the winslow brothers were chicago’s leading architectural manufacturers, producing wrought and cast iron, and complex decorative metalwork for buildings across the region. while their work in this capacity is well-known, the company's survival and transformation into the 20th century is less often examined. the winslow...
the following images highlight important architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum archive. ...
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...
john vinci kodachrome slides of the post-fire mccarthy building designed by architect john m. van osdel in 1872. the 5-story building was demolished in 1989 to make way for block 37. ornament from the facade, including ohio sandstone keystones and column capitals, were salvaged during...
i set aside time this weekend to resume scanning piles of postcards amassed over the past year. i’ve included a few real photo post cards (rppc) of early 20th century residential streetscapes, and a seldom seen photographic view of schmidt, garden, and martin's michael reese hospital...
the guaranty building was completed in 1896 by the architectural firm of adler and sullivan. the following images were taken in the spring of 2017 while visiting boston terra cotta valley in buffalo. i spent several days carefully documenting the building's interior and exterior, but...
the following image gallery represents a fraction of 19th and early 20th century american builders' hardware recently added to urban remains virtual showroom. several examples salvaged from historically important buildings across the country will be added in the coming months. ...
the following images were taken by richard nickel, who was assigned to methodically document holabird and roche's republic building inside and out shortly before its demolition by harvey wrecking in 1961. in addition to providing a visual record of the early 20th century "chicago school"...
richard nickel contact sheet images of john m. van osdel's lind block (1852) during its demolition in 1963. the lind block was perhaps best known as one of the few surviving buildings of the chicago fire. the building was demolished by harvey wrecking. ...
all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2021. ...
digitizing the bldg. 51 archive's chicago fire collection of objects and ephemera has resumed, with the most recent seldom seen period stereoviews depicting the conflagration posted below. the images of the "burnt district" taken shortly after the chicago fire of 1871. several images were photographed by...
a digital photographic inventory of louis sullivan-designed architectural ornament from adler and sullivan's chicago stock exchange building (1894) salvaged during its demolition in 1972. significance, description and provenance will be assigned to the ornament (listed below) when time permits. like other collections held in the bldg....
collection of richard nickel 8 x 10 images of bertrand goldberg's marina city. nickel clearly invested a lot of time and thought into documenting the towers from within and afar. marina city complex was designed by bertrand golberg in 1959 and built between 1961-1968. note: i decided...
BAGLEY HOUSE IN HINSDALE, ILLINOIS, IS THREATENED Photo by Gilman Lane, courtesy of Oak Park Public Library - Special Collections The Frederick Bagley House (1894) is listed for sale with no legal protections to safeguard it from demolition and redevelopment. This is an evolving situation. We will make...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of JULY, 2021, have been...
i ran across a number of richard nickel letters and images that shed some light on a stories i’ve heard about "the king," fred sommer, and the "found objects” assignment. based on what nickel wrote to fellow id classmate len gittleman and someone who's...
a collection of artifacts salvaged from the ywca (1896) hotel. the building was designed by architect was john m. van osdel ii, nephew of prominent chicago architect john mills van osdel. the building was demolished in 2009 after decades of deferred maintenance and abandonment. looking back,...
john wellborn root-designed rookery building terra cotta ornament was executed by the northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, ills. ...
images of elevator drums (two), foundation grillage, structural riveted joint columns, buff-colored terra cotta (northwestern terra cotta), and floor slabs unearthed during excavation (i.e., potholing) in preparation for new construction erected on site of parking lot that replaced jenney's isabella building (1893). ABOVE BROUND: ...
a detailed photographic documentary on the transformation of adler and sullivan's 5-story s.a. maxwell loft building (also known as jewelers building) facade is presented below as a collection of blog posts chronicling ruination to restoration. PREVIOUS POSTS (2018-2021): S.A. MAXWELL BUILDING...