i've finally whittled down my collection of completely intact chicago-based mid-19th century soda bottles with embossed lettering and iron-pontiled bases. the majority of the bottles were discovered long-forgotten privy pits in and around downtown chicago. the earliest sodas in the collection were found at wolf point,...
latest photographic images from the chicago architectural ornament survey (as of january, 2021) is provided below. the digital images focus on architectural ornament located on historically important extant buildings located in and around the wicker park neighborhood of chicago. the photographic survey, spear-headed by eric j....
sullivanesque in clinton, iowa. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. further reading: VAN ALLEN BUILDING: A PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF LOUIS SULLIVAN'S POLYCHROMED TERRA COTTA ORNAMENT...
from three years ago: the south side masonic temple (1921) is presently under demolition. it has been less than six months since I documented the demolition of the logan square masonic temple, also by clarence hatzfeld, architect, and more can be read about his prolific career...
over the course of 2020, the bldg. 51 museum managed to secure several historically important architectural fragments and objects, in addition to the evolving archive, consisting of period photographs, books, documents, drawings, blueprints, models, and other related materials, that will prove invaluable to bolster the...
at the southeast corner of wells and division in chicago’s near north neighborhood, excavation and the choreography of new development have been happening for some time. just last march, ground was broken on the mega-project at atrium village, which will transform a mid-rise residential complex...
a little over a year ago a single house demolition dramatically altered the course of my life's work, in ways I could never have imagined. in ways i still struggle to make sense of. this house held an odd fixation for me and I would...
photographic study of charles b. atwood-designed tan and red speckle glazed terra cotta ornament for d.h. burnham's 18-story steel frame fisher building (1896, addition, 1907). ...
after sharing objects i discovered in the attic of congress theater (1926) with john vinci the other day, he told me about finding an old coin purse under floorboards of the garrick theater's upper balcony while salvaging plaster ornament in 1960. note:the adler & sullivan-...
it's rather unfortunate that my recollections of exploring the partially operational (or perhaps largely crippled and chaotic) cook county hospital's power plant are so faint and fragmented. to make matter worse, hundreds of digital photographs taken of cook county hospital's interior during the short-lived salvage...
archival prints for sale: eric j. nordstrom has recently launched a website category (a dedicated website and gallery to his photography and collection through the bldg. 51 museum will launch in mid-2021) focusing on the art prints for sale in addition to rights-managed architectural stock photography...
i spent several hours looking at and digitizing images from richard nickel's chicago stock excange contact sheets the other day. like the garrick, nickel methodically documented each and every detail, including the building's hardware. adler and sullivan's chicago stock exchange (1894) was outfitted with sullivan-designed cast...
the other day i was rearranging my reference library and ran across frank lloyd wright's stained glass and lightscreens by architect and photographer thomas a. heinz. shortly after reacquainting myself with this great resource, i began combing through images taken of frank lloyd wright-designed windows housed in the bldg. 51 building...
rare early 20th century comprehensive and profusely illustrated pittsburgh plate glass company's "glass paints, varnishes, and brushes: their history manufacture and use" hardbound book and/or catalog featuring an informative glance at the early beginnings of glassworks, paint development and distribution and the formation and establishment...
the following images represent my ongoing effort to systematically document exterior architectural ornament adorning historically significant buildings across chicago. as of this writing, the bldg. 51 archive houses over 500,000 digital files, including several printed on museum quality paper (for traveling exhibitions), which are methodically...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural, medical, and industrial 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 DECEMBER...
the above sign, housed in the chicago history museum, is a powerful historic artifact from the great fire of 1871: the first sign on the first building erected in the "burnt district" in the aftermath of the disaster. the man responsible for the still-surviving item was a...
the following collection of important and seldom seen original real photo postcards (rppc) represents just a fraction of materials currently being digitized from the ever-growing bldg. 51 museum and archive, housed in chicago and owned and maintained by eric j. nordstrom. early 20th century real...
urban remains recently acquired one of the largest known collections of original 19th century american victorian-era salvaged chicago majolica figural tiles and fireplace surrounds executed in a multitude of rich color schemes and elaborate designs. examples from this remarkable collection are shown below. update as of...
the bldg. 51 museum recently acquired late 19th century original and completely intact brand brewery administration building terra cotta roofline ornament executed by the northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, ills. the remarkable and historically important ornamental square-shaped block was salvaged from the brewery complex during...