exhaustive photographic documentation and/or record of careful removal of the two remaining sullivan-designed cast iron storefront columns capitals from adler and sullivan's s.a. maxwell loft building (more commonly referred to as the jewelers building) has drawn to a close. the fragments will be replicated to...
a chicago two-story 1880s masonry cottage or "boarding house" with completely intact fret-sawn pine wood bracketed cornice and diminutive lemont limestone window keystones accentuated with deeply incised simple scroll motifs will be destroyed in the next week or two. a demolition permit has been pulled and...
while researching holabird's and roche's architectural commissions (i.e., commercial buildings within chicago's loop) from the late 19th century, i had a difficult time tracking images of the cable building (1899) . i knew richard nickel was brought onboard through som and/or the historic american building...
the following images represent a well rounded cross section of historically important architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum archive as of august, 2020. a more focused and in-depth blog post, with detailed captions, will highlight some...
photographic survey of extant, but endangered laramie state bank building (meyer and cook, 1928). additional information will be added when time permits. ...
early 20th century movie-going was once a wildly popular excursion in which a nickel could purchase entrance to an elaborate architecture housing atmospheric settings, variety of entertainment and, importantly, an escape from the heat. a look to the ornament and interior décor of long-gone movie...
original exterior terra cotta fragment salvaged by richard nickel in 1967 when he documenting the demolition of adler & sullivan's meyer building or commercial lofts (1892). the 7-story structure was commissioned by the estate of m.a. meyer, a former partner in selz, schwab, & company. ...
the following collection of entries focuses on my 4-year "unearthing chicago" project where i aimed to identify and document what lies beneath our feet. from bottles and bones found in residential privy pits to remnants of chicago's city infrastructure dating back to the mid-19th century, the...
another well-maintained 19th century brick and lemont limestone boarding house located at 1733 n. mohawk will be demolished by the end of the week. the historic structure, erected during chicago's 1880s "building boom," became an instant casualty after developers secured the house and adjacent lot...
rediscovering a 1920's softbound catalog and/or booklet while rearranging my library the other day proved to be both rewarding and informative. after pouring over the images and descriptions time and again, i finally pinpointed the fabricator of the plaster ornament used to "dress" the palace theater's...
a collection of oversized photographic albumen prints of 19th and early 20th century downtown buildings taken by chicago photographer james w. taylor. the mounted prints are from the collection of the ryserson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago and the bldg. 51 museum archive. ...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of AUGUST...
latest images taken of louis sullivan's farmers' and merchants' bank building (1919) located in columbus, wisc. i spent most of my time photo-documenting the side of the building, facing south dickason, where the five-window arcade comprised of lavishly ornamented pale green terra cotta is located. ...
three in-depth essays exploring the pile foundations, structural engineering and exhaustive distribution of salvaged exterior and interior architectural ornament from adler and sullivan's schiller building or garrick theater (1892) demolished in 1961. additional essays covering other facets of the building's history, from the time it...
latest images (taken two weeks ago ((july, 2020) systemically documenting the long-overlooked a.d. german warehouse, designed in 1914 by frank lloyd wright. located in richland center, wisc., the warehouse was the only building wright ever designed in the town he was born. the warehouse was...
time spent scanning and editing the early photographic work of richard nickel while he was a student at the institute of design has been a welcome change from enlarging his images documenting the destruction of the garrick, cable, republic, cse, etc. during the 1960's. undated (possibly...
the following gallery of images (59 in total) were culled from the "unearthing chicago" project archive (2014-1017). with over 15,000 images documenting objects found in chicago's subterranean portals to the past, along with meticulously cataloging and photographing these unearthed objects in studio after project completion,...
exterior terra cotta restoration work underway on rapp and rapp's old dearborn bank building (1928). i believe the buff-colored speckled glaze terra cotta ornament was executed by the american terra cotta company, but i need to double check my catalogs. the old dearborn bank building (rapp and...
john vinci kodachrome slides of adler and sullivan's 1895 guaranty building taken a year before the 1974 5-alarm fire that devastated the building's upper six floors. around this time guaranty was likely going to be demolished, but because of jack randall, who offered to be...
urban remains recently acquired one of the largest known collections of original 19th century american victorian-era salvaged chicago majolica figural tiles and fireplace surrounds executed in a multitude of rich color schemes and elaborate designs. examples from this remarkable collection are shown below. images courtesy of...