24 Nov bldg. 51 ebook (with preview pages) available for purchase now; hard copy version available soon
download bldg. 51 ebook - here!...
10 Nov a chicago brick two-flat (1897) and 1880’s wood-frame worker cottage salvage completed
Posted at 15:23h
in Bldg. 51, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions, Salvages
from the very beginning of this salvage, the so-called "coach house" (more often referred to as a carriage house), located on the back lot of the property, was the structure that peeked my interest more than the two flat (1897) facing the street. i felt...
05 Nov montgomery ward & co. “spirit of progress” building weathervane fragment joins the bldg. 51 museum collection
it's no secret that this gargantuan, riveted joint, wrought bronze metal john massey rhind-designed statue or figural weathervane head fragment was brought to auction by the david v. nelson family, based on all of its recent recognition in local media. however, i was truly surprised and remarkably fortunate...
29 Oct a chicago-based residential and commercial 19th century historic building materials database to become website
Posted at 13:37h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
acquiring louis sullivan and frank lloyd architectural artifacts to bolster the bldg. 51 museum collection is very important to me, and will continue on (likely with the addition of another artifact catalog in the coming years), but as i'm nearing the ten year anniversary of...
29 Oct bottom of the john kent russell wood-lined privy reached: yields hundreds of artifacts
Posted at 09:54h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
we arrived early in the morning to begin where we left off a few days before. it was hard not to ruminate intensely about the implications of what we would soon discover in the circular-shaped oversized wood-lined privy during that time away. however, with tools...
23 Oct ongoing excavation efforts at the john kent russell site yields a newly discovered artifact-laden privy
Posted at 15:46h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
while i patiently wait for the city to issue an excavation permit that will uncover any undiscovered buried remnants from the john kent russell house site before the new foundation is poured, which not only effectively ends my frequent visits to the site, but in...
22 Oct rapp and rapp’s oriental theater was one of two focal points during open house chicago
judging from numerous channels of feedback, it's rather obvious that "open house chicago" this year was a smashing success. i'm very pleased that so many residential and commercial structures opened their doors to the public for observation, appreciation and an endless stream of photographic images...
21 Oct more buildings with “sullivanesque” style midland terra cotta are coming down
the small, but visually distinctive single story commercial buildings bedecked with bright white glazed terra cotta "sullivanesque" ornament in numerous configurations on their facades are disappearing more and more from the urban landscape in and around the chicago area as the number of demolition permits...
15 Oct the odin j. oyen collection catalog is slowly coming together
due to a number of unexpected architectural salvages, preparing the john kent russell house exhibit and overseeing the publication of the bldg. 51 museum catalog, i've finally had a little bit of time to begin working again on the odin j. oyen collection in greater...
14 Oct newly created chicago athletic association building “drooping tip” cast plaster ceiling panels ready for installation
i managed to capture the early stages of fabrication and preparation for installation of the "drooping tip" ceiling panels during my visit last week. production of the intricately detailed and well made faithful reproductions (taken awhile back from a mold of an original surviving panel)...
08 Oct why hasn’t anyone taken a stab at writing about “unearthing chicago?”
i discovered the book "unearthing gotham" in 2002, and have read and later reexamined various chapters of this remarkable and highly informative tomb well into 2014 - especially when we began finding ash pits and privies buried beneath the john kent russell house (1855-56). i can't...
06 Oct sunday spent examining 19th century building materials and privy pit finds
the greater part of sunday was spent gathering wood samples from building sites and digging privy pits. by the time i gathered all of the materials and brought them back to the shop, i should have went home and rested. instead, i pushed on...
03 Oct excavating the john kent russell site has spawned a new collection consisting of 19th century bottles
after spending weeks sporadically visiting the site where the pre-fire john kent russell frame house once stood, we have collected hundreds of fragments found in privies and ash pits. we have gathered enough material left behind to further understand living conditions of working class families that...
01 Oct recovering the remnants of a post-chicago fire walnut wood staircase with an exceptional octagonal newel post
Posted at 01:12h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
it appears after repeated (failed) attempts to reach out and connect with the contractor, i'm embarrassingly relegated back to the dumpster behind the commercial building constructed in 1876 (see earlier posts on this building). it's abundantly clear that money and/or avoiding crossing paths with the construction...
30 Sep michael reese hospital reduced to a small collection of fragments
reese was bitter from the beginning. nearly 30 buildings being vacated, or had been abandoned for years. an awful salvage experience were everything that could go wrong, went wrong. my relationship with the wrecker i had worked with for years grew tumultuous. it was hard to...
28 Sep mid-1870’s commercial building undergoing a complete gut/rehab
Posted at 23:56h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
i've been watching this post-fire chicago commercial building located on west of downtown chicago for the past few weeks. in fact, i spent an afternoon (with consent from the contractor) photodocmenting the interior from the basement to the top floor. the building is in an ideal...
28 Sep several 19th century “ash pits” found at the john kent russell house site
multiple "ash pits" were recently discovered (in addition to the documented brick-lined privies) on the site of the former john kent russell house as we continue to excavate before the "earth movers" roll in to finally eradicate any and all remains left by the former...
24 Sep exceptionally rare chicago city sidewalk vault light panel fragments available for sale
i have been waiting for this day since 1996, when i first laid eyes on these unusual and mysterious iron and glass sidewalk panels found around the cast iron (i.e., soho/noho) district of manhattan. better yet, at night, when wandering the area again, these massive, interlocking...
22 Sep the beauty is in the details: the long forgotten lakeshore athletic club nautical-themed tiles
the historically important 19-story towering beax-arts style lakeshore athletic club building was designed by renowned chicago architect jarvis hunt in 1927. the extant chicago landmark is located on a prominent corner along the shores of lake michigan. the interior boasted a gargantuan marble-clad lobby, with ornamented...
17 Sep documenting the odin j. oyen firm’s architectural renderings is well underway
within an hour after arriving home from my buying trip in wisconsin late in the evening, i decided to push ahead and not only completely unload the haul, but proceeded to fire up the studio strobes and begin shooting selected renderings i really felt deserved...