01 Jan year in review: highlights from the work of eric j. nordstrom, urban remains and the bldg. 51 archive in 2025

note: the following links represent some highlights accomplished in 2024. the posts are arranged chronologically, from beginning of 2025 to end of year.

as 2025 draws to a close, i culled the the work of eric j. nordstrom, urban remains, and the bldg. 51 archive to create a carefully curated collection of information, images, and acquisitions capping a year of relentless, unforgiving, and exhaustive work. note: the following links represent some highlights accomplished in 2024. the posts are arranged chronologically, from beginning of 2025 to end of year.

2024 highlights from the work of eric j. nordstrom, urban remains and the bldg. 51 archive

revisiting images taken of the 1855 john kent russell house attic “discovery” over a decade later

latest historically important building artifacts, images, and ephemera added to bldg. 51 museum collection in winter 2025

revisting the residential relics of 1933-34 “century of progress” relocated to beverly shores in 2025

a closer look at the cobbled together city of david hotel and its unusual cast concrete facade comprised of hematite chips

seldom seen photographic record w.j. newman’s demolition, excavation, and construction of chicago city hall joins bldg. 51 archive.

rare and historically important collection of photographic images and ephemera used to determine “first skyscraper” joins bld. 51 museum collection

largest known private 19th and early 20th century color sample collection joins bldg. 51 museum archive

historically important edward townsend mix-designed architectural ornament from “the met” building joins bldg. 51 museum collection

bldg. 51 museum acquires turn of the century open-ended electric switchboard components from one of last chicago buildings to convert from dc to ac power

solon spencer beman’s 1887 rock-faced romanesque revival style united methodist church of batavia

bldg. 51 museum acquires turn of the century open-ended electric switchboard components from one of last chicago buildings to convert from dc to ac power

interior and exterior photographic survey of holabird and root’s art deco style machine age rand tower

bldg. 51 archive acquires chicago photographer and salvager richard nickel’s institute of design student photo album

long lost cache of glass negatives taken by chicago photographer fred g. korth discovered and digitized by bldg. 51 archive

rock and roll is dead: images of stanley tigerman’s boarded up downtown chicago hardrock cafe

after the 1893 chicago world’s fair: magnue melander’s photographic documentation of the “dead white city”

important building ornament from chicago’s mecca flats and reebie storage warehouse join bld. 51 museum collection

after years of abandonment and neglect, joseph lyman silsbee’s garfield park bandstand rebuilt and restored to its former glory

a house made of chicago common brick, tidewater cypress wood, and glass.

“don’t take them for granite.” a photographic survey of william w. boyington’s chicago board of trade salvages ornament in wisconsin dells

ganz hall glass: a detailed photographic survey of healy and millet’s richly colored and intricately designed auditorium building banquet hall windows

surveying damage to harvey ellis’s washington terrace clock tower and gatehouse after tornado struck st. louis in may, 2025

henry j. schlack’s endangered gothic style 1895 st. martin of tours german church glass windows need further protection

detailed photographic survey of louis h. sullivan’s auditorium building banquet hall flaming birch wood carved column capitals

william j. newman’s “dawn manor” reconstructed and reunited with it’s salvaged chicago board of trade exterior ornament

masonry and terra cotta restoration of george ferry’s frederick pabst mansion (1892) well underway

graham foundation’s collection outdoor architectural fragments from historically important chicago buildings

detailed photographic documentation of purcell, feick, and elmslie’s two-story first national bank (1911)

collection of rediscovered richard nickel contact sheet images of chicago stock exchange (1894) demolition in 1972

urban remains showroom and bldg. 51 museum: the last repository of historically important architectural artifacts left standing in chicago

salvaged ornament from wheelock’s western book methodist, burnham and root’s ayer house, and a kristian schneider model join bld. 51 museum collection

bldg. 51 museum collection acquires exceptionally rare, museum quality 1902-03 george grant elmslie-designed five-ply fret-sawn mahogany wood panel from 1899 schlesinger and mayer building

photographic survey of claude and starck’s 1912 prairie style flagg-rochelle carnegie public library

another post-fire chicago residence cut down on cleveland avenue in chicago

urban remains and bld. 51 museum secure salvage rights to walter burley griffin’s 1913 frank a. hindes house

restored montgomery ward administration building tower “century of progress” statue returns to its perch

an afternoon photographing gary, indiana with urban documentarian camilo josé vergara

george elmslie-designed terra cotta now for sale through collaboration between bldg. 51 museum and city museum

fridstein and company’s 1926 congress theater in logan square continue to crumble nearly 8 years after my last visit

after nearly 7 years of documenting frank lloyd wright’s a.d. german warehouse, it’s now open to the public for tours

red slip-glazed terra cotta ornament salvaged from alfred freret’s la crosse post office (1889) joins bld. 51 museum collection

bld. 51 archive begins digitization of st. louis salvager dave felling’s vast repository of demolition images

critical mass of chicago architectural building ornament displayed in father donald f. rowe gallery of architectural art at st. ignatius college prep school

photographic survey of alfred caldwell’s lily pool taken post-renovation

bldg. 51 archive and museum acquires large lot of rare and all original great chicago fire of 1871 wet plate glass negatives

from movie palace to parking: a photographic survey of rapp and rapp’s 1926 michigan theater

healy and millet-designed stained glass skylight salvaged from adler and sullivan’s 1889-90 auditorium theater joins bld. 51 museum

a photographic survey of detroit’s “most beautiful chinese-american restaurant” designed by black architect nathan johnson

chicago’s largest private historically important architectural artifact museum and archive celebrates 15 year anniversary

revisting richard nickel’s architectural ornament housed in “the shed” at southern illinois university edwardsville

digitization of the largest privately-owned and comprehensive chicago architectural photographic collections well underway by bldg. 51 archive

eric j. nordstrom and bld. 51 archive join forces with prime group to photodocument their portofolio of historic buildings

massive library of rare and out-of-print frank lloyd wright-related books formerly owned by taliesan architect aquired by bld. 51 archive

ten years later, i’m still holding the torch: wrecking on wells street in 2015

historically important glass negatives of kristian schneider’s sculpted clay building ornament models for northwestern and american terra cotta companies now digitzed

as 2025 draws to a close, urban remains (for better or for worse) remains the last standing “salvage” shop in the chicagoland area

urban remains joins forces with logan square preservation to salvage architectural elements from german evangelical lutheran church (1896) during its demolition

a rare opportunity to carefully document helmet jahn’s postmodern spacetime gridded conference room on top floor of giaver and dinkelberg’s 40-story jewelers building

john kent russell house ornament salvaged by eric j. nordstrom of urban remains on display at art institute of chicago

bdg. 51 museum secures historically important oversized lincoln memorial building (1909) hand-applied polychromatic glazed terra cotta panel sculpted by kristian schneider

“relic house” artifacts and ephemera join bld. 51 museum’s largest privately-owned colletion revolving around the great chicago fire of 1871

second time capsule extracted from flizikowski and kaiser’s german evangelical lutheran church (1890-96) shortly before being reduced to rubble

images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, the bld. 51 museum and archive and urban remains. all rights reserved. 2025.