as i work my way through richard nickel's vast photographic archive at ryerson and burnham, i'm continually amazed at the number of structures he recorded before, during, and after they were brought down and hauled off to landfills. the documentation of destruction spans three decades,...
the following collection of blog posts reflect my contributions to any and all facets of 19th and early 20th century chicago workers cottages. i've devoted several years researching, photographing, dissecting, and amassing a sizable collection of building fragments for my "deconstructing chicago" book. while the...
with limited time, i haven't been able to thoroughly document ongoing alterations made to adler and sullivan's 1881 s.a. maxwell building as it slowly transitions from empty loft space to boutique hotel. this of course is unfortunate, since my hastily made images fail to truly...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the most recent american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to our ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 50,000 catalog listings to date). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be)...
over the past two decades, i've taken tens of thousands of images of milwaukee's architecture, and the vast collection of images continues to grow each time i visit, espeically when newly discovered residential and commercial buildings are added to my "circuit." like the work i...
the following gallery of photographic images represents only a fraction of images taken during a brief visit to minneapolis in july of 2019. the majority of the work focuses on late 19th and early 20th century exterior commercial building architectural ornament, with an emphasis on...
latest images documenting interior (floors 3-5) and exterior (including rooftop) of adler and sullivan's s.a. maxwell loft building (commonly known as the jewelers' building) during transformation into a boutique hotel. thankfully i captured the interior prior to restoration work during my last visit in november...
i knew richard nickel photographed buildings using kodachrome film, but had no idea he did louis sullivan's bayard-condict building (1899) in new york. i believe the images were taken in the 1950s or early 1960s since the heavily altered storefront still retains the original terra cotta...
i spent two days in minneapolis documenting building ornament designed by the architectural firm of of kees and colborn. the first building i shot was the minneapolis grain excahnge (1900-02). the cream-colored "sullivanesque" ornament is quite unique - unlike the majority of drab stock patterns...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the most recent american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to our ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 50,000 catalog listings to date). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be)...
i've traveled repeatedly to the city of aurora to thoroughly document george grant elmslie's five commercial buildings with an emphasis placed on the exterior terra cotta ornament he designed for each commission. aurora is home to the largest number of commercial buildings designed by elmslie. the...
shortly after acquiring a sizable amount of creosoted wood street pavers or blocks, several brown brothers vault light artifacts came through our front door last week. all of the documented artifacts were salvaged by a perceptive city contractor who knew i was vigorously seeking out...
the following gallery represents only a fraction of photographic images taken of louis h. sullivan's 1914 merchants' national bank during my trip to iowa, as i forge ahead documenting the ornament of his "jewel boxes" designed and built in small towns across the midwest between...
several historically important interior architectural artifacts from holabird & roche's 1893-94 old colony building were added to the bldg. 51 museum's building ornament archive earlier this week. the most important architectural elements headed to the museum's first chicago school exhibit include an ornamental wrought and...
documentation of chicago tribune tower (howells and hood, 1925) restoration continues. i included images of chicago architect jarvis hunt's printing plant (east of tower) with cornerstone plaque. the plant housed the printing presses below the newsroom, located on the top floor. the tower was primarily used...
[caption id="attachment_32077" align="alignleft" width="1500"] the frank lloyd wright-designed waller apartments (located on the west side of chicago) were completed in 1896. a few years prior, wright was working as chief draftsman for the architectural firm of adler & sullivan. in 1893 louis h. sullivan fired...
images from my photographic study of louis h. sullivan's peoples savings bank completed in 1911. located in cedar rapids fall, ia., peoples savings was the second of sullivan's "jewel boxes" built in small towns across the midwest. the bank was the last commission george grant...
a selection of photographic images from the chicago architectural ornament survey is provided below. the architectural ornament is sourced from extant late 19th and early 20th century buildings within chicago's city limits. the photographic survey, spear-headed by eric j. nordstrom is an ongoing project that in...
i've meticulously digitized, edited, and assorted over 600 images of the garrick theater salvaged operation from countless richard nickel contact sheets held at the ryerson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago. the 2 1/4 inch images chronicling adler and sullivan's garrick theater before, during,...
an 1880s victorian-era two-flat with deeply incised joliet limestone window hoods and original sheet metal cornice, along with a neighboring wood-framed cottage with newer brick facade will be destroyed this week. the cottage was constructed in the 1870's, with a samuel rastall (occupation, printer) residing there...