a collection of seldom seen detailed lithographs or half-tones showcasing the original custom-designed interior ornamental ironwork executed by the winslow brothers for solon s. beman's non-extant 14-story pabst neo-gothic style commercial building (1891) located in milwaukee, wisc. the...
pushing lots of pixels lately to avoid burnout from setting up shop this month. revisiting thousands of dormant and/or forgotten images taken over the past decade has inspired me to pick up the camera and prepare for travel once again, where i can continue photodocumenting...
sadly, there aren't many original (that i know of) sidewalk "vault lights" (i.e., cast iron hub and glass rondel configuration) left to document in chicago. the donohue building (1883, julius speyer architect) offers one of the best examples - largely intact, multi-panel commercial entrance stoops...
the death of dankmar adler's house as documented by richard nickel in 1961. the architectural firm of adler and sullivan designed three adjoining rowhouses, located at 3541-45 s. ellis avenue, between 1885-1886. dankmar adler lived in the middle house between adler’s close friend and family lawyer...
the following images were taken from an exhaustive photographic survey of walter burley griffin's william f. tempel house conducted weeks before it was salvaged by urban remains. the house is currently undergoing demolition to make way for new development. the images provide a visual record...
demolition of the old tyler and hippach mirror company factory building (1902) is well underway. located at 344. north canal street, the building was designed by notable chicago church architect henry j. schlacks. when the building...
tugboat operator james higgie's commercial block was destroyed nearly three years ago. a virtual scrapbook, in the form of images and brief captions provided below, ensure the building and its owner aren't forgotten. i spent months documenting its destruction and salvaging some of the terra...
looking over newspapers on the guaranty building, i discovered plans were announced in jan. of 1951 to do away with the original open-cage sullivan-designed elevator enclosures within the guaranty building (adler & sullivan, 1896). the "modernization" would cost 20,000, which included new otis elevator cabs ordered...
it's always rewarding when you are able to readily demystify antiquated architectural building materials - whether on the jobsite, or discovering manufacturer markings at a later point in time when documenting the extracted components. identifying the maker of key elements (e.g., plumbing, electrical, stonecutter) used during...
with the power cut and fence erected, walter burley griffin's historically important william f. tempel house (commonly referred to as the "solid rock" house) will be destroyed this week. located in winnetka, ills, the reinforced concrete house was erected in 1911 and later remodeled in...
final installment of images documenting the demolition of antioch missonary baptist church (1890, bell and swift, architects). all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom...
seldom seen interior images of architects and engineers surveying wiliam le baron jenney's 1885 home insurance building shortly before its demolition in 1931. the building's interior ornamental ironwork (both wrought and cast and possibly electro-plated) was likely executed by snead & company, louisville, ky. they are...
terra-cotta, the most enduring of all building materials, has been used to a greater or less extent from a high antiquity in continental europe, and in england terra-cotta trimmings were used in building as early as the fifteenth century. in the united states this material...
john vinci kodachromes and contact sheet of burnham and root's union stockyard water/watch tower and surrounding area as it appeared in early to mid-1960s. the water tower observatory and stockyard gate were the first two of many structures built at the yards by burnham and root...
the majority of the images posted here were taken towards the end of april when demolition was well underway. the last installment of images (taken mid-may) will be posted next week. ...
i've slowly begun the arduous task of organizing all of the data i've amassed from years of identifying and deconstructing or extracting components and systems from chicago worker cottages erected prior to the great chicago fire of 1871. unfortunately, the acquisition of materials, recording of...
my most recent visit to louis h. sullivan's farmers and merchants union bank focused on documenting the interior, including the richly colored stained glass windows, executed by louis j. millet, the polychromed drinking fountain, designed by sullivan and executed by the american terra cotta company,...
BENJAMIN LINDAUER RESIDENCE: richard nickel photograph of unglazed terra cotta chimney ornament on benjamin lindauer residence designed by adler and sullivan in 1885. the sullivan-designed ornament was executed by northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, ills. nickel documented and salvaged the house during its demolition in 1959. image...
in my studio one night recently, i was photographing the latest collection of bottles, chinaware and other debris unearthed from sites along grand avenue, just west of downtown chicago. i was utterly burned out, troubling over moving forward, so i quickly switched gears to set the...
a new west town showroom housing historically important american architectural artifacts and ephermera culled from the collections of urban remains and the bldg. 51 musuem will open in spring of 2022. updates along with detailed mission statement will be posted in coming weeks. address: 1820 w...