BLDG51. News and Events |

04 Oct rare and important 1st edition “skeleton construction in steel buildings” joins BLDG. 51 museum archive

Posted at 19:21h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the bldg. 51 museum archive recently acquired an exceptionally rare 1st edition of william h. birkmire's "skeleton construction in steel buildings," published by john wiley & sons, new york, ny., 1893. the profusely illustrated hardcover book with red cloth and gilt-stamped lettering contains information on...

04 Oct relics of the chicago fire: a virtual exhibit of bldg. 51’s museum collection

Posted at 06:13h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

chicago fire relics housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection: fused china tea cups from the great chicago fire of 1871. i have several other artifacts from the fire that were sold as "souvenirs" to tourists by young merchants (see period lithograph) that...

28 Sep reconstructing the garrick: photographic documentation of an exhibit

Posted at 17:56h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by Eric

over the past six weeks, i painstakingly documented the "reconstructing the garrick" exhibit, from the moment the walls in wrightwood's 2nd and 3rd floor gallery were erected to opening day on the 24th of september. i shot several thousand images of its construction/fabrication and installation of...

28 Sep a virtual museum collection of fragments from chicago’s past

Posted at 10:17h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Salvages by Eric

fragments of chicago's past from the collections of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. objects of interest: -granite paver unearthed near the site of the 1886 haymarket riot. the massive pavers were used to support the weight of crane company carts loaded with brass, bronze,...

28 Sep looking back at the documentation and deconstruction of the nortown theater over a decade since its demolition

Posted at 04:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

by the time i arrived in the summer of 2007, the nortown theater was already dead. stripped of its utilities, burnt by fire, and extensively damaged by prolonged neglect. note: salvaging/documenting the nortown theater's facade and its ornamental terra cotta was addressed in a previous blog entry,...

27 Sep revisiting burnham and root’s 1888 kansas city board of trade building through newly found richard nickel images

Posted at 21:22h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

after reading several letters between architectural historian and john root's biographer donald hoffman and richard nickel, i felt compelled to revisit nickel's documentation of burnham and root's kansas city board of trade building (1888) before it was set to be demolished in 1968. the images take...

27 Sep latest john vinci photographic images of burnham and root’s first regiment armory building and office quarters

Posted at 06:51h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

john vinci images of burnham and root’s first regiment armory building (1891) during its demolition in 1967. when time permits, i will include all of vinci’s kodachrome slides, which were taken around the same time when both vinci and richard nickel were documenting the armory’s...

22 Sep urban remains and bldg. 51 museum collection acquired terra cotta ornament from walter bailey-designed knights of pythias building

Posted at 01:01h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

urban remains and bldg. 51 recently acquired several sections of historically important egyptian revival style spray-glazed terra cotta ornament from the non-extant walter bailey-designed knights of pythias building (1928), also referred to as the "skyscraper" of bronzeville. the building's architect, walter thomas bailey, was an american...

21 Sep ‘Romanticism to Ruin: Two Lost Works of Sullivan and Wright’ revisits razed icons

Posted at 13:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

'Romanticism to Ruin: Two Lost Works of Sullivan and Wright' revisits razed icons STIR speaks with the curators of the exhibition at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago, centered on two lost masterworks - Louis Sullivan’s Garrick Theatre and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Larkin Building. by Nitija Immanuel, Jerry ElengicalPublished on :...

20 Sep louis sullivan’s schlesinger and meyer building through images and ornament

Posted at 15:22h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

images with captions below: foundation work on d.h. burnham & company's 1906 addition to louis h. sullivan's schlesinger and mayer (later carson, pirie, scott and company) building. note the massive cast iron splayed footing caps. the multi-layered grillage under the column footings consisted of steel...

16 Sep thieves were hung and brained: an unusually and graphic account of the great chicago fire of 1871

Posted at 14:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the bldg. 51 museum recently acquired two unusual chicago fire books (published, 1872) featuring a collection of gruesome accounts collected by writer and publisher george l. barclay. graphic lithographs including children being burned alive, criminals hung and "brained," and buildings being purposely detonated (often still...

14 Sep senseless destruction of the neoclassical style lakeview state bank building (1921)

Posted at 02:44h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

photographic survey of lakeview state bank building's demise. the restrained neoclassical style bank building was built around 1921. the exact architect is not known. none of the existing ornament was saved, including vast mounts of dressed limestone furnished by the indiana limestone company, bedford, ind. ...

08 Sep a selection of images and ephemera culled from the bldg. 51 vast architectural archive

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

the following images represent a well rounded cross section of historically important architectural materials added to the bldg. 51 archive in 2019. a more focused and in-depth blog post, will touch upon some of the more notable and historically important architectural artifacts acquired for the...

07 Sep photographic survey of 19th and 20th century architecture in kalamazoo, michighan

Posted at 15:50h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

one of several posts documenting 19th and early 20th century architecture located in kalamazoo, mich. additional images and supplemental information will be provided when time permits. ...

07 Sep a photographic record of ruination and restoration in la crosse, wisc.

Posted at 14:42h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Travel by Eric

all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2021. ruination (e.g., 1850s "pioneer-era" houses and late 19th century brick worker cottages): restoration (discovery and repair of luxfer prism glass transom...

07 Sep adler and sullivan’s schiller building facade loggia partially rebuilt at second city in 1961

Posted at 13:43h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

bernie sahlins (one of the founders of second city) secured terra cotta ornament from adler and sullivan's schiller/garrick building (1892) during its demolition in 1961. the ornament - salvaged from the second floor balcony - was incorporated into the facade of their...

03 Sep beginning, end and rebirth of adler & sullivan’s chicago stock exchange building trading room

Posted at 03:15h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

[caption id="attachment_34568" align="alignleft" width="1200"] new york-based harper's weekly covers opening of chicago stock exchange building designed by adler and sullivan in 1894.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_34569" align="alignleft" width="970"] chicago stock exchange building (1894) as it appeared in the 1920's.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_34141" align="alignleft" width="1200"] the trading room as it appeared...

01 Sep simultaneous destruction of a chicago workers cottage, sullivanesque building, and neoclassical bank building

Posted at 14:33h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

the three structures have been completely destroyed since the time i documented them last week. chicago workers cottage: sullivanesque commercial building: neoclassical limestone corner bank: images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the...

01 Sep examples of terra cotta ornament executed by the winkle terra cotta company from the bldg. 51 archive

Posted at 14:31h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the st. louis-based winkle terra cotta co., with offices in the century bldg. at 9th and olive sts., and works at 5739 manchester ave., was established as the joseph winkle terra cotta works in 1883, located in cheltenham, a suburb of st. louis. in 1889...

01 Sep strange ornament (not sullivan): a photographic study of adler and sullivan’s desenberg building (1885)

Posted at 02:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

photographic study of adler and sullivan’s dessenberg & company building (1885) located in kalamazoo, mich. the three-story commercial brick building with basement, was erected for grocer bernhard dessenberg by bush and patterson (76 north burdick street), a local construction firm. the exterior features unglazed reddish-orange terra...