09 Jul adler and sullivan’s auditorium theater in images and ornament
adler and sullivan’s auditorium building (1889):
note: all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, bldg. 51 archive, ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago and john vinci. ornament and/or artifacts courtesy of the bld. 51 archive and museum.
FOR BART SWINDALL.
how often does one get to study a building from the vantage of a bygone inhabitant? luckily, the auditorium hotel, as an extant 1889 adler & sullivan commission, has been well-recorded from other angles.
the silver gelatin photographs from a hotel guest (taken from their window in november of 1905) then, allow researchers to glean a more intimate experience of the building, and its surrounding area over a century ago.
photographic prints courtesy of the bldg. 51 archive.
rhythm through repetition – adler and sullivan’s auditorium building (1889). the tower consists of smooth-faced indiana limestone.
images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and bldg. 51 archive.
collection of mounted silver gelatin photographic prints of adler and sullivan’s auditorium building (1889) as it appeared in the summer of 1948.
the prints belong to a larger collection identified as “unknown 1948 exhibit.” other images exhibited, include h.h. richardson’s glessner house, adler and sullivan’s walker warehouse, and adler and sullivan’s troescher building.
likely harold allen and/or ralph marlow line photographs. both documented adler and sullivan’s work beginning in the 1940s.
courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.
RIP Bart Swindall.
i remember back in june when i shared this image with him. he had never seen the actual photographic image – just the harper’s weekly illustration, which i had never seen (and can’t find in my inbox at the moment).
what a terrible loss. he taught me so much about adler and sullivan’s auditorium theater. devastated.
james w. taylor image of the cornerstone ceremony held at the congress street entrance of adler and sullivan’s 1889 auditorium building. if you look closely at the stage, you can see the stone with cavity for capsule.
louis h. sullivan was present for the ceremony, where he delivered tools, square, level, and plumb. before the ceremony of testing the stone commenced, sullivan addressed the grand master with the following words: “having been entrusted with the duty of designing this edifice and of supervising and directing the workmen in its erection, and having been enabled to witness its completion, i now, with due respect present to you for inspection and approval the last stone that enters into its composition, and with it the implements of operative masonry, there being no further occasions for their use.”
with the tools provided by sulllvan, the grand warden reported the stone was square, level, and plumb. he then turned to the architect and replied: “mr. sullivan, from you as the architect of this building, i accept the work, assuring you of my hearty approval, and will forthwith consecrate it according to ancient usage.”
courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.
original 1889 auditorium theater edison keyless shell socket and light bulb discovered during restoration in 1967. the brass shell socket with original cloth cord retains traces of the original gilded finish. the round pine wood three-part base plate contains an original square nail used to mount the socket behind the decorative plaster.
the “long neck” incandescent edison light bulb with working carbon hairpin filament dates to the early 1890s.
courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum collection.
i haven’t seen many richard nickel images of john vinci working together with crombie taylor recovering stencils in adler and sullivan’s auditorium theater, so i was rather pleased to run across these images as i dig into nickel’s contact sheets on the auditorium theater’s restoration.
nickel’s images offer a wealth of information reflected through his systematic documentation of nearly all facets of restoration work, beginning around 1965 and ending over two years later, when the theater reopened on october 31st, 1967.
more to follow…
courtesy of ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago.
collection of original period ephemera promoting and/or praising restoration efforts of adler and sullivan’s auditorium theater (1889). the theater held its grand reopening in 1967.
courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.
richard nickel images of adler and sullivan’s auditorium building (1889) as it appeared in 1956.
courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.
rarely seen albumen print of adler and sullivan’s partially completed auditorium building taken during the 1888 national republican convention where benjamin harrison was nominated as presidential candidate. harrison returned on december 9th, 1889 for the building dedication ceremony.
unidentified photographer, but could be james w. taylor since he documented the building in various stages of construction.
courtesy of ryerson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago.
when adler and sullivan’s auditorium building (1889) was closed off to the public in 1941 for use as a world war ii servicemen’s center, they converted the theater’s stage into a fully functional bowling alley, as seen in the 1945 press photograph above.
courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.
group of seldom seen kaufmann and fabry silver gelatin prints of adler and sullivan’s auditorium theater (1889) as it appeared shortly after it was restored in december of 1932. the interior images were taken for the rededication held 43 years and five days after the original opening ceremony held on december 9th, 1889.
architectural firm holabird and root oversaw the three-month long restoration, which included the removal of entrance and inner-lobby stained glass windows deemed “undistinguished,” giant crystal chandeliers added to lobbies and foyers and a decoration scheme consisting of beige, walnut and gold.
american artist charles holloway, who painted the fresco above the theater’s proscenium in 1889, retuned to restore his work 43 years later.
less than a decade later the auditorium theater went bankrupt and was subsequently taken over by the city of chicago in 1942, where it converted into a world war ii serviceman center, complete with a bowling alley on the stage.
images courtesy of ryerson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago.
while digitizing a 19th century oversized “scrapbook” filled with newspaper clippings, hand-written notes, images, and various programs revolving around adler and sullivan’s auditorium building (1889), i ran across the following page that offers a hand-written note detailing the list of contents placed in the time capsule located in the southeast corner of the building.
courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.
james w. tayor image of adler and sullivan’s partially completed auditorium building theater interior taken during national republican convention in 1888 – well over a year before the building was completed.
note the festive bunting with flags, union shields and images of presidential candidate benjamin harrison along the walls and balcony, and temporary incandescent lights hanging from the exposed iron-frame proscenium arches.
courtesy of ryerson and burnham collection, art institute of chicago
hand carved quartered oak wood lobby capital detail – adler & sullivan’s auditorium building (1889). the ornamental woodwork for reception, hotel lobby, and reading rooms was executed by carsley & east mfg. co.
image courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.
a large set of albumen prints were made by photographer james w. taylor shortly after adler and sullivan’s auditorium building (1889) was completed, including images of the exterior, hotel, and theater. there were only a few i’ve never seen before, including this albumen print of adler and sullivan’s auditorium building elevator doors and surround leading to the tower’s 18th floor observatory.
the surround, dotted with exposed incandescent light bulbs appears to be copper-plated cast iron, executed by snead ironworks or winslow brothers. the elevator doors are remarkably simple, comprised of paneled wood with “florentine” pattern glass panes and unornamented pulls and keyhole escutcheons.
the rope-pulley elevator indicators are plain, with removable brass or bronze numbers beginning with first floor. from there, the elevator cabs travel to the base of the tower at floor ten, bypassing the hotel and/or offices. the cabs make stops at each floor of the tower, ending at the observatory at 18. adler and sullivan’s offices were locate on the 16th an 17th floors.
image courtesy of the ryerson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago.
john vinci kodachrome slide of adler and sullivan’s auditorium theater (1889) taken the night it reopened (october 31, 1967) after being restored by harry weese and associates.
courtesy of john vinci collection.
1979 john vinci kodachrome slides of restoration/renovation of auditorium building’s 10th floor library led by john vinci. adler and sullivan’s auditorium building was completed in 1889.
collection of john vinci. sullivan-designed cast plaster fragment (modeled by james legge) courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.
richard nickel images of ferdinand peck’s 30-room mansion as it appeared in the 1960s when it functioned as a boarding house. the richardsonian romanesque style house was designed by william lebaron jenney in 1890, featuring an imposing 4-story tower faced in vermont granite.
peck, who was perhaps best known for financing adler and sullivan’s auditorium building (1889) resided there with his family until his death in 1924.
the stately mansion would succumb to the wrecking ball in 1969, nearly two years when the auditorium theater reopened after extensive restoration.
images courtesy of the ryerson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago.
richard nickel images of adler and sullivan’s auditorium theater (1889) taken in 1965 during its renovation. i’ll be posting several more as i continue to digitize nickel’s auditorium contact sheets. his images of stencil recovery are by far the most interesting – to me anyways.
images courtesy of ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago.