22 Apr revisting adler and sullivan’s 1881 rothschild store through richard nickel streetscape images

richard nickel images of adler and sullivan rothschild building (1881).
studying the images closely while digitizing/editing them provided further appreciation for the building and sullivan’s early “edelmannesque” ornament. if you look closely, you will see images of the storefront level before and after it was covered over with modernistic stone. 

since the building’s demolition coincided with adler and sullivan’s stock exchange in 1972, very little attention was given to this little gem. thankfully nickel manged to document the facade in great detail, espeically from the scaffolding that covered the building for demolition.

since the ground floor was a loss, nickel and a young tim samuelson did manage to salvage several cast iron spandrels below the roofline. sullivan designed this ornament (some of his earliest) while working as a draftsman for adler.

further reading:

SALVAGING EARLY LOUIS H. SULLIVAN-DESIGNED ROTHSCHILD BUILDING CAST IRON ORNAMENT

EXCHANGING HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT BUILDING FRAGMENTS FROM CHICAGO’S PAST