a richly ornamented single-sided treat and foltz-designed exteiror building cast iron column capital fragment is one of several new acquisitions made for the bldg. 51 museum over the past two months. the historically important and meticulously restored cast iron ornament is comprised of uniquely designed...
photogrpahic survey of louis h. sullivan's peoples savings and loan association bank building (1917-18) located in sydney, oh. the terra cotta ornament was modeled by kristian schneider for the american terra cotta company, crystal lake, ills. the mosaics where designed and installed by louis j....
richard nickel images of burnham and root’s first regiment armory building (1891) during its demolition in 1967. as I sidenote, i need to create a future post including john vinci’s kodachrome slides, which were taken at the same time when both were documenting the armory’s...
latest images of home building association bank building's east facade. the "old home" was designed by louis sullivan in 1914. the ornamental terra cotta was modeled by kristian schneider and executed by the american terra cotta company, chicago, ills. the richly colored tiled mosaic panel (one of...
the non-extant michael reese hospital was erected in south side chicago, on the site where the city's first hospital was constructed in 1880. the newly completed building was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on june 16th, 1907, having been built at a cost of nearly one...
the 1918 ring-bound national x-ray reflector and light fixture catalog (comprised of three distinct product lines and several typed pages listing buildings across the country where their lighting systems were installed) has been fully digitized. catalog description: completely intact...
the following images feature important architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum collection and archive. highlights include a benjamin lindauer house terra cotta chimney panel, elmslie and purcell letterhead, and interior la salle hotel rookwood faience winged cherub. ...
excuse the half-assed brain dump...
SEVEN FRAGMENTS FROM CHICAGO'S PAST: seven historically important fragments salvaged from chicago buildings designed in the 19th and early 20th century. every building has been demolished and largely forgotten. mosaic tile fragment from one of two interior staircase landings. schiller building (1892), adler and sullivan, architects. the...
photographic study of the home building association bank building's south facade. the "old home" was designed by louis sullivan in 1914. the ornamental terra cotta was modeled by kristian schneider and executed by the american terra cotta company, chicago, ills. the richly colored tiled mosaic panel (one...
down in a hole. i was so delighted when i ran across these riveting images documenting the hand-dug caissons for chicago's civic center (1965) designed by jacques brownson of c. f. murphy associates. the majority of the images were pulled from richard nickel contact sheets dating...
john vinci images documenting the final stages of the senseless destruction of adler and sullivan’s chicago stock exchange (1894), taken in april or early may of 1972. vinci shot the building in black and white and kodachrome, picking up where richard nickel left off before...
the following pieces of ephemera were found by richard nickel while exploring/photographing adler and sullivan's garrick (schiller) theater a few months before atlas arrived to begin wrecking it - likely in the winter months of 1960. demolition of the theater wrapped up in june of...
the pabst building was a 14-story neo-gothic style commercial building (1891) designed by architect s.s. beman as the headquarters for milwaukee beer baron frederick pabst. it was the city’s first skyscraper and the tallest building prior to the completion of milwaukee’s city hall, completed four...
latest photographic images from bldg. 51 archive's chicago architectural ornament survey (caos) are provided below. the ever-expanding photo-documentation project focuses on systematically recording any and all architectural ornament located on historically important 19th and early 20th century extant buildings located in downtown chicago and surrounding...
examples of early commercial and residential ornamental terra cotta executed by northwestern terra cotta works (true, brunkhorst & co., lake view terra cotta & brick company, and the chicago terra cotta company acquired by urban remains and the bldg. 51 musuem. the majority of the...
the following images and accompanying descriptions highlight the bldg. 51 museum archive's universe of rare out-of-print period architectural and/or building trade catalogs awaiting to be fully scanned and made available on the bldg. 51 website within the next few years. ...
the church and parish house were designed by henry hobson richardson and construction took place from 1872 to 1877, when the complex was consecrated. situated on copley square in back bay, trinity church is the building that established richardson's reputation. it is the birthplace and archetype of the richardsonian romanesque style, characterized...
a largely intact 19th century five-story mixed-use commerical building featuring a unique facade comprised of lightly incised lemont and bedford limestone, will be demolished in the coming weeks. located at 1329 n. clybourn avenue, the victorian-era structure was built in 1884, housing a funeral parlor...
a virtual gallery of carefully sourced and meticulously documented museum-quality 19th and early 20th century ornamental metalwork from historically important american commercial and residential structures housed in the bldg. 51 museum archive. the majority of the ornament, including custom-designed builders' hardware, comes from chicago buildings...