Across the country, these dedicated entrepreneurs breathe new life into old materials. Preserving Chicago’s Architectural History Four days a week, Eric Nordstrom, 43, visits buildings in the Chicago area that are about to be razed. From homes, theaters, offices and factories, he excavates what he thinks is...
latest photographic images from the chicago architectural ornament survey (as of april, 2020) is provided below. the architectural ornament is sourced from extant late 19th and early 20th century buildings within chicago's city limits. the majority of the buildings enjoy landmark status, while others are relatively...
second take on a photographic study of louis h. sullivan-designed getty tomb (1890) ornament, executed in carved bedford limestone and cast bronze: the carrie eliza getty tomb was commissioned...
while en route to a demolition in the wicker park neighborhood of chicago, i came across an unusual renovation or demolition, some kind of chaotic project that left the structural components of a 19th century two-story framed cottage fully exposed for both the eye and...
the 10-story wainwright building is an early skyscraper designed by the architectural firm of dankmar adler and louis sullivan in 1891. The steel-framed commercial building was named for local brewer, building contractor, and financier ellis wainwright. the wainwright building was the second major commission for...
the first state bank of manilus, ills., was one of parker berry's earliest commissions after spending 8 years as louis h. sullivan's chief draftsman. the two-story red brick sullivanesque style bank building was designed in 1915 with john wesley berry as building contractor. despite being...
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 60,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of april...
after carefully studying and documenting adler and sullivan’s s.a. maxwell loft building (1881) over the past several weeks construction workers peeled back layer after layer of alterations revealing how much of its original historic fabric was stripped off dating back to the time its original...
i finally had the opportunity to visit and meticulously document louis sullivan's purdue state bank (completed in 1914) over the weekend. the images (see below) are all exterior with an emphasis placed on the richly colored glazed terra cotta and tapestry brick. located in west lafayette,...
the bld. 51 museum houses one of the most comprehensive and diverse collection of late 19th and early 20th century terra cotta ornament from historically important chicago buildings. the following images represent a fraction of ornament on display and/or in storage that has been meticulously...
contact print one: ornament salvaged from the albert sullivan residence (1891): [caption id="attachment_36304" align="alignleft" width="781"] contact sheet number one. the artifacts were salvaged from adler & sullivan's albert sullivan residence (1892).[/caption] [caption id="attachment_36302" align="alignleft" width="1200"] the cast plaster escutcheon was salvaged by john vinci and/or robert furhoff...
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 60,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if...
a selection of stories from 2019: over a decade devoted to documenting and salvaging chicago's architectural past a look back at images of tribune tower's continued transformation in 2019 documenting louis sullivan-designed carved berlin sandstone panels on facade of 1881 s.a. maxwell loft building bldg. 51 and ryerson archive...
i’m finally consolidating images and ephemera gathered after devoting nearly two years documenting extant chicago depression-era theaters. the discovery of material left behind by the tradesmen who built the theaters, along with piles of “trash” found within the auditorium plenum chambers, was by far the...
outside of urban remains and the bldg. 51 musuem, i've been relentlessly pursing several obsessional exploits for years now. from deconstructing chicago cottages to documenting objects tradesmen left behind in the domes of chicago movie palaces, i've come to realize i'm long overdue to gather...
the following links provide access to hundreds of images taken of 19th and early 20th century architectural ornament adorning extant residential and commercial structures in and around downtown milwaukee, taken over the past several years. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bld. 51 archive. WEEKEND...
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 60,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if...
one day i received a call from the general manager at hotel burnham (named after notable chicago architect daniel burnham), which is downtown chicago hotel that currently occupies the reliance building, completed march, 1895. prior to being converted into a boutique hotel, the building sat...
within a week's time, i discovered that an amazingly intact 1880s brick two flat residence, jefferson hospital (1922, f.o. demoney) and a 19th century richardsonian romanesque apartment building with a rusticated and finely carved bedford limestone facade are either undergoing demolition or will be within...
late last week urban remains purchased a massive collection of 19th century american victorian era majolica glazed residential fireplace tile sets salvaged over the past few decades from chicago two and three-flat greystones undergoing demolition. the majority of the richly ornamented and deeply embossed fireplace...