20 Dec 19th century red brick three-flat boarding house on ohio street demolished in a day

finally, with time to spare, i wanted to tie up loose ends on some of the demolitions projects that were sitting restlessly on my back burner and/or not completely documented to my satisfaction. these “projects,” now in the form of a growing number of digital folders containing imagery and information that have yet to be added the urban remains/bldg.51 blog, are both a reflection of the bustling activity happening in the world of demolition and my persistent struggle to keep up with it.

the driving force behind my fanatical obsession with documenting all-things related to the death of 19th century architecture, unearthed discoveries, and historically important pieces acquired for the bldg. 51 museum is reflected in the extensive time and effort i spend recording and recovering 19th century chicago before tasteless modifications, newly built homes and buildings effectively erase its existence little by little. however, i’ve noticed that i quickly burn out at times and just need to shut off.

the other day i drove by the site where a three-flat brick “boarding house” constructed between 1881-1886 on ohio street once stood. shortly after salvaging the interior, the wrecking machine arrived and the structure was brought down in two days. despite finding very little underground and/or not salvaging anything worthwhile from the modest facade, i felt compelled to document the three-flat’s demolition to complete the story of yet another 19th century chicago building lost. with that, i selected some photos taken over the course of two days  – from the moment the wrecking machine punched through the rear wall to the last pile of rubble carted off to the landfill.

a previous post covering the interior’s salvage can be viewed here.