29 May michael reese hospital campus interior building furniture and item removal – spring and summer of 2009

the michael reese hospital “salvage” was no doubt a formidable experience on a multitude of levels. the logistics surrounding the acquisition and removal component seemed rather straight forward and largely uneventful in the beginning, despite the fact that we were faced with a partially abandoned 28 building complex with very little, if any, operable utilities. however, as the project began to evolve demolition preparations, in the form of building “cleanouts” moved at a pace we were very much unprepared for, forcing us to reconsider or restrategize our approach under a somewhat disruptive and discordant environment, which we were not alien to by any means. the vintage furniture and/or furnishings of preferment were housed in the older buildings located on the northside of the campus. the bulk of the inventory acquired boiled down to either unique and early 20th century medical-related furniture, equipment and signage, or mid-century modern furniture. architectural artifacts were essentially off limits, pending the city of chicago’s purchase of the hospital campus. nevertheless, we focused our efforts on the items we were allowed to remove, per our agreement with the wrecking company charged with clearing the buildings prior to demolition. unfortunately, a good portion of the mid-century furnishings were badly damaged from vandals, lack of building maintenance or outright abandonment of the buildings containing the furniture. on the brighter side of the removal, the vintage medical items in the form of misc. equipment, furniture, signs, teaching aids (i.e., anatomical models) and other odds and ends were truly exceptional and in abundance.