03 Feb photographic study of george w. maher’s patrick j. king house (1901) exterior bedford limestone ornament
george maher’s patrick j. king house (1901), located at 3234 w. washington blvd., chicago, ills. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom...
31 Jan a photographic survey of burnham and root’s william hale house (1885-1886)
burnham and root's william e. hale house (1885-86), located at 4545 s. drexel blvd., chicago, ills. hale was best known as an innovator in elevator technology. louis sullivan stated that hale, who developed hydraulic and electric elevators, was one of two men "responsible for the modern...
27 Jan several important rare architectural books, guides and catalogs added to bldg. 51 archive in january 2023
Posted at 18:14h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products
a sizeable collection of exceptionally rare 19th and early 20th century architectural books, catalogs, monographs and guidebooks was purchased for the bldg. 51 archive in late january, 2023. a few acquisition highlights that have been digitized at the time of this post are listed below. original...
27 Jan largely intact painted pine wood exterior ornament salvaged from adler and sullivan’s selz house (1883) joins bldg. 51 musuem
Posted at 17:13h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products
an original louis h. sullivan-designed exterior residential carved wood fragment salvaged from adler and sullivan's morris selz house (1883) during its demolition in 1967 was recently acquired by the bldg. 51 museum collection. a total of four hand-carved painted pine wood framed floral panels...
25 Jan exterior photographic survey of h.h. richardson’s austin hall (1881) revisited
after nearly five years, i finally found the time to carefully select and edit several images taken of h.h. richardson's austin hall (1881) during an exhaustive photographic survery of the building's elaborate polychromatic stonework. ...
20 Jan barry byrne’s st. patrick’s church, an unusual 19th century fire station, cottages, and other distinctive buildings documented during recent racine visit
the following images were taken during a recent trip to racine, wisc., where timothy j. samuelson and i had an afternoon to explore the city's unique architecture, from bryne and iannelli's st. patrick's church to cecil corwin's mitchell house. to my suprise, 19th century vernacular...
19 Jan rookery building blueprints, rare books, ornamental terra cotta, builders’ hardware, and plymouth building artifacts added in january 2023
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 75,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 16 years). the newly acquired items for the month of JANUARY, 2023, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need...
18 Jan searching for architectural identity: frank lloyd wright’s george blossom house (1892)
photographic survey of frank lloyd wright's george blossom residence (1892), located at 4858 south kenwood ave, chicago, ills. To supplement his salary, Wright began taking on independent commissions in violation of his five-year contract with Louis Sullivan. Known as the “bootleg houses,” these early designs typically...
17 Jan a closer look at treat andd foltz’s martin a. ryerson richardsonian romanesque style residence (1887)
a photographic survey of treat and foltz's martin a. ryerson richardsonian romanesque residence (1887), located at 4851 s. drexel blvd., chicago, ills. images...
11 Jan 2023 photographic survey of frank lloyd wright’s roloson row houses (1894)
Date: 1894 Address: 3213 - 3219 Calumet Ave., Chicago, Illinois City: Chicago, IL Accessibility: private Category: Residential Restoration Status: interior gutted by fire in 1981 Robert Roloson commissioned Wright to remodel a group of four preexisting row houses in 1894. Concerned with ventilation, Wright devised a...
10 Jan bldg. 51 museum and archive 2022 acquisition highlights
Posted at 16:28h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, New Acquisitions, New Products
the bldg. 51 museum and archive amassed several historically important architectural fragments and objects, in addition to the evolving archive, consisting of period photographs, books, documents, drawings, blueprints, models, and other related materials that will prove invaluable to bolster the narratives of the museum's architectural...
05 Jan documenting frank lloyd wright’s 19th century william w. winslow and chauncey william houses
William W. Winslow House: Date: 1893 Address: 515 Auvergne Place. River Forest, IL 60305 City: River Forest, IL Accessibility: Private Category: Residential ...
02 Jan bldg. 51 archive acquires sizable private collection of important richard nickel photographs
Posted at 15:39h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products
the bldg. 51 museum and archive recently purchased a critical mass of early richard nickel prints, with the majority dating to the 1950s, when nickel was a student at the institute of design (ID). the body of work includes, but not limited to, adler and...
30 Dec amazingly intact 19th century chicago workers cottage set to be demolished in january of 2023
Posted at 16:35h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press, Salvages
demolition permit issued for bell avenue chicago 19th century brick workers cottage with completely intact bracketed pine wood cornice, lemont limestone keystones, and double arch attic window accentuated with fret-sawn spandrel. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, bldg. 51 archive, and chicago...
30 Dec highlights from the work of eric j. nordstrom, urban remains and the bldg. 51 archive in 2022
note: the following links represent only a fraction of work accomplished in 2022. HENRY J. SCHLACKS ABADONED ST. MARTIN OF TOURS CHURCH (1895) IN NEED OF MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR HIGHLIGHTS AND RECENT AQUSISTIONS FROM BLDG. 51 COLLECTION 1880S FIVE-STORY COMMERICAL BUILDING WITH COMBINATION LEMONT AND BEDFORD LIMESTONE FACADE...
27 Dec revisiting frank lloyd wright’s a.d. german warehouse in december of 2022
claude and starck structures in baraboo, frank lloyd wright's a.d. german warehouse, and 19th century commerical buildings in la crosse, wisc. among the highlights of december 2022 road trip. ...
24 Dec well-maintained post-fire 1874-76 chicago wood-framed italianate houses threatened with demolition
a demolition permit has been issued for the senseless eradication of an amazingly intact mid-1870's wood-framed chicago italianate style house located at 2240 n. burling. the two-story house retains the original dentiled wood cornice accentuated with oversized fret-sawn cornice brackets, window hoods with lightly incised...
20 Dec documenting driehaus museum’s “capture louis sullivan: what richard nickel saw” exhibit
a partial documentation of the "what richard nickel saw" exhibit on display at the driehaus museum. further information and images will be added when time permits. exhibit photos: ...
15 Dec photographic images from chicago architectural ornament survey (caos) fall of 2022
Posted at 16:47h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products
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...
09 Dec detailed survey of the sullivanesque style tomah public library designed in 1915 by architectural firm of claude and starck
recent photographic survey of claude and starck's prairie style public library located in tomah, wisc. completed in 1915, the two story low-hipped roof building features sullivanesque style ornament executed in carved limestone and painted staff. ...