i spent a few hours over the weekend at the chicago art institute photographing their collection of architectural artifacts on display along the outer walls of the light court or atrium. nearly a year has passed since i finally had time to carefully document both...
the photo gallery below offers a glimpse of some of the newest artifacts recently acquired from last week's listings (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have 26,800+ meticulously documented and well-organized artifacts in the...
i was informed earlier in the week that the art deco style palmolive building's new two-story storefront was nearing completion, with the west facade (facing michigan avenue) outfitted with cast aluminum ornament (mimicking a bronze finish) in place with light treatment added to accentuate the "details" of the pilasters,...
finally, with time to spare, i wanted to tie up loose ends on some of the demolitions projects that were sitting restlessly on my back burner and/or not completely documented to my satisfaction. these "projects," now in the form of a growing number of digital folders containing imagery...
the "chatter" of several concerned chicagoans with a keen eye on the rapidly diminishing residences and commercial buildings constructed in the 19th century may have been overheard by the developers who brought national wrecking onboard to clear a group of extant buildings/structures located along a strip of lake...
in 1912 an apartment complex was built above a small land fill, one that night scavengers (i.e., privy vault cleaners) likely dumped their wagons filled with refuse in, beginning around 1878 up until the 1890's. according to an 1886 sanborn insurance map, this large tract of...
earlier this year i purchased a massive copper severed head from the 19th century "spirit of progress" thirty foot gargantuan weathervane (built by sculptor john massey rhind) that sat atop the montgomery ward building, designed in 1898 by the notable architectural firm of schmidt, garden & martin. as the...
as the year comes to a close i look back in amazement at the amount of disruption and damage done by demolitions of late 19th and early 20th century structures in downtown chicago and its surrounding neighborhoods. according to the daily demolition permit notifications i receive, the urban...
for the past ten years, i've invested thousands of dollars in building trade catalogs, with builders' hardware, millwork, architectural house plans, and stained glass window makers comprising the bulk of my research library. in recent years i've eagerly latched onto "google books" as a resource -- as...
despite leaving the jobsite of a mostly non-nondescript building with no "salvageable" artifacts of significance, i still felt the need, or perhaps "duty", to document the building before its remains are trucked off to the dumpsite. i'm especially saddened when i witness the demolition of buildings...
after days of negotiating between multiple parties, the bldg. 51 museum secured an early strongly geometric leaded glass window designed by frank lloyd wright for the queen anne style robert p. parker house completed in 1892. the historically important parker house was one of three "bootleg...
the photo gallery below offers a glimpse of some of the newest artifacts recently acquired from last week's listings (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have 26,800+ meticulously documented and well-organized artifacts in the...
nearly a month ago, i basically dropped what i was doing after notification that the two iconic downtown chicago cedar hotel neon signs were about to be removed and tossed into an awaiting dumpster -- slated to be hauled to the scrapyard and destroyed. the work was...
after the demolition delay hold was lifted for 209 west lake street, i knew that within a week the wreckers would be onsite to rapidly tear apart the former osborne and adams leather company building -- a shame since it was constructed shortly after the great...
long after a heavily modified 1870's-era two-story building was demolished last month, the excavators rolled in to begin laying the foundation for yet another new structure that is devoid of character. sure enough, shortly after the backhoe began digging, pockets of artifacts left long ago by...
with only two days before demolition of an early 20th century two-story brick residence began, we had very limited time to salvage an interior outfitted in pristine golden oak wood millwork on both the first and second floors. from door headers to built-in cabinets, and...
the photo gallery below offers a glimpse of some of the newest artifacts recently acquired from last week's listings (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have 26,700+ meticulously documented and well-organized artifacts in the...
while on a brief weekend vacation to madison some time ago, i was determined to visit the harold c. bradley residence (1909), designed by notable architect louis h. sullivan and his chief draftsman, george grant elmslie. this would be elmslie's last commission with sullivan - shortly...
while scrolling through the daily chicago demolition permits my heart quickly sank when i discovered that the fate of a 19th century italianate style red brick two-story residence had been sealed, with the city signing off on its destruction. the house was constructed sometime between 1879-1885. it...
i normally don't salvage in this area of chicago, but when i received an email notification that a largely unaltered chicago workers cottage was set for demolition, i had to make the journey to see it, tucked away on a block where several working class...