27 Jul images chronicling ornament salvage from louis h. sullivan’s henry babson house during its demolition in 1960
a compilation of images, brief comments taken from other social media platforms, and previous blog bld. 51 blog posts on louis h. sullivan’s henry babson house are presented below.
the babson house are richard nickel, john vinci, and david norris salvaged louis h. sullivan’s 1908 henry babson house during its demolition in 1960. by looking through and digitizing images from nickel’s contact sheets, i learned exactly what they salvaged and the methods used to extract all sorts of ornament, which for the most part, was designed by sullivan’s draftsman geoerge grant elmslie.
the images show norris’s efforts to surgically remove an arched loggia segment comprised of delicate fret-sawn pine wood, followed by his struggle to jam it in his station wagon for transport back to his parent’s house in indiana.
nickel and vinci documented the salvage and demolition of the babson house. vinci’s images were taken using kodachrome film, so it’s interesting to see the their work in black and white and color.
note: most images courtesy of the richard nickel archive, ryerson and burnham archives, art institute of chicago.
one of four original henry babson house (1908, louis h. sullivan, architect) interior polychrome glazed terra cotta blocks salvaged from the mantel (see image below) by john vinci. the richly colored terra cotta block was executed by the american terra cotta company. the design is attributed to george grant elmslie – who at the time, was working as louis sullivan’s draftsman.
babson block courtesy of john vinci collection.
interior house image courtesy of the richard nickel archive, ryerson and burnham archives, art institute of chicago
exterior polychromed terra cotta babson house (1908) panel designed in part by george grant elmslie. louis h. sullivan, architect. on display at southern illinois university edwardsville. executed by american terra cotta company. salvaged in 1960 by richard nickel and others during house demolition. only two exist – the other housed in a private collection. amazing piece of ornament… so glad to finally see and document in person.
BLDG. 51 MUSEUM SECURES HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT C. 1908 HENRY BABSON HOUSE LEADED GLASS WINDOWS
s
s
s