the richard bellinger cottage, a historic wood-framed house at 2121 n. hudson avenue, was designed by prominent architect william w. boyington and is one of the few residential buildings that survived the great chicago fire of 1871. built in 1869, the italianate worker’s cottage was...
elmer f. behrns, the theatre’s original architect, was an avid student of egyptology. built between 1928 and 1929, the theatre reflected the nationwide “egypt-mania” inspired by the 1922 discovery of king tutankhamun’s tomb, with a design motif drawn from ramses ii. led by project architect...
what the hell is the owner thinking? the staircase, artificial grass mats, statuary, and plastic leaf pergola are reidiculous, but ultimately, it is the owner’s choice. all i can do is document it and share my opinion. at this rate, he may have a miniature golf...
"in memoriam to ida balaban katz." recent exterior photographs of rapp and rapp’s 1922 egyptian revival balaban mausoleum located at waldheim jewish cemetery in forest park, illinois. designed by cornelius and george rapp of rapp and rapp—the celebrated architects of the historic chicago theatre and many balaban...
UPDATE AS OF 8-8-2026: george kingsley and barry byrne’s historically important jackson storage warehouse building in la grange has been emptied, and scaffolding erected in preparation for demolition. handed a death sentence last night (1-12-2026). exterior photographic survey, taken in january and august 2026, documents george kingsley’s four-story...
help me. recent photographic images of jens j. jensen's moorish revival style guyon hotel (1928) located at 4000 west washington blvd., chicago, il. the whimsical red glazed and polychromed ornamental terra cotta ornament was fabricated by the american terra cotta company, chicago, il. I’ve also included historic photographs...
interior art deco details from holabird and roche/root’s 26-story chicago daily news building (1929), located at 400 west madison street in chicago, illinois. the chicago daily news building, an official city of chicago landmark, is a 1929 art deco feat of engineering and craftsmanship. designed by...
interior photographic survey of solon spencer beman's richardsonian romanesque style northwestern mutual life insurance company building (1886), located at 605–623 north broadway, milwaukee, wisc. the landmark northwestern mutual life insurance company home office, built in 1886 at 605–623 north broadway in milwaukee, wisconsin, was designed by...
like cass gilbert’s woolworth building (1912), burnham and dinkelberg’s flatiron building is being converted to residential use. partial exterior detail photographic survey of d.h. burnham and company's terra cotta-clad 22-story flat iron building (1902), located at 175 fifth avenue, new york city, ny. the cream-colored terra cottta...
nine years later, i am still documenting the slow death of this remarkable comed station by herman von holst. perhaps someone will eventually step in to save it. until then, i feel compelled to keep reminding people that it exists—and that it may soon disappear...
2026 partial exterior detail photographic survey of cross and cross's 50-story art deco style general electric building (1931), located at 570 lexington avenue, new york city, ny. the general electric building at 570 lexington avenue in new york city is recognized for its elegant use of...
the puck building in new york city is a romanesque revival landmark that uniquely links historic vaulted sidewalks, subsurface industrial spaces, and specialized elevator infrastructure. located at 295 lafayette street, the building's engineering reflects the late-19th-century boom of manhattan’s printing and publishing district. the building is...
louis h. sullivan’s cream-colored terra-cotta bayard-condict building (1899) is again covered for façade repair and restoration. the 13-story new york city skyscraper was completed in 1899, with louis h. sullivan and lyndon p. smith as architects. the perth amboy terra cotta company used their own modeler (anlgelo...
exterior detail photographic survey of henry janeway hardenbergh's german renaissance-style victorian dakota apartment building (1880-84), located at 1 west 72nd street, new york city, ny, the 8-story city landmark apartment building is comprised largely of tan-colored brick, carved nova scotia sandstone, and terra cotta ornamernt fabricated...
2026 exterior-detail photographic survey of adolph zucker and john edelmann decker or union commerical building (1892–93), located at 33 union square west, new york city, ny. john herman edelmann was an important mentor and colleague to louis sullivan. a skilled architect and draftsman, he introduced sullivan...
2026 partial exterior detail photographic survey of william van alen's art deco style chrysler building (1930), located at 405 lexington avenue, new york city, ny. the chrysler building is a 1,046-foot art deco skyscraper in east midtown manhattan. completed in 1930 at 42nd street and lexington...
the bldg. 51 museum archive recently acquired a sizable collection of rare, seldom-seen stereoview cards documenting pre- and post-fire chicago, most of them focused on the “burnt district” downtown as the city vigorously rebuilt after the great chicago fire of 1871. stereoviews, or stereographs, are pairs...
the charles c. p. holden building (historically known as the holden block) is a rare, surviving italianate-stylecommercial loft building built in 1872. located at 1027-1029 w. madison street in chicago's west loop / near west side, it was constructed immediately after the great chicago fire...
John Vinci’s Virtual Reality Film:A Quest to Save KAM/Pilgrim Baptist Church Pilgrim Baptist Church, formerly Kehilath Anshe Ma’ariv Synagogue (KAM), deserves reconstruction and preservation. For more than a century, it has served both Jewish and Black communities. For Chicago’s Jewish community, it was a major center...
william a. chappell's 1890s richardsonian romanesque style clark jewell-wells company wholesale warehouse pressed red brick and carved sandstone building occupies one of the downtown grand rapids's most imposing blocks. it originally housed the clark jewell-wells company, wholesale grocers. above the red sandstone first story, paired...