as richard nickel once said, "it's all so god damn hopeless." knisely store and flats (1883): rubin rubel residence (1884): martin barbe residence (1884): samuel stern residence (1885): victoria hotel (1891-2): albert sullivan residence (1891): henry babson house (1908): images courtesy of bldg. 51 archive, tim...
documenting 19th and early 20th century architectural buildings and ornament in milwaukee over 4th of july weekend. highlighted structures recorded include northwestern mutual life insurance company building (1886), frederick pabst mansion (1892), milwaukee city hall (1895), and iron block (1860). ...
recently discovered kodachrome slides of adler and sullivan commissions taken by an amateur photographer who documented much of their work between the 1960s and 1980s now digitized (see selection below). the collection includes most of their extant work in the midwest and east coast. the slides...
these seldom seen dated john vinci kodachrome slides offer a rare glimpse at louis h. sullivan's babson house (1908) during its demolition in 1960. the images represent the only visual record of the babson house's untimely demise documented in color. the digitized slides have not...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 75,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 16 years). the newly acquired items for the month of JUly, 2022, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need...
detailed photographic survey of richardsonian romanesque style brick and terra cotta washington terrace clock tower and gatehouse (1894) designed by harvey ellis for george r. mann. conducted in late june, 2022, st, louis, mo. ...
the following blog entry revolves around richard nickel images documenting the removal of the louis sullivan-designed carved bedford limestone entrance lunette from the albert sullivan house's façade in 1970. the lunette is one of only a few surviving links to sullivan's work on the 1893 chicago world's...
a seldom found, oversized full-figured red slip glaze terra cotta eagle salesman sample and late 19th century stock pattern commerical or residential terra cotta block (see image of winkle factory with workers surrounding finished building ornament) were added to the bldg. 51 musuem archive during...
series of photographs taken during a day of protest against the demolition of adler and sullivan's chicago stock exchange (1894) in 1972. campaign buttons, flyers, brochures, and posters (see below) were handed out by preservationists to draw attention to the building's impending destruction. the images...
virtually untouched and largely intact "gardenesque" cast plaster ornament was discovered above a drop ceiling in the chicago athletic association building's cherry circle bar in 2014, when the building was being coverted into a boutique hotel. hugh garden's richly colored hidden ornament (1907) was carefully...
virtual gallery of images representing ongoing project photodocumenting architectural ornament designed by louis h. sullivan on the facade of adler and sullivan's s.a. maxwell five-story loft building erected in 1881. note: additional images of the ground floor and what was discovered behind multiple damaging alterations will...
i'll be posting any and all my images of every 19th or early 20th century chicago house and/or commercial structure i've documented/salvaged over the past five years. this will be a work in progress, so except the chronology to be scattered. perhaps in time, i...
the following images offer a cursory glance at an ever-growing collection of ephemera, objects, and photographs (largely owned and housed in the bldg. 51 archive) pertaining to chicago architectural preservation, with the earliest material dating back to the inception of chicago preservation movement in the...
demolition of the tyler and hippach mirror company factory building (1902) is nearing completion. located at 344. north canal street, the building was designed by notable chicago church architect henry j. schlacks. images courtesy of...
latest, and likely the last, set of images chronicling the destruction of walter burley griffin's william f. temple house (1911), including building samples (concealed in 1918 when house was heavily altered by barry byrne) collected and documented from the demolition site. ...
i will be adding several blog posts over the course of the year pertaining to images and artifacts from the "unearthing chicago" project that reached its end in late 2016 with the discovery of one of the earliest known downtown chicago privy pits or vaults...
photographic study of frank lloyd wright' b. harley bradly house (1900-1901). Date: 1900 Address: 701 S. Harrison Avenue, Kankakee, Illinois 60901 City: Kankakee, Illinois Category: Residential Links: http://www.wrightinkankakee.org/Visit.html Accessibility: Public Restoration status: From 2005 to 2010, the house was restored to its 1901 appearance. It is now operated by Wright in Kankakee as a public museum Wright’s...
st. francis xavier school (1916-23) designed by barry byrne with sculpture by alfonso iannelli. the winged corner angels and ornamental cornice (images at very bottom of post) were later removed and bricked over. ...
June 14, 2022 Take a look at artifacts saved from a demolished Prairie Style bungalow The pedigreed Winnetka home, with parts designed by three different architects and artists of note, is being replaced by a new $3.8 million home. DENNIS RODKIN Eric J. Nordstrom Before demolishing a pedigreed Winnetka bungalow,...
in the wake of a number of demolitions that razed beautifully intact 19th century buildings, it feels redundant to pine over the loss of irreplaceable architecture and the blatant disregard for a historic landscape. instead, having returned from a vacation where i was able to...