i've assembled a collection of long-forgotten images - pulled from richard nickel archive contact sheets - to create a cohesive visual narrative of the discovery, extraction, and reassembly of one of the two richly colored auditorium mosaic tile staircase landings discovered at the time adler...
i was given unfettered access to carefully document and subsequently salvage the 19th century young women's christian association hotel building (later known as 830 s. michigan avenue hotel) shortly before it was demolished in the winter of 2009. the seven-story combination red brick and terra cotta hotel located...
richard nickel images of adler & sullivan's martin barbe residence (1884) enlarged from multiple contact prints. nickel documented the surrounding neighborhood (the house was located at 3157 south prairie avenue), the interior and exterior before and after the fire, and salvage efforts to remove ornament before...
in the landscape of contemporary chicago, buildings are rarely moved, and transformations are more likely to involve razing old buildings for new development than changing location. a rare example of a move-- just two years ago -- was when the historic c. 1888 harriet f. rees house...
intensive photographic survey of sullivanesque ornament on claude and starck's baraboo high school (later converted to a civic center in 1979) completed in 1928. the unusually colored mottled glaze or “pulsichrome” terra cotta draws heavily from design elements used on louis sullivan’s peoples savings and loan...
richard nickel images – selected from multiple contact sheets – showing the extraction of louis h. sullivan-designed cast iron spandrel panels from the 5-story rothschild building (1881 ) during its demolition in 1972. additional information and images: albert levy albumen print of d. adler...
images from an exhaustive photographic study (conducted in may of 2021) of merchants national bank building (1912) located in winona, mn. the early 20th century structure is widely considered the largest and most impressive bank buildings designed by purcell, feick, and elmslie. the exterior...
exterior restoration of adler and sullivan's 5-story s.a. maxwell loft building (later known as the jewelers' building) is nearing completion with the installation of recreated sullivan-designed cast stone panels on the building's storefront level load-bearing berlin sandstone piers, which were badly damaged around the turn...
profusely illustrated "the story of terra cotta" hardbound book published in 1920 by walter geer. only a hundred copies were printed, with very few known to exist. the heavily resourceful 300-plus page book provides in-depth information about the american terra cotta industry and its fabricators. ...
the non-extant frank house was commissioned by successful chicago businessman louis frank with dankmar adler & louis sullivan as architects. in 1884 the house was constructed at 3155 s. michigan avenue. the slim, three story structure was well adapted to maximize residential space while remaining...
photographic study of northwestern terra cotta executive henry rohkam's residence all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. northwestern terra cotta...
contemporary exterior and interior photographic images of louis h. sullivan's national farmer's bank (1908) located in owatonna, mn. any and all images were taken in the spring of 2021. courtsy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. exterior: ...
ill-prepared immediately comes to mind as i comb through the hundreds of images i took after spending nearly two hours in a small, 19th century chicago cottage that had not been lived in since 1939. sure, the house was looked after, but the homeowner(s) were more...
the charnley persky house museum is both a historic house museum and headquarters to the society of architectural historians. the charnely is both a pivotal piece of modern architecture and evidence of the creative collaboration between louis sullivan and frank lloyd wright. sullivan rejected the...
the following images highlight important architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum archive. any and all images courtesy of bldg. 51 museum and archive and eric j. nordstrom. all rights reserved. ...
my initial motive for traveling to new york was to visit the woolworth building to carefully evaluate whether ornamental elevator ironwork, extracted from the upper floors of the building during its conversion to condominiums, would be a worthwhile acquisition for both urban remains and the bldg. 51 museum....
located at 630 south wabash ave. in chicago's south loop, the wirt dexter building was a landmark, commissioned by its namesake wirt dexter, a chicago attorney and real estate developer. designed by adler & sullivan and built in 1887 for a total cost of $100,000,...
the exchange state bank (1910) was the first of three mower county (southern minnesota) bank buildings designed by the architectural firm of purcell, feick & elmslie (later purcell and elmslie). located on the corner of main street and grand avenue in the small town of...
a unique and distinctive collection of historically important metal castings, foundry patterns and plaques were recently acquired by chicago's wagner foundry and its subsidiary, the bronze memorial plaque company. the assemblage is comprised of both interior and exterior metal (e.g., bronze, brass, aluminum, etc.) recast ornament...
the following images - digitized, enlarged, and edited from richard nickel contact sheets housed in the richard nickel committee archive at the ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago, were taken by richard nickel of the charles p. kimball house during its demolition in...