Blum Building, Chicago. CA Eckstorm, 1908. ~1910 postcard via @NewberryLibrary / 2020 photo

Groundbreaking soprano Florence Cole Talbert was the first Black singer to appear in a Chicago Musical College program when she performed in this building as a student in 1916.

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First things first - yes, these are the same building. Built with a foundation that could support additional stories, in 1920 developer Harry Blum hired prolific Chicago architect Alfred Alschuler to design the addition that doubled its height.

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Florence Ziegfeld Sr. founded the Chicago Musical College in 1867. The growing school moved into this C.A. Eckstorm-designed building when it was completed in 1908. It wouldn’t remain here long - within a decade it was converted into a movie theater.

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Before the Chicago Musical College moved out, though, they enrolled future opera star Florence Cole Talbert in 1916. The first Black singer to perform here, she was also awarded the school's "Diamond Medal".

(no clue what that actually means tbh but impressive regardless)

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Madame Florence Cole Talbert would go on to become one of the first Black opera stars in the US, blazing a trail followed by performers like Marion Anderson. After she left opera, Talbert led the vocal departments at HBCUs like Alabama State College and Fisk University.

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In 1922 Alschuler's addition was completed and Harry Blum’s specialty fashion department store, Blum’s Vogue, moved into the building. The upper floors were used for office space and for garment manufacturing.

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: University of Minnesota Libraries, Northwest Architectural Archives

and

: City of Chicago Landmark Designation Report

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The Chicago Musical College survived as an independent school until it merged with Roosevelt University in 1954. In addition to Florence Cole Talbert, alumni include Robert McFerrin Sr. (photo'd) and beloved Chicago high school music director Walter Dyett.

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Blum's Vogue moved out in the early 1960s. The building's office s was popular with oil companies: Shell, Phoenix, the American Petroleum Institute, etc.

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...and most visibly, Torco (for an obscure oil company they sure had two extremely high profile signs in this one and Wrigley Field). 10/11

: Onasill ~ Bill

In 1990, @ColumbiaChi bought the building and the Torco sign came down in 2004.

Today it houses the university's library, bookstore, classrooms, etc. 11/11