photographic study of mabel tainter memorial building (1889-1890) designed by architect harvey ellis. the richardsonian style building, which houses a theater and library, was built for lumber magnate andrew tainter and his wife bertha as a memorial to their daughter mabel tainter, who died of cancer...
a selection of images and artifacts culled from the bldg. 51 museum archive on burnham and roots' rookery building (1888). any and all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 museum archive. early view of rookery building's adam street entrance. inland architect press. courtesy of...
the facade of f.a. kennedy and company's rebuilt six-story factory complex was executed by adler and sullivan in 1884. the brick facade featured four divided structural bays with uninterrupted piers expressing the building's vertacality. the cornice was punctuated with a series of arched windows surrounded...
detroit's extant iconic art deco towering fisher building (1928) is one of the most notable works by architect albert kahn (joseph fathaniel french served as architect). the 30-story building - faced with a combination of limestone, granite, and several types of marble - was financed by...
several original and amazingly intact louis sulllvian-designed eli b. felsenthal store and flats (1906) terra cotta cornice blocks were acquired by the bldg. 51 musuem collection last week. while working for landmarks, tim samuelson spent a great deal of time both documenting and rescuing terra cotta...
aftermath. images of antioch missionary baptist church shortly after it was badly damaged by fire on good friday. built as the baptist church of englewood, the rock-faced romanesque style building was designed by the architectural firm of bell and swift...
an intimate look at john root-designed interior ornament for burnham and root's woman's temple (1892). the staircase, electroliers, and open-cage elevator surrounds were executed in cast and wrought iron with bronze electroplated finish by the winslow brothers, chicago, ills. description of building and its...
i've had trouble tracking down exterior images of the mccormick mansion undergoing demolition for quite some time now. i finally found a few taken by richard nickel in 1954 last week. the more widely known interior images with graffiti on the walls were taken by...
with over 500,000 photographic images chronicling the destruction of chicago's 19th and early 20th century commercial and residential structures taken over the 20 past years, i've decided it's long overdue to begin the arduous task of mining the data to create a structured database where...
schoenhofen brewery powerhouse designed in 1902 by architectural firm of schmidt, garden, and martin. the exterior is comprised of brick, indiana limestone and terra cotta. ...
i hope to devote a day or two a week for the next few years, carefully combing through the richard nickel archive at the ryerson and burnham library, where i'm finding immense satisfaction in discovering and resurrecting long-forgotten historically important images of nickel's unrelenting commitment...
the following images were taken from a years-long exhaustive photographic survey of exterior polychrome terra cotta ornament executed by terra cotta companies (e.g., northwestern, american, midland) found largely in the midwest. the images offer an in-depth analysis of ornament bedecked with a multitude of glazes...
a smal selection of original and faithfully recreated architectural building facade fragments (removed during prior exterior maintenance and/or restorations) joined the bldg. 51 musuem building fragment collection over the past few months. the ornament - comprised of both cast iron and aluminum - were salvaged...
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 APRIL, 2022, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need...
detailed photographic study of barry byrne and alfonso iannelli’s gothic style st. patricks’s catholic church (1925), located in racine, wisc. the gothic style box-shaped church features a visually striking roofline comprised of cream-glazed and textured terra cotta...
i had tim samuelson over to view the bldg. 51 museum collection, shortly before it was packed up and moved to its new location. it's currently being set up for display to a wider audience interested in historic chicago architectural artifacts. in the meantime, the...
images of a single bedford limestone walker warehouse (adler and sullivan, 1888-1889) impost block on display in the graham foundation's building fragment garden are presented below. the hand-carved block was one of six that supported the building's the enormous arches. there were two designs - the...
photographic study of alfonso iannelli-designed exterior architectural ornament adorning the pickwick theater (1928) located in park ridge, ills. the pickwick theater (1928) is a mixed-use building with distinctive tapered limestone tower and ornamental marquee designed by roscoe harold zook, william f. mccaughey, and alfonso iannelli. ...
two original early 20th century profusely illustrated architectural building trade catalogs printed for the chicago-based decorators supply company and friedley-voshardt were aquired by the bldg. 51 archive last week. the soft-bound product catalogs contain detailed descriptions and images of chicago-based showrooms, offices, and factories. in...
the following images provide an extensive photographic survey of 19th century building hardware designed by louis h. sullivan during his time at the architectural firm of adler and sullivan. the majority of the hardware was fabricated by the yale & towne mfg. company of stamford,...