07 Apr revisting eric j. nordstrom exterior facade images of henry ives cobb’s chicago athletic association building during its restoration in 2014
eric j. nordstrom photographic images of henry ives cobb’s chicago athletic association building facade as it appeared prior to restoration in 2013-2014. i spent nearly a week out on the scaffolding documenting the facade from top to bottom.
i discovered multiple lightly incised signatures including george h. macomber, building superintendent, john arnold, head stonesetter, and michael, who signed two years later when the building was completed in 1893.
macomber and arnold worked for the george a. fuller company, who built several notable 19th and early 20th century chicago skyscrapers.
in all, i have around five thousand images in the archive, including several of its adjoining – louis h. sullivan’s 1899 gage building.
i included images of both the gage and chicago athletic association as they appeared in the late 19th and early 20th century. the gage surpassed the height of athletic association building in 1902 with the addition of four stories. aside from the removal of the two michigan sandstone balconies in the 1950s, the athletic building façade remains largely intact.
