historic buildings that dodged waves of urban renewal and blatant neglect are thriving in milwaukee. on a given stretch, a virtually untouched oriental-themed movie palace and its two neighboring 1870's commercial buildings prove that milwaukee has been proactive in rehabilitating their existing "stock" of historic...
when i visited the congress theater last week, i began by carefully navigating and methodically photo-documenting several deep, dark and dirty plaster and steel-framed cavities and coves high above the theater's cavernous auditorium ceiling. while zigzagging across the original, wobbly wood board catwalks, i distinctly recall being taken...
the former chevrolet showroom (north end of the "mega mall"), built for the milwaukee avenue motor sales company (1921) during a time when the neighborhood was concentrated with several car dealerships that collectively contributed to what was then known as logan square's "motor row," has been reduced...
it didn't take long for a few freeze/thaw cycles to wreak havoc on the bonding agents used to secure the ornamental plaster against the ceiling of a former showroom built for the buick sales building in 1921. the automobile showroom was designed by notable chicago...
long after the collection of historically-important buildings belonging to rush's hospital campus were reduced to rubble, we received a call from a woman assigned the task of selling and/or discarding the piles of building remnants that had been dropped at a desolate storage yard shortly...
with so many architectural artifacts, medical and industrial objects, signage and everything else in between, it's becoming increasingly difficult to continue listing new items on a daily basis. in 2017 however, we have brought onboard additional staff to ensure at least ten new items are...
an incredible discovery, documented shortly after demolition work was finished for the day. the oculus was found intact behind the bricked-in wall. the unusual number of muntins (and "hub") suggests an automobile wheel, which was a popular motif was used in other buildings along logan...
[caption id="attachment_27214" align="alignleft" width="1100"] detail of northwestern terra cotta company exterior ornament adorning the facade of a 19th century chicago workers cottage.[/caption] meticulously documenting the surface detail and design of chicago's older extant architecture will remain a top priority in 2017. with so many projects, exhibitions, and...
some of the first hidden and/or forgotten remnants recovered in the first part of 2017, came from the ground, discovered in one of the many forgotten city dumps that dot the cityscape. the dump contained piles upon piles of leather shoe soles, caked with a wretched...
a blog entry posted two weeks ago provided extensive documentation pertaining to the careful extraction of the former milwaukee avenue motor sales building's (more commonly known as the "mega mall") roofline ornamental terra cotta urns. beginning last last week, demolition was underway - to my...
widow and socialite ann halsted commissioned adler & sullivan to build her understated gold coast mansion at 440 w. beldan ave. in 1884. sullivan’s trademark ornaments are diminished to an elaborate cornice and bay windows. in halsted’s own words, she wanted the house to have...
being semi-retired has been incredibly rewarding, and has allowed me ample time to pursue my obsessions, and immerse myself in various chicago histories. looking back at this past year inspired me share a few of these "themes" i dedicated great time and energy to. some...
this december the bldg. 51 museum collection received a welcome, but unexpected boost in inventory of historically important chicago building terra cotta. the majority of the exterior ornament salvaged over the years hailed from buildings no longer with us. one particular piece carries great significance for...
senseless. ...
i was pleasantly surprised and utterly delighted when a good friend of mine gave me an original two-tone mosaic tile floor segment from one of two schiller building (garrick theater) staircase landings, discovered by nickel et al. in may of 1960 - shortly before the building...
as i'm sure many do, i am constantly using the "lens" of my mind, conveniently tucked away in my cortex, to record what captivates me. unfortunately, lugging around a bag of camera bodies and lenses is the only vehicle to sharing this information. this entails...
we have spent most of the week now carefully extracting ornamental terra cotta from the facade of the "mega mall," which was built between 1921-1923 as an automobile showroom or dealership for chevrolet. the unusually colored exterior ornament with mottled finish was fabricated by the american...
BY SEAN LEWIS AND STACY FRIEDMAN CHICAGO -- Eric Nordstrom didn’t plan to spend his life poking around crumbling churches, homes and hospitals on a quest to document history. He studied molecular genetics at the University of Minnesota and was a staff scientist at the University...
another physically and emotionally draining year has drawn to a close, but the ungodly amount of projects have left a heap of photographic images, documents, and artifact extractions waiting to be transformed into blog posts, exhibits, lectures, and narratives, that will carry into 2017 and perhaps...
the bldg. 51 american architectural artifact museum recently acquired several r.r. donnelley printing plant (extant) ornamental terra cotta exterior shields featuring richly colored polychromatic finishes. fabricated by the midland terra cotta (chicago, ills.), the shields adorned the exterior facade of the massive printing facility, considered the...