22 Oct finding “gardenesque” within the chicago athletic club association annex building

i was pleasantly surprised when i discovered this “gardenesque” plaster ornament while photodocumenting the interior of the chicago athletic association annex (commonly referred to as the “madison building” by club members). the cast plaster corbels were revealed recently during renovations, after being hidden for years from senseless alterations. unfortunately, there is considerable damage evident, so whether or not they will be saved or restored is anyone’s guess at this point. upon further inspection, i noticed that the ornament resonated strongly with design motifs used by louis sullivan and george grant elmslie – who had a significant influence on garden’s designs. nearly all of the architectural commissions where hugh garden was principal designer, employed a mostly diluted variation of the prairie school, with strong geometric shapes and sparse organic motifs (the exception, perhaps, were the plaster capitals i salvaged from the michael reese “main building” interior lobby, which were profusely ornate with deep relief, allover leafage. interestingly, the annex and reese hospital (both designed by the architectural firm of schimdt, garden & martin) were constructed around 1906-7. if the plaster ornament ends up being destroyed, i at least had the great fortune to photodocument it for scholarly research purposes down the road.