BLDG51. News and Events |

17 Jul detailed survery of carved brownstone and winkle company red slip terra cotta on adler and sullivan’s 1891 wainwright building

Posted at 16:32h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

showcasing sullivan-designed upper story terra cotta spandrels and cornice fabricated by winkle terra cotta company and carved brownstone surrounding street level entrances. [caption id="attachment_94372" align="alignleft" width="1774"] Wainwright Building. 709 Chestnut Street. Adler, Sullivan, and Ramsey, Architects. Photograph by Emil Boehl, 1907. Missouri History Museum Photographs and...

16 Jul exterior detail images of ann halstad house, adler and sullivan’s oldest surviving residence

Posted at 18:33h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

exterior detail images of adler and sullivan's ann halsted house (1884), located at 440 west belden street, chicago, il. i included a richard nickel image taken in 1953-54 for the institute of design. the chimney stack to the east is perhaps the most striking exterior feature. ...

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

Posted at 16:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

detailed photographic documentation of leaded glass windows within henry j. schlack's endangered gothic style st. martin of tours german catholic church (1895), located at 5848 south princeton avenue, chicago, il. the "munich style" leaded art glass windows were likely executed by zettler studios. ...

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

Posted at 16:32h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

recent images of the richardsonian romanesque style brick and terra cotta washington terrace clock tower and gatehouse (1894) designed by harvey ellis for george r. mann. both clock tower and gatehouse sustained minor damage after an ef3 tornado struck urban areas of greater st. louis...

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

Posted at 15:15h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

ganz hall glass. detail images of healy and millet-designed oversized leaded glass lunette windows in adler and sullivan's 1890 auditorium building banquet hall (renamed rudolph ganz memorial hall in 1954). i rediscovered these dormant and unprocessed images on an old hard drive from 2011. will post...

08 Jul detailed look at von holst and elmslie’s peoples gas south chicago neighborhood store

Posted at 21:22h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

exterior detail photographic images of von holst and elmslie's peoples gas south chicago neighborhood store, located at 8935 south commercial avenue, chicago, il. ...

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

Posted at 18:09h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

"don't take them for granite." recent images of salvaged ornament from william w. boyington's board of trade building (1885-1929), located along the path of the wisconsin ducks in wisconsin dells, wi. the critical mass of chicago board of trade gargantuan carved granite statuary and figural/emblematic panels greet...

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

Posted at 18:38h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

exterior images of frank lloyd wright's doctor ina m. harper house (1950-51), located at 2571 old lake shore drive, st. joesph, mi. the harper house is one of two houses designed by wright in st. joesph - the other being the carl schultz house (1958-59), located...

03 Jul haymarket martyrs’ monument, broken branches, and architect william gray purcell’s grave at forest park cemetery

Posted at 16:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

haymarket martyrs' monument (1893), broken branches, and architect william gray purcell's grave. images from yesterday's brief visit to forest home cemetery located at 863 south des plaines avenue, forest park, il. images...

30 Jun revisiting surviving 1893 chicago columbian exposition remnants scattered around jackson park

Posted at 15:08h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

surviving remnants of the 1893 chicago columbian exposition revisited. the following images carefully document surviving remnants from chicago's 1893 columbian exposition, held in jackson park on the south side of chicago (hyde park). i've included images of an original charles atwood-designed (d.h. burnham & company) exterior...

26 Jun detail photographic images of charles b. atwood’s fine arts building or science of musuem of industry

Posted at 15:39h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

detail images of charles b. atwood's fine arts building (1892-93) located at 5700 south dusable lake shore drive, chicago, il. the building's badly deteriorated staff exterior was replaced with bedford limestone during reconstruction to house the museum of science and industry in 1930. ...

23 Jun revisting skyscraper builder george allon fuller’s oak woods cemetery sugar granite “doric tomb” in summer, 2025

Posted at 16:18h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

collection of detail images - taken during a single and brief visit in summer, 2025 - of the bruce price-designed "doric tomb" located in oak woods cemetery on the south side of chicago. the granite pergola contains tapered and fluted columns supporting multiple beams representing...

22 Jun glazed polychromed terra cotta chicago building skyline mural revisited in summer 2025

Posted at 18:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

the kirchbaum building, located at 6560 n. sheridan rd., was designed in 1922 by the architectural firm of ronneberg, pierce and hauber. the terra cotta city skyline mural is comprised of three recessed panels, beginning with fort dearborn and ending with the wrigley building. the two-story...

19 Jun up in flames: rediscovered photographic images of adler and sullivan’s pilgrim baptist church (1891) and wirt dexter building

Posted at 16:23h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

adler and sullivan's pilgrim baptist church (formerly kehilath anshe ma'ariv synagogue (adler and sullivan, 1891) as it appeared on january 7, 2006 - the day after the devastating fire. ...

17 Jun exterior restoration of william le baron jenney’s richardsonian romanesque style second universalist society church of the redeemer underway

Posted at 17:06h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

recent exterior restoration images of william le baron jenney's richardsonian romanesque style second universalist society church of the redeemer (1886), located at 1956 west warren blvd., chicago, il. i believe the church building's masonry maintenance/ restoration is being carried out by bulley and andrews (bamr). the facade...

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

Posted at 15:57h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

absolutely thrilling to witness/document silsbee's bandstand returning to its former glory. the richly colored and meticulously restored mosaic panels are stunning. recent restoration images of joseph lyman silsbee's bandstand (1897) located at west music court in garfield park. the four-sided structure is faced with white marble supplied...

11 Jun latest historically important building artifacts and ephemera added to bldg. 51 museum collection in summer 2025

Posted at 16:12h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the following american architectural ephermera joined the ever-expanding, chicago-based bldg. 51 museum in the january of 2025. captions will be provided when time permits. ...

11 Jun exterior survey of george whiffin and william wright-designed house of david hotel in summer of 2025

Posted at 15:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

2025 exterior photographic survery of the four-story, steel-framed george whiffen and william wright-designed house of david hotel (1922-23; alterations, 1931), located at 163 colfax avenue, benton harbor, mich. the 100-room hotel building was built by house of david commune leader benjamin purnell (1861-1927) and operated by...

09 Jun detail images of henry c. koch-designed copper-plated ironwork within milwaukee city hall’s 8-story skylit atrium

Posted at 16:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

interior detail images of henry c. koch's flemish renaissance revival style milwaukee city hall building (1895), located at 200 east wells street, milwaukee, wi. have not identified the fabricator of the copper-plated ironwork. ...

30 May “a little st. sophia:” frank lloyd wright’s 1956 annunciation greek orthodix church

Posted at 17:09h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

exterior photographic survey of frank lloyd wright's annunciation greek orthodox church (1956-1961), located at 9400 west congress street, wauwatosa, wi. a future post with several images of the church's interior (taken on the same day) will land when time permits. ...