14 Jun exposed “wounds” along the terra cotta facade of louis sullivan’s gage building remain undressed and prone to the elements

the giant cavity where the gage building’s north cartouche was removed from is now fully exposed. the replacement will not be installed anytime soon. i’m concerned that (at the very least) prolonged exposure to the elements could weaken mortar joints. i’m by no means a masonry expert and/or structural engineer, but the pocket where the cartouche resided, along with several additional “wounds” that have been undressed for weeks now greatly concerns me.

the south cartouche (extant). designed by louis h. sullivan, modeled by khristian schneider, and fabricated by the northwestern terra cotta company. image courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum archive.

meanwhile, the boston valley terra cotta company is working feverishly to recreate the terra cotta ornament extracted from the building earlier this year. i witnessed this first hand when i made a visit to their impressive facility last month.

to be continued…