08 Nov degradation of historically important dewes mansion’s iconic caryatids troublesome
more to follow. ...
05 Nov civil war-era circular pine wood privy vault unearthed from backyard of a chicago cottage
Posted at 17:15h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
once again i took the time to carefully extract, thoroughly clean, and reassemble the floor boards of an 1860's-era chicago cottage privy vault. the sanitary pit was covered over long ago, as indoor plumbing was becoming more readily available during the late 19th century. the house's...
01 Nov copper-lined time capsule extracted from park view church’s school during its demolition
Posted at 20:48h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Salvages
i was already stressed and exhausted from pulling the last of the zettler-signed "munich" style windows from the park view lutheran church's interior (1929) , when i was forced to pause for an hour as a wrecking machine nearby began pulling down the facade of the...
01 Nov one of the last standing downtown chicago post-fire worker cottages is hurtling towards oblivion
previous posts have covered this historically significant 1870's-era cottage and the "death sentence" it was handed way back in summer 2016. however, the post i have been dreading all along is finally here. the wheels are now in motion, and the "kiss of death," in...
31 Oct photographing “portals to the past” in jerome, arizona
spending an afternoon in the small and amazingly eccentric town of jerome, az., is an unforgettable experience, where portals to the past exist in an oddly suspended state, immune to change or significant alteration. this glorified "ghost town" was an ideal location for me to practice...
26 Oct urban remains methodically extracts park view church’s “munich” style tryptych windows executed by drehobl brothers
Posted at 05:00h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Salvages
for the past two weeks i've devoted nearly every afternoon methodically and painstakingly extracting any and all art glass windows from the soon-to-be-demolished gothic style park view lutheran church featuring an indiana blue limestone facade and single bell tower topped by a an unusual oversized...
23 Oct a detailed view of the manhattan building’s exterior ornamental terra cotta and name plaque
the imagery in this photo-essay offers a detailed look at the heavily ornamented exterior terra cotta and ironwork adorning william le baron jenney's 1888 manhattan building - known as the oldest surviving skyscraper utilizing steel skeleton frame construction. the collections of photographs might appear redundant at...
19 Oct a pre-fire chicago wood frame cottage threatened by sale offering a “unique homesite opportunity”
driving down orchard street today i discovered an amazingly intact 19th century clapboard workers cottage surrounded by several monstrous mcmansions so ridiculously huge and devoid of character i felt equally nauseous and claustrophobic. only by focusing on the well-preserved architectural characteristics of the warm and inviting pre-fire 1860's era cottage (which...
18 Oct this week: 25% off any and all fireplace mantels, gas inserts, and summer covers
Posted at 19:44h
in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions
below, are just a few examples of hundreds of fireplace mantels, coal baskets, gas inserts, and summer covers available for sale through the end of this week. any and all category items have been discounted. click here to be redirected to the sale category. ...
18 Oct latest inventory includes gothic style church lighting, early chicago terra cotta, and various medical/industrial furniture
Posted at 02:50h
in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions, Salvages
the following photo gallery offers a glimpse of the most recent artifacts salvaged and/or acquired and posted in the urban remains massive website catalog (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories). this year marks the ten year anniversary of urban remains, and from day one, one...
14 Oct unusually large “pocket” of packed late 19th century rubbish discovered on the near north side
Posted at 21:26h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
i was called to examine a desolate triangular-shaped parcel of land being excavated on the near north side shortly after i completed documenting the soon-to-be demolished art deco style 1930's ornamental limestone facade concealing "buddy's parking garage" on clark street (images highlighting the exterior decorative elements will be...
13 Oct two-story mid-1880’s brick workers cottage on marshfield street demolished
another well-maintained 19th century brick workers cottage, boasting an interior that had been unaltered since the depression, was ripped apart in a matter of hours earlier this week. the two-story brick cottage, bedecked with a bracketed wood cornice, deeply incised window hoods or headers, and the original double pine...
12 Oct early building occupant identified by papers left under building’s attic floor boards
the noble square neighborhood "cornerstore" facing demolition began as a single story brick workers cottage, likely constructed in the latter half of the 1870's. through time the back section of the structure remained residential, while the front underwent dramatic reconstruction, including removal of the majority...
10 Oct odin j. oyen bldg., hixon house, and condemned house highlight brief visit to la crosse, wisc.
visiting la crosse, wisc. this past week was incredibly therapeutic - effectively reducing levels of stress and anxiety that were becoming overly toxic and depleting me of the energy necessary to wake each morning prepared to document the never-ending building deaths throughout chicago. [caption id="attachment_25058" align="alignleft" width="1200"]...
08 Oct bottles and building parts from chicago’s past pulled from excavations across the city
Posted at 21:04h
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages
the following compilation of images were taken from various chicago excavations - both commercial and residential over the past few weeks. the wide range of objects or artifacts recovered (and in many cases documented in the studio) include 19th century wood "pilings" once supporting a...
05 Oct quintessential 1880’s chicago cottage on maud street handed death sentence despite well-maintained facade
while poring over demolition permits issued over the past few days, a particular brick cottage jumped forward. the facade of this exemplary mid-1880's brick cottage - replete with deeply incised keystones, paneled bargeboard and bracketed cornice - nearly made my heart skip a beat. i...
05 Oct an intimate look at new york soho’s cast iron facade ornament, vaulted sidewalks and informational plaques
a visit to new york city always presents a welcome change, to throw into relief the day-to-day documenting and salvaging of chicago's demolitions, and provide a more relaxed experience of mid-19th century ornamental cast iron architecture filled with manufacturer markings to later research. a lengthy stroll through...
05 Oct recent acquisitions include vintage medical furniture, stained glass, millwork, unearthed bottles, gauges, terra cotta
Posted at 04:18h
in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions, Salvages
the following photo gallery offers a glimpse of the most recent artifacts salvaged and/or acquired and posted in the urban remains massive website catalog (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories). this year marks the ten year anniversary of urban remains, and from day one, one...
03 Oct demolition of buildings housing vincent formusa’s italian import business through sequential photography
the following collection of images offers a small visual record of the painstakingly slow eradication of two adjoining late 19th century multi-story masonry chicago buildings that housed vincent formusa's italian import business (see above) since 1898. the discovery and subsequent documentation of the building's hidden upper-story "time capsule" during its...