19 Aug

Posted at 05:20h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

rediscovering a 1920's softbound catalog and/or booklet while rearranging my library the other day proved to be both rewarding and informative. after pouring over the images and descriptions time and again, i finally pinpointed the fabricator of the plaster ornament used to "dress" the palace theater's...

18 Aug

Posted at 20:47h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

a collection of oversized photographic albumen prints of 19th and early 20th century downtown buildings taken by chicago photographer james w. taylor. the mounted prints are from the collection of the ryserson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago and the bldg. 51 museum archive.  ...

12 Aug

Posted at 03:40h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural, medical, and industrial 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 AUGUST...

10 Aug

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

latest images taken of louis sullivan's farmers' and merchants' bank building (1919) located in columbus, wisc. i spent most of my time photo-documenting the side of the building, facing south dickason, where the five-window arcade comprised of lavishly ornamented pale green terra cotta is located. ...

07 Aug

Posted at 09:06h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

three in-depth essays exploring the pile foundations, structural engineering and exhaustive distribution of salvaged exterior and interior architectural ornament from adler and sullivan's schiller building or garrick theater (1892) demolished in 1961. additional essays covering other facets of the building's history, from the time it...

05 Aug

Posted at 03:42h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, Travel by

latest images (taken two weeks ago ((july, 2020) systemically documenting the long-overlooked a.d. german warehouse, designed in 1914 by frank lloyd wright. located in richland center, wisc., the warehouse was the only building wright ever designed in the town he was born. the warehouse was...

31 Jul

Posted at 05:04h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

time spent scanning and editing the early photographic work of richard nickel while he was a student at the institute of design has been a welcome change from enlarging his images documenting the destruction of the garrick, cable, republic, cse, etc. during the 1960's.  undated (possibly...

30 Jul

Posted at 23:12h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

the following gallery of images (59 in total) were culled from the "unearthing chicago" project archive (2014-1017). with over 15,000 images documenting objects found in chicago's subterranean portals to the past, along with meticulously cataloging and photographing these unearthed objects in studio after project completion,...

29 Jul

Posted at 06:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

exterior terra cotta restoration work underway on rapp and rapp's old dearborn bank building (1928). i believe the buff-colored speckled glaze terra cotta ornament was executed by the american terra cotta company, but i need to double check my catalogs. the old dearborn bank building (rapp and...

21 Jul

Posted at 20:21h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

urban remains recently acquired one of the largest known collections of original 19th century american victorian-era salvaged chicago majolica figural tiles and fireplace surrounds executed in a multitude of rich color schemes and elaborate designs. examples from this remarkable collection are shown below. images courtesy of...

21 Jul

Posted at 03:22h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

i'm pretty confident i've now digitized all of john vinci's kodachrome slides of warren's lexington hotel taken shortly before its demolition in 1996 by national wrecking. a few might have carried over from a previous post, but i can finally file this one away.  the neoclassical...

14 Jul

Posted at 02:40h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural, medical, and industrial 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...

14 Jul

Posted at 01:29h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

peter b. wight (1838–1925) was an american 19th-century architect who practiced in new york city and chicago. wight's work in 1860s and 1870s new york evolved from a decorative, historicist style that paralleled the work of european designers john ruskin and augustus welby northmore pugin. after...

10 Jul

Posted at 02:58h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

in a previous post, i provided an in depth background on the early edison bergmann socket discovered in the non-extant 1893 columbus building in 1959. here i will revisit that for a moment before introducing a recently acquired socket and fixture salvaged from the adler...

30 Jun

Posted at 01:42h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

latest photographic images from the chicago architectural ornament survey is provided below. the architectural ornament is sourced from extant late 19th and early 20th century buildings within chicago's city limits. the majority of the buildings enjoy landmark status, while others are relatively unknown, but are dressed...

16 Jun

Posted at 04:24h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

one of the most visually striking and architecturally distinctive features within notable architect henry i. cobb's chicago athletic association building (1893) is the highly detailed, tracery-laden "drooping tip" cast plaster ceiling, comprised of interlocking gridded panels reinforced with metal mesh cones and illuminated with single...

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