25 Feb

Posted at 19:14h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

the burnham center, formerly known as the conway building and later the chicago title & trust building, is an historic skyscraper in chicago, illinois. funded by the marshall field estate, it was daniel burnham's final design before his death in 1912, completed in 1913. the burnham...

24 Feb

Posted at 17:08h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

"on the morning of the 9th of october, 1871, the telegraphic wires flashed to every part of this nation, and to nearly every portion of the civilized world, the shocking intelligence that chicago was in flames, hundreds of lives had been destroyed, and ten thousand...

22 Feb

Posted at 18:55h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Uncategorized by

photographic images of washingtion porter's beloved kiosk sphinx (louis i. simon, architect), located at 4043 lake park avenue, chicago, il. designed in egyptian revivalstyle to showcase porter's antique collection, it featured a 15-story observation tower visible from lake shore drive, intended to be topped with a...

20 Feb

Posted at 17:57h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by

exterior photographic survery of robert c. spencer's uniquely designed apartment building located at 6109 south normal avenue, chicago, il. robert closson spencer jr. (1864–1953) was a key figure in the prairie school of architecture in chicago. as a close friend and contemporary of frank lloyd wright,...

17 Feb

Posted at 18:28h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Travel by

mecca flats was a notable apartment complex in chicago's bronzeville neighborhood, serving as an architectural and cultural landmark from 1891 until its demolition in 1952. the site at 3360 s. state street is now occupied by s.r. crown hall, a modernist structure designed by ludwig...

17 Feb

Posted at 04:26h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by

photographic survey of the painted concrete hood ornament atop stanley tigerman's 9-story self park "rolls-royce" garage (1986), located at 60 east lake street, chicago, il. tigerman entered a competition to design a 9-story, 200-space parking garage with only one rule: create a garage that doesn’t look...

12 Feb

Posted at 16:11h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Uncategorized by

slowly but surely swift mansion rising from the ashes. recent images of fire-damaged edward morris house or swift mansion (1892, willett and pashley, architects), located at 4500 south michigan avenue, chicago, il. i've been documenting the house since a disastrous fire struck in december of 2023. additional images...

11 Feb

Posted at 18:54h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by

chicago is frequently regarded as a city-wide "outdoor museum" and a dynamic showcase of architectural achievement, with its streets—particularly within the loop and along the chicago river—displaying a notable array of historic 19th and early 20th century structures.  the city's architectural profile is distinguished by well-preserved...

10 Feb

Posted at 18:05h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages, Travel, Uncategorized by

the following images and information - a work in progress - shed light on the northwestern terra cotta company's richly colored and visually striking french art deco style "stock pattern" terra cotta ornament. early 1980s image of the art deco style chicago bee building (1929), located...

06 Feb

Posted at 17:54h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

the following images represent a well-rounded cross section of historically important architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum archive in feburary of 2026. the image gallery below offers a preview of bldg. 51’s latest acquisitions: images courtesy of eric...

05 Feb

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

original and largely intact 1962 marina city (bertrand goldberg, 1964-68) prospectus showcasing the building’s distinctive architectural elements with floor plans, site layouts, models, and photographs. the uniquely designed prospectus includes an embossed cover, saddle-stitched booklet with varied paper types, a fold-out building model, blank rental applications,...

04 Feb

Posted at 16:03h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

recently digitized, original 1930s grant mason and gilman lane interior and exterior snapshot photos of frank lloyd wright's roloson houses (1894) at 3213-3219 s. calumet ave., chicago, il, are now available through the bld. 51 museum and archive. a small collection of digitized images provided...

03 Feb

Posted at 15:54h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Uncategorized by

several architectural elements from d.h. burnham and company's fisher building (1896) and addition (1907) were recently purchased for the bld. 51 museum collection and archive. highlights include, but not limited to, a cast iron winslow brothers lobby level elevator floor indicator panel with opposed figural...

02 Feb

Posted at 18:55h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Travel, Uncategorized by

the 1893 pabst pavilion, designed by otto strack for chicago’s world's columbian exposition, was a terra-cotta structure with a green copper dome and glass corners showcasing beer products. its highlight was a 13-square-foot 24 karat gold-plated cast bronze and white metal pabst brewery model executed...

30 Jan

Posted at 18:34h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

for many years, if not decades, if documented the three john karl daniels's white glazed terra cotta figures adorning hewitt and brown's 1914 washburn crosby utility building, located at 700 second street, minneapolis, mn. i'm both amused and mystifed over the circumstances surrounding the disappearance...

28 Jan

Posted at 17:07h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages, Travel, Uncategorized by

after reviewing these early images - taken during the early days of my photographic career -  i've realized that while my creative vision remains similar, my technical skills, mastery of equipment and lighting, post-processing abilities, and instinctive and intellectual comprehension of my subjects have improved...

27 Jan

Posted at 18:58h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

the masonic temple, presently known as the hennepin center for the arts, was constructed in 1890 at the intersection of hennepin avenue and sixth street north. recognized as an exemplary representation of richardsonian romanesque architecture, the building initially served as a masonic lodge for the...

26 Jan

Posted at 18:00h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

exterior photographic survey of purcell and elmslie's prairie style community house, first congregational church (1913-14), located at 310 broadway, eau claire, wisconsin. this parish house demonstrates why purcell and elmslie of minneapolis were regarded as leading architects in the region. its broad gable gives the impression...

25 Jan

Posted at 15:19h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

the bachman house is located at 1244 w. carmen ave., chicago, illinois. originally built in 1889, it was remodeled by bruce goff between 1947 and 1948 into a home and studio for myron bachman. notable for its updated windows and brick with corrugated aluminum exterior, the...

22 Jan

Posted at 16:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Travel, Uncategorized by

the bldg. 51 museum collection recently acquired additional historically important redl slip terra cotta ornament from milwaukee’s former main passenger rail station, the chicago & north western lake front depot. designed by charles sumner frost in a romanesque style, the brick and terra cotta-clad depot...

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