the fate of the last original elevated "l" station on wabash avenue has been officially sealed when the city issued a demolition permit for the late 19th century palladian-designed structure. i very much hope to work with the wrecker to not only document (onsite) the station's...
i had my eye on this little 19th century two-story gable or hipped wooden frame chicago cottage for weeks after i discovered that a demolition permit was pulled to obliterate it in preparation for a new residential development. after looking it over time and again, i...
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 surpassed the 23,000 item mark. the...
salvage operation in progress: more to follow...
very unique and primitive late 19th century single-sided exterior "foreman" occupational sign purportedly salvaged from the temporary and/or mobile construction office or shack housing the general contractors involved in the construction of the chicago world's fair of 1893 (more commonly referred to as the world's...
i've been spending the past couple of weeks visiting the sites of 19th century wood frame structures undergoing demolition. nearly all of these houses have been ravaged time and again with cobbled alterations to the point where any traces revealing visual cues of age, lie...
the image gallery below provides several collections of 19th and early 20th century fragments and bottles unearthed from various demolition and/or dig sites in the city of chicago. from wolf's point to the wood-lined privy "vault" discovered at the john kent russell house (1855) and everything in between, the...
i have yet to post concluding remarks on the final days of the gethsamane missionary baptist church's demolition. i'm so incredibly behind on posting about my involvement in this seemingly endless demolition craze because i'm either out the door at a moment's notice to document yet another...
the bldg. 51 museum, consisting of a curated election of historically important american architectural artifacts, is proud to announce its latest acquisition: an original interior art deco style multi-faceted glass paneled electric pendant light removed long ago from the chrysler building. after a phone call discussing provenance...
urban remains is in the final stages of salvaging the a. finkl & sons foundry complex of mind-boggling proportions. this first set of images (shown below) were taken by owner eric j. nordstrom during the initial tour of the entire complex as it sat, frozen in...
the following images represent a hastily assembled visual overview of the rapid disappearance of the conglomeration of gray-painted brick buildings constructed on a triangular-shaped lot during the latter half of the 19th century. as of this writing, the last of the buildings has been reduced to...
on tuesday night i will be giving a talk revolving around the discovery of privy pits or "vaults" with an emphasis on what was found at the john kent russell house site, long after the salvage and/or demolition of the house was completed. based on the recovery...
weeks after the auction concluded, the highly anticipated arrival of two historically important early 20th century darwin d. martin interior residential sconces is now over. both the patinated bronze sconces and bulbous white opalescent glass globes (likely original) arrived in safe and sound condition earlier...
every now and then i visit the chicago history museum for inspiration when it comes time to begin work on a book, create an exhibition at the bldg. 51 museum or prepare for a lecture on any and all topics relating to 19th century chicago architecture. the...
Steve Johnson CHICAGO TRIBUNEsajohnson@chicagotribune.com Nathan Leopold's eyeglasses, eyewitness to an infamous murder — and evidence of it. Ann Landers' typewriter, conduit for common-sense advice. Booth One at the Pump Room, marker of status and coddler of scores of celebrity posteriors. The terrific new exhibition "The Secret Lives of...
aside from operating urban remains, a museum and galley, and documenting and salvaging historic structures, i managed to make time here and there for over a year now, devoted to creating and ultimately self-publishing the BLDG. 51 "museum book," which was delivered to me the other...
i've been aggressively acquiring architectural artifacts and industrial furniture for most of march, while i patiently await to begin work on two important salvages beginning this spring. i was fortunate and pleasantly surprised that a decent number of important artifacts essentially fell into my lap the...
my team and i just completed salvaging a multi-story early 20th century chicago residential masonry building with protruding ornamented tin bay window integrated with a cornice topped with opposed pier caps and voluted roofline ornament. the majority of the building's interior underwent several tasteless renovations during its lifespan,...
i've been told time and again that my efforts to meticulously document 19th chicago building methods and materials is "pioneering" work that is, or will be appreciated by researchers, historians, architects, homeowners, etc. in the future. however, that might be a polite way of saying it isn't...
the other day i was looking over some of the sentimental items in one my storage rooms and i happened across a gargantuan hand-painted pine wood "stick" or gauge that was once affixed to one of three enclosed riveted joint iron reservoirs housed in the tower of...