Room, while the "Living Room" on the east  side was called the Drawing Room.  The lovely Library, in the southeast corner, remained a cozy book-filled hideaway, until recent years when the Board of Directors damaged the landmarked features of the room by removing the built-in shelving and wood decoration and emptied the room of furniture.  The Dining Room retains its castle-like wall murals.

What was important about the Three Arts Club?

Please tell us your experience with the Three Arts Club of Chicago.  Did you stay there?  When?   What did you like about it?   How has that experience affected you?   

Do you think it is important to have a place that houses women in the arts?   Why are women important to the arts?   What are your ideas and thoughts? 

Please add your comment by clicking on Comment just below this article.   Thank you for sharing.

What was the Three Arts Club of Chicago?

The Three Arts Club of Chicago was founded in 1912 by a group of famous Chicago women to provide a place that girls and women could live while studying and working in the arts.  They began by renting an existing large house on LaSalle.  In 1914, they had their own building designed and built.  It is a grand building.  Over the years, the Club opened itself up to women of all ages, and in all disciplines.  In recent years, the Club has been home to women from all over the world -- from all over the United States and from every continent.   They came to stay for a few days or a few years.   The women were working, studying, auditioning, interning.   They were in theatre, comedy, film, dance, music, singing, composing, conducting, sculpture, glass art, painting, drawing, performance art, writing of all kinds -- journalism, screenplays, poems, books, plays.   

The set-up at the Three Arts Club:  the first floor was the group living space:  a large drawing room with a fireplace, seating areas, and a grand piano, with French doors out to the courtyard; the library with bookshelves and seating; and several smaller sitting rooms; the ballroom with a small, low stage;  the tea room with its coved ceilings and windows in on the courtyard and out to the street; the dining room with its castle-like murals and fountain; the kitchen.  All of this surrounded the interior courtyard with a fountain, plants, and cafe tables with chairs.   Upstairs were bedrooms with shared or private baths.  The fourth, or top floor, had originally been used as art and music studios and maid's quarters.   Recently, due to extreme popularity of the Club, the rooms on the fourth floor were used as bedrooms.   A painting studio with air system was also on the fourth floor.  

The lifestyle:  The girls and women at the Three Arts Club shared breakfast and dinner each day in the dining room.   They also shared their cultures, languages, and arts.   They shared dreams and ideas, and many collaborated on projects.   If  a resident was a filmmaker and needed an actress, or a music composer, or a writer -- dinner time was a great place to find one!  

The residents made friends from all over the world.  The Three Arts Club was truly a multicultural, multiracial, multilingual experience.   It was like a sorority -- but of seriously creative, intelligent women of all ages, from the whole world.  

Since we began our struggle to save the Three Arts Club, we have heard from people in the arts who realize the value of the Club to the world, to women, and to the arts, and especially, to Chicago.   Moreso, we have heard from former residents.   In the photo of the tea room, the lady shown is a former resident from many years ago.   She has fond memories of living at the Three Arts while studying at Goodman Theater School.   She was shocked to know that the Three Arts Board members had turned their backs on the mission of the Club.  Everyone else tells us the same thing -- that they are shocked.   The Club was popular, was filled with residents, and was running in the black.   Some repairs were needed, but they were small in comparison to the fact the property was exempt from real estate taxes and was located in the wealthiest and most convenient area of Chicago. 

Have you read Virginia Woolf's, "A Room of One's Own"?  This is what we all got at the Three Arts Club - a time and a space that was just for us, for our minds, for our creativity.  And those rooms were contained in a nurturing, safe community in a gently cloistered setting set amid one of the world's greatest cultural cities -- Chicago.

What happened to the Three Arts Club?

Many have asked, "What happened to the Three Arts Club?"   The answer is that several years ago, the Board of Directors kicked out all the women,  reneged on its mission to run a home and club for women in the arts, sold the building, and left with the $13 million in sale proceeds.  The Friends of the Three Arts Club group has tried valiantly to save this wonderful place for women.  The building is now up for sale by its current owner, a private developer   -- and we are hoping it comes to us.   We are going to need lots of help.  That other group now calls itself "3Arts," and has lost or spent much of the money, reportedly down to $7.4 million in about two years.   They are not running a home and club for women in the arts, needless to say!  Much help is needed!  YOUR help is needed.  

Three Arts Club - please help it return

This is the Three Arts Club Tearoom.  We often sat in here to study, reflect, and dream about grand possibilities.   The possibility of which we now dream is that the Three Arts Club will once again be returned to its rightful use as a home and club for women in the arts.  Please add your comments and please take the survey.   

You can contact by emailing:  THREEARTSFRIENDS@GMAIL.COM