BLDG51. News and Events |

19 May urban remains recent acquisitions for spring of 2024

Posted at 16:02h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 125,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 20 years). the newly acquired items for the early months of 2024 have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need...

16 May continued documentation of helmet jahn’s 1983 thompson center transformation to google’s chicago headquarters

Posted at 16:33h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

transformation of thompson center gains momentum as more and more glass modules and aluminum mullions are plucked from the curtain wall, exposing the building's...

15 May five months after the fire: revisiting willett and pashley’s 1892 edward morris house or swift mansion

Posted at 15:36h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

five months after a devastating fire that damaged the roof and upper floors of willett pashley's 1892 swift mansion located at 4500 s. michigan avenue in the bronzeville neighborhood of chicago, the owners struggle to raise funds badly needed to rebuild, or at the very...

13 May latest photographic images of 1893 world’s fair terra cotta pabst pavilion “deconstruction”

Posted at 19:27h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

the historically important 1893 world's fair or columbian exposition pabst beer pavilion (designed by architect otto strack, who also designed the extant pabst theater) has been shrouded in a steel web covered with mesh (for several weeks now) as deconstruction and/or removal of it's buff-colored...

08 May “skyline ’70” staplebound booklet presented by central national bank in chicago

Posted at 15:11h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

includes "a giant display of models of buildings to be built in chicago during the next decade." booklet and images courtesy of bldg. 51 archive. all rights...

03 May exterior photographic survery of george w. maher’s adolf schmidt residence (1917-18) in edgewater

Posted at 16:39h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

exterior photographic survey of george w. maher's prairie style adolf schmidt residence (1917-18), located at 6331-33 north sheridan road, chicago, il. the house is comprised of a golden yellow roman brick facade, with richly ornamented maher-designed bedford limestone ornament, and wood cornice. a few of...

02 May urban remains and the bldg. 51 museum featured in the detroit news

Posted at 15:47h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by Eric

4/12/24, 2:46 PM Enjoy a Windy City antiquing weekend HOMESTYLE Trash or Treasure: Enjoy a Windy City antiquing weekend Khristi Zimmeth Special to The Detroit News Published 6:45 p.m. ET April 11, 2024 Updated 6:45 p.m. ET April 11, 2024 There are few things I like more than an afternoon spent...

01 May helmut jahn’s 1985 thompson center makeover under way

Posted at 12:56h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

images of helmut jahn's thompson center (1985) taken earlier this week. how the thompson center will appear when google occupies building. [caption id="attachment_87819" align="alignleft" width="1965"] image courtesy of google.[/caption] images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive....

25 Apr latest images from ongoing photographic documentation of pilgrim baptist church reconstruction by central

Posted at 14:19h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

the following images were taken a few day ago as i continue documenting central building and preservation's efforts to stabalize, restore and/or rebuild the oversized segmented bedford limestone window arches along the north wall of adler and sullivan's kehilath anshe ma'ariv synagogue or pilgrim baptist...

20 Apr theodore karl’s 1872 conrad seipp post-fire chicago three-story commercial building (1872) undergoing demolition

Posted at 13:18h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

post-fire chicago architect theodore karl's building was constructed in the early months of 1872 for brewer conrad seipp on the pre-fire foundation using recycled or salvaged brick from the fire. the building had storefronts on the first floor (including a saloon), offices on the second, and...

17 Apr threatened: jens j. jensen’s 1925 spanish baroque style pioneer arcade building terra cotta facade on pulaski

Posted at 14:44h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

photographic survey of the spanish baroque style glazed terra cotta pioneer arcade (jens j. jensen, 1925), located at 1535-1541 n. pulaski rd., chicago, il. terra cotta likely fabricated by midland or american terra cotta company, chicago, il. ...

17 Apr 2024 exterior photographic survery of terra cotta ornament on purcell, feick, and elmslie’s merchants national bank

Posted at 14:34h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

2024 exterior detail of merchants national bank (1912) located in winona, mn. the early 20th century bank building was designed by purcell, feick, and elmslie. the polychromed ornament was modeled by kristian schneider for the american terra cotta company of chicago. ...

15 Apr exterior photographic survey of frank lloyd wright’s 1901 frank w. thomas house

Posted at 14:27h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

frank lloyd's wright's frank h. thomas (1901), located at 210 forest avenue, oak park, il. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights...

09 Apr frank lloyd wright’s william g. fricke house (1901) in light and shadow

Posted at 15:44h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

photographic survey of frank lloyd wright's william g. fricke house (1901) in spring, 2024. images...

08 Apr never gets old: early 2024 sprint visit to louis h. sullivan’s 1919 “jewel box” bank in columbus, wisc,

Posted at 13:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

latest images (taken of exterior only in early april of 2024) of louis sullivan's famers' and merchants' bank building (1919) located in columbus, wisc. the farmers and merchants union bank was the last small bank building or "jewel box" designed by architect louis h. sullivan. the terra...

03 Apr photographic survey of the 1854 john richards octagon house and adjoining properties in watertown, wisconsin

Posted at 16:50h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

exterior photographic survey of the john richards octagon house (1854) and surrounding buildings. the three-story watertown, wisconsin residence was designed and built by its owner, john richards, a pioneer Watertown lawyer and mill owner. ...

03 Apr revisiting richard nickel’s louis sullivan collection at lovejoy library in spring of 2024

Posted at 13:19h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

lovejoy library in early spring of 2024. nothing has really changed much since the time richard nickel was alive and assiting them in the 1960s and 70s. perhaps of jack randall stuck around longer, more of nickel's collection would've seen the light of day. sadly,...

25 Mar demolition on the horizon: conrad siepp’s post-fire chicago italiante commerical building handed death sentence

Posted at 16:24h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

exterior photographic survey of the post-fire chicago italianate style three-story masonry mixed-use commercial building (1872), located at the southwest corner of wells and superior streets, chicago, ills. the three-story brick building (the superior side has four floors with the top floor likely added in the mid...

24 Mar latest chicago-centric architectural books, photogrpahy and other ephemera added to bldg. 51 archive in early spring of 2024

Posted at 15:25h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the following american architectural ephermera joined the ever-expanding, chicago-based bldg. 51 museum in the early spring of 2024. captions will be provided when time permits. ...

18 Mar richard nickel’s “polish palazzo” and nearby angles he admired from window and doorstep

Posted at 15:42h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

richard nickel's "polish palazzo" located at 1810 cortland street. the images were taken from the time he purchased it in 1969 until his death in 1972. sadly, the facade and a few feet of the original two-story building remain standing. most of it was demolished with...