during my business trip to buffalo (new york) earlier this month i managed to spend a good deal of time documenting several buildings that hold great interest to me. i could easily spend days shooting adler & sullivan's guaranty building (both inside and out), but...
in keeping with the bldg. 51 museum's latest effort to acquire historically important artifacts from notable buildings and/or structures outside of chicago, a remarkable, oversized 19th century gustav lindenthal-designed smithfield bridge portal rosette or medallion has joined the museum collection - along with photographic images and...
for several decades, a maze of cramped and cluttered rooms and hallways hidden within a west side post-fire chicago (1872) italianate rowhouse have remained largely unaltered. despite being dissected into multiple "apartments" during the 1930's, defining architectural elements such as the marble mantels, solid walnut...
i was already mentally and physically exhausted prior to beginning the lengthy salvage conducted at the post-fire italianate style charles c. p. holden block (1872). a developer had acquired the property with the intention of stripping it down to "four brick walls" to convert into...
artificial stone, also termed "cast" or "concrete" stone, is a synthetic product that was used mainly during the 18th and 19th centuries to imitate natural building stones. an aggregate of water, natural cement, lime, sand, and/or various binding agents, the concrete mixtures could be incorporated...
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. the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to...
the bldg. 51 museum and archive recently acquired several books, catalogs, prints, ledgers, letters, and other articles of importance once belonging to the notable chicago-based architectural firm of jenney and mundie; william le baron jenney is often referred to as "father of the skyscraper". when jenney retired...
2017 has been an unusually busy year for the bldg. 51 museum. we have had an accelerated increase in purchasing historically-important building artifacts for the up-and-coming second edition hardbound, full-color catalog. this will contain our most recent acquisitions since the publication of the first addition...
the gradual process of uncovering the multitude of undisturbed objects left behind by the congress theater tradesmen, prior to the theater's grand opening in september of 1926, has inspired me to put together a book detailing my experiences witnessing the resurrection of these long-forgotten tradesmen. by...
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. the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to...
late last week urban remains acquired a massive quantity of highly desirable 1940's american industrial "explosion proof" hanging ceiling-mount light fixtures once used to illuminate the interior of a sprawling midwestern munitions plant used to fabrication artillery shells for the war effort. the completely intact...
i've finally made time to revisit a salvage i was involved in nearly 8 years ago- a move sparked in part by rediscovering several buried terra cotta fragments that were packed away. it all began after receiving a phone call from daniel "danny" lampa, owner of...
the giant cavity where the gage building's north cartouche was removed from is now fully exposed. the replacement will not be installed anytime soon. i'm concerned that (at the very least) prolonged exposure to the elements could weaken mortar joints. i'm by no means a...
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. the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to...
the chicago-based architectural firm of burnham and root was established in 1872 when the two men worked as apprentice draftsmen in the offices of drake, carter, and wight, building several private residences for the wealthy elite of chicago's meat industry. both of them married into...
a single cream-colored terra cotta round and tapered fragment salvaged from the north tower of the historically important wrigley company headquarters (1921-1924) was recently donated to the bldg. 51 museum and archive earlier this week. executed by the northwestern terra cotta company, the diminutive neoclassical...
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. the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to...
i approached my exploration of the patio much as i had the congress, spending most of my time in the theater’s attic, looking for any and all objects left behind by the tradesman who worked there in the winter of 1926 (this timeframe is based...
i was either 10 or 11 years of age when an old friend of mine would invite me to the small town of bangor, wisc., to explore what remained of the dilapidated buildings consisting of the joseph hussa brewery. brewmaster hussa constructed the primary limestone...
in a happy chain of events, my documentation of the congress theater led to unabridged access of another historic chicago theater, once owned by the same developer. the patio theater opened in january of 1927 in the portage park neighborhood, and it remains today a...