05 May

Posted at 18:43h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

an excavation site just west of the m. schultz company piano factory and showroom (erected in 1889) yielded several artifacts spanning several decades. the earliest identifiable object was a small dark amber glass fragment with an embossed letter that once belonged to a quart-sized william...

04 May

Posted at 04:16h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

the following photographic images (taken over a course of three months) provide a highly detailed visual record of the two matching fully functional extant interior congress theater lobby cast brass and wrought ornamental chandeliers. remarkably, the gargantuan "electric candle" ceiling fixtures with dual-colored art cathedral glass globes...

01 May

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

    long after the hodgepodge of 19th and 20th century buildings forming the ace hardware on ashland were demolished last year, excavation work finally began. multiple machines dug deep below grade in preparation for the foundation work of a new development, and just a few days later i...

21 Apr

Posted at 19:07h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

research continues on a marvelous brick mansion that is in the process of being converted into a pre-school. the structure envelops two city lots, and appears to have been built around 1887.     to accommodate the needs of the developers and satisfy building codes, the interior...

20 Apr

Posted at 18:54h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

a wide array of american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or objects have been steadily added to the massive urban remains virtual catalog for a few weeks now. with the completion of a gold coast mansion salvage earlier this week, we have been working long...

18 Apr

Posted at 22:24h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

in a previous blog entry i focused on a highly unusual depression-era mayan revival fisher theater seat end - one of several non-chicago based artifacts housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection catalog. the richly colored all original theater seat end reflects late 1920's exotic movie palace...

17 Apr

Posted at 13:34h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

[caption id="attachment_21122" align="alignleft" width="900"] detail of built-up molding on pine wood exterior door. the entry and any and all images first published on may 26th, 2016.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_29214" align="alignleft" width="450"] 1886 sanborn insurance map with red arrow indicating location of the superior street italianate. note: the...

16 Apr

Posted at 15:39h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

while looking for a hopkins and dickenson doorknob the other day, i ran across several boxes of "personal collection" 19th century builders' hardware i've had stowed away for years. when i pull the lid from the first container, i immediately recognized doorknobs from the william...

16 Apr

Posted at 14:09h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

when companies are contracted by the city to demolish and replace structurally unsound vaulted sidewalks, their saw-cutting methods typically go beyond the curb and well into the street. the work continues with subsequent digging in and around the street, involving the removal of several inches...

12 Apr

Posted at 20:33h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

[caption id="attachment_29177" align="alignleft" width="1000"] the studs and sheathing along the north wall are severely compromised and will need to be replaced. with the exception of the facade, the cottage's framing will no doubt be largely replaced, including the interlocking sill plates. additionally, i would be...

10 Apr

Posted at 21:36h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

several "after sunset" fixtures were removed from an art modern house undergoing renovations late last week. the american art deco depression era fixtures were designed and fabricated by or for the lightolier corp., jeannette, pennsylvania. the super streamlined machine age electric fixtures are comprised largely of...

06 Apr

Posted at 17:50h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements by

Trash Talks: The Afterlives of Buildings Saturday, April 8, 2017 - 1:00pm–5:00pm LeRoy Neiman Center 37 S. Wabash Ave Chicago, IL Spring 17 Mitchell Lecture Series Trash Talks hopes to provide an alternative platform for a series of open conversations between artists, designers and thinkers in search for a more optimistic...

04 Apr

Posted at 21:41h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Salvages by

after slowing down some, i find myself deeply immersed again in the "unearthing chicago" project long after i finished cataloging several extensively archived chicago dig sites for the soon-to be-published "unearthing chicago" book (bldg. 51 museum press) due out this year. like any other project i've...

31 Mar

Posted at 21:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

over the past few years i've been tirelessly documenting and/or salvaging chicago's 19th century brick and wood-frame cottages as they're demolished with astonishing rapidity. it's deeply saddening just thinking about the seemingly endless number of demolition permits that will be issued during this year's (2017) "building season,"...

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