09 Nov never-before-seen photographic images of william le baron jenney’s leiter one building undergoing demolition in 1972
seldom seen 19th century james w. taylor albumen of william le baron’s leiter one building (1879).
the 7-story skeleton-frame building (supported by cast iron columns) is recognized for its contribution towards the development of skeleton construction, which was further refined in jenney’s home insurance building (1885-1931). leiter one was demolished in 1972.
image courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.
seldom seen interior images of william le baron jenney’s first leiter building (1879) taken by richard nickel before its demolition in 1972. the images show the building’s original heavily-built wood staircase consisting of elegantly turned newels and box-shaped newels accentuated with “bullseye” rosettes.
images courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.
john vinci kodachrome slides of william le baron’s leiter one building (1879) shortly before its demolition. the 7-story skeleton-frame building (supported by cast iron columns) is recognized for its contribution towards the development of skeleton construction, which was further refined in jenney’s home insurance building (1885-1931).
leiter one was demolished in 1972 by national wrecking.
courtesy of john vinci collection.
these recently discovered images, shot with a rollieflex, capture the final stages of leiter’s building demolition, taken from various vantage points. the chicago stock exchange (1894) and rothschild building (1881) – both designed by adler and sullivan – were undergoing demolition at the time the images were taken.
