i've slowly begun the arduous task of organizing all of the data i've amassed from years of identifying and deconstructing or extracting components and systems from chicago worker cottages erected prior to the great chicago fire of 1871. unfortunately, the acquisition of materials, recording of...
my most recent visit to louis h. sullivan's farmers and merchants union bank focused on documenting the interior, including the richly colored stained glass windows, executed by louis j. millet, the polychromed drinking fountain, designed by sullivan and executed by the american terra cotta company,...
BENJAMIN LINDAUER RESIDENCE: richard nickel photograph of unglazed terra cotta chimney ornament on benjamin lindauer residence designed by adler and sullivan in 1885. the sullivan-designed ornament was executed by northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, ills. nickel documented and salvaged the house during its demolition in 1959. image...
in my studio one night recently, i was photographing the latest collection of bottles, chinaware and other debris unearthed from sites along grand avenue, just west of downtown chicago. i was utterly burned out, troubling over moving forward, so i quickly switched gears to set the...
a new west town showroom housing historically important american architectural artifacts and ephermera culled from the collections of urban remains and the bldg. 51 musuem will open in spring of 2022. updates along with detailed mission statement will be posted in coming weeks. address: 1820 w...
most recent architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum collection and archive. highlights include richard nickel's audio-visual equipment used to record preservation hearings, conduct interviews (e.g., frank lloyd wright, elmslie sisters, william g. purcell, etc.), adler and sullivan...
THIS PROGRAM IS BEING OFFERED IN-PERSON AND ONLINE On the first day of summer, exactly 50 years ago - June 21, 1972 - nearly 200 friends and colleagues of Richard Nickel gathered in the courtyard of Glessner House to pay tribute to the dedicated preservationist and...
an early to mid-1880s (research ongoing) multi-story brick worker's cottage punctuated with lemont limestone window hoods with centrally located keystones and bracketed wood cornice was destroyed early last week. i managed to photodocument the facade shortly before it was brought down and trucked off to...
a photographic study of excavated utilitarian objects and architectural artifacts from chicago's past. four of the images show building ornament, layers of ash, and common brick "in situ". the fragments were discovered at dig sites across the city prior to being lightly cleaned and photographically...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 75,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 16 years). the newly acquired items for the month of MAY, 2022, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need...
rarely seen richard nickel photographs of burnham and root's kansas city board of trade building (1888) shortly before it was demolished in 1968. a year before, the building owners terminated maintenance, turned off heat and electricity, and chained the doors shut. thankfully ornamental iron (bower-barff finish) located...
the chicago balloon frame: beyond "boards and nails." over the past three years, i've collected a considerable amount of photographic images and historic building materials housed in a storage facility in preparation for my "deconstructing chicago" project, which aims to address an increasing number of anomalies...
seldom seen richard nickel contact sheet images of burnham and root's george h. wheeler residence (1884) taken shortly before it was set to be demolished in 1968. the house situated between wheeler and h.h. richardson's extant glessner house (1887) to the north, was cobb and frost's...
the following collection of lithographs (some rarely seen) offer a comprehensive look at adler & sullivan's chicago stock exchange building (1894), including its ornament, entrances, and interior spaces. the images are featured in winslow brother's 1894 issue of "ornamental iron" (volume two, number one) with text...
the century of progress architectural district is a historic district in beverly shores, indiana. the district is on lake shore drive within the indiana dunes national park. the district comprises five buildings, all from the homes of tomorrow exhibition of the 1933 century of progress world's fair which took place in chicago. intended to display...
photographic images of antioch baptist church (1889-1890) taken during the first of week of demolition. the church had suffered a disastrous fire earlier in the month (good friday) that left the building structurally unsound (weakened further by subsequent fires). with mounting concerns that the building...
photographic study of mabel tainter memorial building (1889-1890) designed by architect harvey ellis. the richardsonian style building, which houses a theater and library, was built for lumber magnate andrew tainter and his wife bertha as a memorial to their daughter mabel tainter, who died of cancer...
a selection of images and artifacts culled from the bldg. 51 museum archive on burnham and roots' rookery building (1888). any and all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 museum archive. early view of rookery building's adam street entrance. inland architect press. courtesy of...
the facade of f.a. kennedy and company's rebuilt six-story factory complex was executed by adler and sullivan in 1884. the brick facade featured four divided structural bays with uninterrupted piers expressing the building's vertacality. the cornice was punctuated with a series of arched windows surrounded...
detroit's extant iconic art deco towering fisher building (1928) is one of the most notable works by architect albert kahn (joseph fathaniel french served as architect). the 30-story building - faced with a combination of limestone, granite, and several types of marble - was financed by...