finally made my way over to forest home cemetery to see the grave markers designed by william g. purcell for himself and wife cecily. when purcell passed in 1965, richard nickel set the stones to align perfectly at the time they met in 1935. it was...
images of the 19th century balloon frame "specimen" library for use with "deconstructing chicago" book. a massive repository of cataloged sill plates, tree nails, tie rod anchors, brick, lath, joists, hardware, square nails, studs from demolished cottages is safely housed in the bldg. 51 museum...
the following images carefully document (in great detail) surviving remnants from chicago's 1893 columbian exposition, held in jackson park on the south side of chicago (hyde park). i've included two original charles atwood-designed (d.h. burnham & company) exterior arc lamp posts (used on the fairgrounds,...
the bldg. 51 museum's extensive collection of late 19th and early 20th century "sullivanesque" style commercial building terra cotta is presented below in an exhaustive, ever-growing photographic survey conducted by eric j. nordstrom. the terra cotta ornament was designed by disciples of louis h. sullivan's,...
a case of recycling architectural ornament in the late 19th century. if you look closely at the ornament on adler and sullivan's 1893 chicago world's fair transportation building at least four sections of ornament reappeared in both plaster and bedford limestone (i.e., the exterior lunette) in...
the winslow brothers were chicago’s leading architectural manufacturers, producing wrought and cast iron, and complex decorative metalwork for buildings across the region. while their work in this capacity is well-known, the company's survival and transformation into the 20th century is less often examined. the winslow...
the following images highlight important architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum archive. ...
latest photographic images from bldg. 51 archive's chicago architectural ornament survey (caos) are provided below. the ever-expanding photo-documentation project focuses on systematically recording any and all architectural ornament located on historically important 19th and early 20th century extant buildings located in downtown chicago and surrounding...
john vinci kodachrome slides of the post-fire mccarthy building designed by architect john m. van osdel in 1872. the 5-story building was demolished in 1989 to make way for block 37. ornament from the facade, including ohio sandstone keystones and column capitals, were salvaged during...
i set aside time this weekend to resume scanning piles of postcards amassed over the past year. i’ve included a few real photo post cards (rppc) of early 20th century residential streetscapes, and a seldom seen photographic view of schmidt, garden, and martin's michael reese hospital...
the guaranty building was completed in 1896 by the architectural firm of adler and sullivan. the following images were taken in the spring of 2017 while visiting boston terra cotta valley in buffalo. i spent several days carefully documenting the building's interior and exterior, but...
the following image gallery represents a fraction of 19th and early 20th century american builders' hardware recently added to urban remains virtual showroom. several examples salvaged from historically important buildings across the country will be added in the coming months. ...
the following images were taken by richard nickel, who was assigned to methodically document holabird and roche's republic building inside and out shortly before its demolition by harvey wrecking in 1961. in addition to providing a visual record of the early 20th century "chicago school"...
richard nickel contact sheet images of john m. van osdel's lind block (1852) during its demolition in 1963. the lind block was perhaps best known as one of the few surviving buildings of the chicago fire. the building was demolished by harvey wrecking. ...
all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2021. ...
digitizing the bldg. 51 archive's chicago fire collection of objects and ephemera has resumed, with the most recent seldom seen period stereoviews depicting the conflagration posted below. the images of the "burnt district" taken shortly after the chicago fire of 1871. several images were photographed by...
a digital photographic inventory of louis sullivan-designed architectural ornament from adler and sullivan's chicago stock exchange building (1894) salvaged during its demolition in 1972. significance, description and provenance will be assigned to the ornament (listed below) when time permits. like other collections held in the bldg....
collection of richard nickel 8 x 10 images of bertrand goldberg's marina city. nickel clearly invested a lot of time and thought into documenting the towers from within and afar. marina city complex was designed by bertrand golberg in 1959 and built between 1961-1968. note: i decided...
BAGLEY HOUSE IN HINSDALE, ILLINOIS, IS THREATENED Photo by Gilman Lane, courtesy of Oak Park Public Library - Special Collections The Frederick Bagley House (1894) is listed for sale with no legal protections to safeguard it from demolition and redevelopment. This is an evolving situation. We will make...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of JULY, 2021, have been...