05 Feb adler and sullivan’s 1884 rueben rubel residence lives on through images and ornament
photographic images and description of rueben rubel residence, 1884-1885, adler and sulivan, architects. demolished 1958.
aaron siskind and richard nickel photographs of louis sullivan-designed ornament taken between 1953-54.
first image: carved bedford limestone impost block detail from adler and sullivan’s walker warehouse (1892) taken shortly before it was demolished in 1953.
second image: red sandstone panel detail from adler and sullivan’s wainwright building (1891).
third image: red slip terra cotta detail from adler and sullivan’s ruben rubel residence (1884) shortly before it was demolished in 1958.
images courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago and john vinci collection.
rubel residence entrance door oak wood panel in richard nickel collection housed at university of edwardsville.
richard nickel photograph of reuben rubel house entrance. the sullivan-designed terra cotta ornament was executed by the northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, ills.
the rubel house was designed in 1884 by adler and sullivan. nickel documented and salvaged the house shortly before it was demolished in 1958.
courtesy of john vinci collection.
undated john vinci photograph of richard nickel holding “sunburst” red slip glaze terra cotta chimney block (one of two) he salvaged from adler and sullivan’s reuben rubel residence (1884) during its demolition in 1958.
the terra cotta block was executed by the northwestern company, chicago, ills.
image courtesy of john vinci and ryerson and burnham.
louis sullivan-designed “sunburst” terra cotta chimney block with red slip glaze is a very powerful piece of ornament. when visiting richard nickel’s salvaged ornament at lovejoy, i immediately gravitated to the rubel house (1884) chimney block (the chimney stack contained two panels, but cannot recall what happened to the second panel). it may have been destroyed during demolition, or perhaps stolen when nickel stored his “red terra cotta ornament collection” at navy pier for awhile.
architect michael j. o’brien, who self-published a book on sullivan’s salvaged ornament, describes the panel as a “vibrant-even dazzling composition” brought to life through the use of “spirals, serpentine emanations and windswept fin-leaves.”
the ornamental terra cotta from adler and sullivan’s ruben rubel residence was fabricated by the northwestern terra cotta company.
richard nickel images of adler and sullivan’s reuben rubel residence (1884) and carved cherry wood interior column with capital salvaged during demolition in 1958. the house was located at 320 s. ashland avenue (see google map image).the restored cherry wood column is now on display at lovejoy library in edwardsville.images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and private collection.
two matching red slip terra cotta panels were built flush against the house’s chimney. i consider this piece of early sullivan ornament to be one of his finest executed in terra cotta.
courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago and eric j. nordstrom.
undated richard nickel image of the adler & sullivan building ornament collection (south wall) taken shortly after installation at lovejoy library, southern illinois university edwardsville (siue). nickel sold his architectural artifact collection to the university in 1965 but continued salvaging additional fragments until his untimely death in 1972.
second image is an original 1975 poster featuring a rubel house chimney block graphic on one side and information about sullivan, nickel, and the collection on the other side.
the final image is a recent view of the collection’s current configuration on the south wall.
nickel image and poster courtesy of john vinci collection.
richard nickel contact prints of reuben rubel residence salvaged hand-carved wood door panels. the adler and sullivan residence was completed in 1884 and demolished in 1958.
images courtesy of the richard nickel archive, ryerson and burnham archives, art institute of chicago.
while digitizing and editing images from richard nickel contact prints on meyer lofts (1892-93) the other day, i ran across photos from the rubel residence (adler & sullivan, 1884) demolition in 1958. the sullivan-designed terra cotta chimney blocks – executed by northwestern – are powerful… pure organic energy.
images courtesy of the richard nickel archive, ryerson and burnham archives, art institute of chicago.