The year 2006 marked the 150th anniversary of Louis Henri Sullivan’s birth. Considered one of America's most influential architects, much attention has been given to this brilliant designer. Frank Lloyd Wright, his former draftsman, often referred to Sullivan as his mentor and frequently called him “Lieber Meister,” beloved master.

Constructed in 1922, the Krause Music Store was Sullivan’s last commission. Of the more than 180 buildings designed by Sullivan in his famous partnership with Dankmar Adler, only 50 remain today. He is considered a founder of modern architecture for his advocacy of honest designs, which represent their time, place and technology. A forward-looking designer his designs are noted for clearly anticipating the issues and solutions of Modernism. Sullivan, a prolific writer and speaker, is famous for the axiom, “Form ever follows function.”

Studio V Design, the owners of the Krause Music Store, hired preservation architects McGuire Igleski & Associates to design the approach to the facade. GGC began the restoration with the removal of 25 feet of terra cotta above the second floor windows to expose the deteriorated underlying structural steel. The beams were sandblasted and reinforced with new steel and new welds. The terra cotta was reset, tuck-pointed and cleaned. Additionally, every joint in the terra cotta was meticulously ground out and re-pointed with new mortar. The original diamond shaped leaded glass windows were salvaged and restored with all new lead caming and copper weather stripping. The original black and white mosaic tile paving bearing the Krause name was restored to its original appearance. And finally, all blemishes on the terra cotta were decoratively repainted to match its original green hue.