04 Oct

Posted at 03:58h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions by

the following images represents a small, but representative collection of figural and/or emblematic american architectural artifacts housed in the bldg. 51 musuem. the majority of the architectural elements are comprised of terra cotta and were salvaged in and around chicago.  ...

28 Sep

Posted at 14:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

terra cotta skyline. the kirchbaum building, located at 6560 n. sheridan rd., was designed in 1922 by the architectural firm of ronneberg, pierce and hauber. the terra cotta city skyline mural is comprised of three recessed panels, beginning with fort dearborn and ending with the wrigley building. ...

24 Sep

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

NEWS | SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 2022 Alice Award for Illustrated Books Winner Announced COURTESY OF FURTHERMORE GRANTS IN PUBLISHING    Hudson, NY — Furthermore grants in publishing, a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, is pleased to announce the 2022 Alice is awarded to Alphawood Foundation, Chicago, IL for its publication, Reconstructing the...

20 Sep

Posted at 15:07h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by

Chirag G. Badlani, Executive Director of Alphawood Foundation Chicago, is pleased to announce that the Foundation has won the 2022 Alice Award for its publication, Reconstructing the Garrick: Adler & Sullivan’s Lost Masterpiece (Alphawood Foundation Chicago, 2021). The lavishly illustrated, 352-page book was edited by...

15 Sep

Posted at 14:41h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

images (taken nearly a decade ago) of the original open-ended switch board (removed from service during the 1940s) housed in the basement of the lumber exchange (later known as the roanoke building). the interconnected slate panels, once illuminated by i.p. frinke mirrored reflectors, are adorned...

13 Sep

Posted at 15:28h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

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 JUly, 2022, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be)...

12 Sep

Posted at 14:59h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

before and after: disgraced and disfigured through intentional negclect and abandonment. two years after awarded preliminary landmark status, edward uihlein’s schiltz-tied commercial building and flats was largely forgotten and left abandoned. consequently, the building’s exterior ornament (e.g., stamped or pressed ornamental copper) has been defaced, stripped...

11 Sep

Posted at 02:59h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

  a number of mid-19th century bottles were recently unearthed deep below the site of chicago’s former grand central station, with the four richly colored iron and smooth base soda bottles serving as the inspiration to further investigate the slew of structures that were built above...

08 Sep

Posted at 15:41h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

for the past several years now, i've assembled a sizeable photographic database of ornamental red body terra cotta found on 19th century (1880-1899) residential and commerical buildings within chicago's city limits. brief descriptions, including addresses, year constructed, architect (if known) and building status, will be...

07 Sep

Posted at 01:40h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following images represent carefully curated online collection of exterior ornamental terra cotta salvaged from historically important chicago commerical building. the ornament is housed in the bldg. 51 museum, located in downtown chicago.  ...

06 Sep

Posted at 10:34h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

as more and more 19th century cottages succumbed to the wrecking ball over the course of the past year, i could not help but entertain the idea of salvaging bigger and more visually-striking house "systems," whose parts alone are powerful in size and scale.   [gallery ids="22908,22910,22909"] in...

03 Sep

Posted at 20:00h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

  after mecca, before crown. great collection of images (possibly taken by nickel) of excavation work for mies's crown hall (1956) at iit. the images - scanned this afternoon from contact sheets - offer a great visual record of the surrounding area, including long-gone buildings along...

02 Sep

Posted at 14:58h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

Wainwright Building (1891): original copper-plated ornamental cast iron newel post salvaged from adler and sullivan's wainwright building (1891) during extensive interior renovations that virtually gutted the building of its original sullivan-designed ornament - including staircases, elevators, woodwork, door hardware, etc. the newel was likely executed by the...

31 Aug

Posted at 15:27h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Salvages by

  in preparation for publishing "unearthing chicago" in 2022, i've pulled some images capturing 19th and early 20th century bottles at excavation sites around chicago. shortly after being discovered, these remnants of victorian-era rubbish were carefully exposed by removing surrounding dirt and debris to reveal a...

error: Content is protected !!