exterior restoration work has resumed on the jewelers building (1927). the northeast turret - one of four used to conceal water tanks for fire suppression - is completely shrouded for repair. several rope border panels under the oversized corbels have been extracted - they will likely...
an early 20th century factory with white glazed terra cotta (possibly fabricated by the midland terra cotta company) located at 825-855 w. adams is undergoing demolition. thanks to moshe tamssot for bringing this to my attention. i photographed the exterior a few weeks ago, but looking...
a demolition permit has been issued for a 19th century 3-story masonry residential building with joliet limestone window hoods. the well-maintained structure is located at 530 w. dickens ave. any and all tenants have moved out. i didn't have a great deal of time to make...
the following 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 35,500 catalog listings to date). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and...
two early 20th century chicago apartment buildings adorned with bedford limestone are set to be demolished this week or possibly next. the power has been cut and the interior salvaged to some degree. the two buildings are located at 450-454 w. belmont avenue. ...
according to 19th century chicago public health reports, periodicals (e.g., the sanitarian), and city ordinances, it was rather common for licensed "night scavengers" to dump refuse collected from residential privy pits or "vaults" into vacant lots. i've discovered several of these dumps over the past 3...
the 1870's post-fire italianate style rowhouse with original bracketed wood cornice and artificial stone window hoods with centrally located keystones, has been reduced to rubble. as of this writing, the concrete foundation for its replacement has been poured. by spring's end, the new...
inspired by spending the past several months organizing and digitizing images and artifacts belonging to chicago architect john vinci, i’ve now begun volunteering one day a week at the ryerson and burnham library archive, where i’m combing through and digitizing images from hundreds of contact sheets...
images from an unexpected tour of the south side of chicago on a saturday afternoon with tim samuelson and john vinci. buildings will be assigned captions when time permits. images from unexpected tour...
group of images taken from the tribune building on 11-12-1933. unidentified photographer. silver gelatin photos with ink crop markings were cut from a kodak velox contact sheet with notes on verso. images courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum archive. ...
[caption id="attachment_36637" align="alignleft" width="2807"] 1961 richard nickel kodachrome slide of john vinci working on stencil recovery from adler & sullivan's garrick theater. under crombie taylor's direction, wall sections from garrick theater - then under demolition - were cut out and brought back to taylor's home...
a permit to demolish the southside chicago comed substation (1924) - located at 6141 s. prairie ave - was received on 3-14-2018. i've included additional images of the building's interior and cast iron and limestone ornament designed by herman v. von volst. the building's architect is...
taking on more projects when already burned out beyond belief takes its toll - both physically and mentally. however, i've mastered the ability to ignore the warning signs (again and again) when situations arise where i know i need to act - whether its documenting...
update from a previous post documenting the death of 2252 n. orchard - an 1870's post-fire italianate with original bracketed wood cornice and artificial stone window hoods with centrally located keystones. i have never worked with this wrecker so i'm on the sidelines documenting the carnage....
the following collection of historically important photographic images - now digitized and added to the ever-growing bldg. 51 museum online archive - reflects ongoing efforts to completely digitize the archives of architect john vinci and historian tim samuelson - who together, hold a massive repository...
by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago the five story concrete flat slab constructed 1958 building designed by graham, anderson, probst & white at 110 n wacker has been undergoing demolition for the past several weeks. thousands of loop office workers have been able to witness...
a matching set of original richly colored stained interior residential stained glass windows - salvaged from the palmer v. kellogg mansion (burnham and root, 1883) during the depression - joined the bldg. 51 museum collection earlier this week. the two high victorian windows - featuring...
i've had the privilege to carefully pour over and digitize several original kodachrome slides - documenting the death of dankmar adler and louis sullivan buildings - taken at the height of urban renewal and/or slum clearance by chicago photographer richard nickel in the 1960's. when...
five distinct, historically important pieces of ornament, salvaged from buildings no longer with us, or senselessly altered. the following captions identify the ornament. the images were shot with the aid of natural light. only one image captures the object in its entirety while the others...
two early 20th century chicago two-flats were issued demolition permits on march 6th. the buildings are located at 1346 and 1350 north claremont avenue respectively. the green fence has not been erected, nor has the wrecker delivered their excavators, but within the next week or...