24 Nov bldg. 51 ebook (with preview pages) available for purchase now; hard copy version available soon
download bldg. 51 ebook - here!...
23 Nov faithfully reproduced chicago athletic assoication building cast plaster “drooping tip” panel installation well underway
i finally got the chance to devote a few hours to document any and all changes made to the chicago athletic association building as it continues to move closer to become one of chicago's more distinctive and historic "boutique" hotels (strictly my opinion). changes in the...
14 Nov early industrial furniture salvaged from a recently shuttered chicago area factory
between residential salvages we digressed somewhat by spending two days in a recently shuttered chicago area factory, where most of the industrial equipment and/or furniture no longer in use (i.e., lying dormant) dates to 1915-23. the great majority of the factory lockers, stools and miscellaneous...
10 Nov a chicago brick two-flat (1897) and 1880’s wood-frame worker cottage salvage completed
Posted at 15:23h
in Bldg. 51, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions, Salvages
from the very beginning of this salvage, the so-called "coach house" (more often referred to as a carriage house), located on the back lot of the property, was the structure that peeked my interest more than the two flat (1897) facing the street. i felt...
07 Nov some highlighted artifacts from this week’s daily additions culled from the urban remains website
the photo gallery below offers numerous hand-picked or "highlighted" artifacts from this week's listings (10 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 21,000 item mark. the ultimate goal since day...
05 Nov montgomery ward & co. “spirit of progress” building weathervane fragment joins the bldg. 51 museum collection
it's no secret that this gargantuan, riveted joint, wrought bronze metal john massey rhind-designed statue or figural weathervane head fragment was brought to auction by the david v. nelson family, based on all of its recent recognition in local media. however, i was truly surprised and remarkably fortunate...
03 Nov final chapter ends with complete removal of an increasingly rare joliet limestone chicago commercial building facade
throughout most of the 19th century joliet's numerous quarries were supplying chicago (and other midwestern cities) with great stone slabs used in the paving of city sidewalks, along with several churches, hotels, banks, warehouses and other types of public buildings. the stone was found just...
29 Oct a sampling of newly acquired inventory added to the urban remains website over the past few days
the photo gallery below offers numerous hand-picked or "highlighted" artifacts from this week's listings (10 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 21,000 item mark. the ultimate goal since day...
29 Oct a chicago-based residential and commercial 19th century historic building materials database to become website
Posted at 13:37h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
acquiring louis sullivan and frank lloyd architectural artifacts to bolster the bldg. 51 museum collection is very important to me, and will continue on (likely with the addition of another artifact catalog in the coming years), but as i'm nearing the ten year anniversary of...
29 Oct bottom of the john kent russell wood-lined privy reached: yields hundreds of artifacts
Posted at 09:54h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
we arrived early in the morning to begin where we left off a few days before. it was hard not to ruminate intensely about the implications of what we would soon discover in the circular-shaped oversized wood-lined privy during that time away. however, with tools...
26 Oct Raising Chicago: An Illustrated History
In 1855, the city embarked on a far-fetched scheme to hoist itself out of the mud and gunk. On the 155th anniversary of the project’s launch, we take a lively illustrated look back. BY LILLI CARRÉ This article appears in the August 2010 issue of Chicago magazine. Subscribe to Chicago magazine....
23 Oct ongoing excavation efforts at the john kent russell site yields a newly discovered artifact-laden privy
Posted at 15:46h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
while i patiently wait for the city to issue an excavation permit that will uncover any undiscovered buried remnants from the john kent russell house site before the new foundation is poured, which not only effectively ends my frequent visits to the site, but in...
22 Oct rapp and rapp’s oriental theater was one of two focal points during open house chicago
judging from numerous channels of feedback, it's rather obvious that "open house chicago" this year was a smashing success. i'm very pleased that so many residential and commercial structures opened their doors to the public for observation, appreciation and an endless stream of photographic images...
21 Oct more buildings with “sullivanesque” style midland terra cotta are coming down
the small, but visually distinctive single story commercial buildings bedecked with bright white glazed terra cotta "sullivanesque" ornament in numerous configurations on their facades are disappearing more and more from the urban landscape in and around the chicago area as the number of demolition permits...
21 Oct latest update: the ever-changing c. 1876 commercial block undergoes a complete facade removal
the gallery of images presented in this posting offer the viewer a rather sad glimpse of the most recent round of alterations being made to this heavily altered c. 1876 solidly-constructed commercial block located just west of downtown chicago. earlier posts pertaining to this structure focused...
15 Oct the odin j. oyen collection catalog is slowly coming together
due to a number of unexpected architectural salvages, preparing the john kent russell house exhibit and overseeing the publication of the bldg. 51 museum catalog, i've finally had a little bit of time to begin working again on the odin j. oyen collection in greater...
14 Oct newly created chicago athletic association building “drooping tip” cast plaster ceiling panels ready for installation
i managed to capture the early stages of fabrication and preparation for installation of the "drooping tip" ceiling panels during my visit last week. production of the intricately detailed and well made faithful reproductions (taken awhile back from a mold of an original surviving panel)...
14 Oct diverse array of newly acquired artifacts added daily on the urban remains website
the urban remains virtual store's engine continuously operates as more and more artifacts, objects and oddities are added on a daily basis. with the recent spike in teardowns around the chicago area, architectural artifacts are finally becoming front and center again. however, cataloged items outside...
08 Oct why hasn’t anyone taken a stab at writing about “unearthing chicago?”
i discovered the book "unearthing gotham" in 2002, and have read and later reexamined various chapters of this remarkable and highly informative tomb well into 2014 - especially when we began finding ash pits and privies buried beneath the john kent russell house (1855-56). i can't...
08 Oct a photographic summation of an 1876 chicago commercial building
a few photographs taken while examining the interior of this post-fire chicago (1876) commercial building is "gutted" during preparation for a new use as loft apartments. ...