for months now i have been documenting ongoing facade work (i.e., terra cotta repair and/or replacement) on the jewelers' building. the 40-story building was built from 1925 to 1927. the structure was co-designed by architects joachim g. giaver and frederick p. dinkelber (the latter designed...
while i have touched on the importance of photo-documenting salvages, lately my focus has expanded to buildings undergoing historic renovations in chicago’s downtown. a number of facades are worked on each year, with little public attention to the craft and care involved in the restoration...
urban remains received a call last week over the removal of long-forgotten artifacts and building elements buried in the recesses of logan square’s armitage baptist church building as they begin clearing out remnants of its original occupant - the logan square masonic lodge. we spent...
"Lost and Found" will be available for purchase by the end of December 2017. The 58 page, soft-bound booklet scours the depths of the Congress Theater, chronicling the building's history through depression-era artifacts and detritus found in hidden corners of the structure. A full-color catalog...
i wanted to take a moment out of this busy fall period to document the beauty of certain buildings here in chicago that i just find exceptionally appealing; the pittsfield is one of those such places. combining both art deco and gothic influences, the exterior...
urban remains recently secured several pallets worth of american vintage industrial furniture (dating to the 1940's-1950's), removed from the zim manufacturing company factory building. founded in 1919, the zim manufacturing company specialized in the manufacture of automobile specialty tools and gauges, housewares, and other hand tools....
i didn't have much time to shoot congress theater's interior after spending the afternoon out on the facade. before leaving for the day, i decided to lug my camera equipment up to the attic where i could capture additional images of the methods and materials...
the following historically important architectural artifacts (identified below) were acquired by the bldg. 51 museum collection with an understanding that restoration was necessary to undue any and all short-sighted alterations that blurred their intended functionality. fine art restorer mike gruzca mike grucza was brought on board...
the oscar heinemann silk factory began its construction in 1918. a four building complex, underground tunnels were built to allow workers to travel from building to building. this specific sprawling addition, at the time, was commissioned for $100,000 - four stories, 125 x 125 ft,...
after spending the spring and summer documenting other, historically important chicago-area theaters, i returned to congress (completed, 1926), where this project was fist launched. i spent the majority of the afternoon shooting the facade, which i was eager to do after securing three additional lenses....
as i continue to fine-tune the "unearthing chicago" book, i decided to share my documentation of several soda and/or mineral water bottles dating to the 1850's. the bottles depicted (courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum photo archive) were dug in and around downtown chicago from...
a new chapter has been opened that will allow me to expand the project of archiving historically important ornament from around chicago and filling in gaps of knowledge about salvage and preservation work. in this case, rather than directly salvaging a building under threat of...
completed in 1922, the krause music store was the final building commission of notable chicago architect louis h. sullivan, who designed 126 buildings, with the great majority built during his partnership with dankmar adler. the krause music store's facade is bedecked with a remarkable glazed terra...
the following gallery offers a glimpse at the most recent american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to our ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 28,500 catalog listings to date). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and...
the removal, recreation, and reinstallation of the historically important gage building (1899) terra cotta cartouche is complete. i dedicated a great deal of time and money to ensure that this once-in-a-lifetime project was visually recorded from beginning to end. the storefront (see below) was complete obliterated...
the farmers & merchants union bank first got its humble start in a dry goods store in columbus, wisconsin, at the immediate out start of the civil war. new yorker and businessman john r. wheeler named it “the union bank” to signify his support for...
a group of pre and post-chicago fire privy-dug chicago bottles used for ales, ciders, and porters. any and all bottles courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum collection. ...
[caption id="attachment_32811" align="alignleft" width="900"] chicago city hall building (1911). holabird & roche, architects.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_32812" align="alignleft" width="900"] carbon & carbide building (1929). burnham brothers, architect.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_32814" align="alignleft" width="900"] montgomery ward tower building (1899). richard e. schmidt, architect. hugh garden, designer.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_32807" align="alignleft" width="900"] jewelers' building (1925-1927)....
update: the original cartouche on the gage building has been painted over with a 3-part paint - perhaps to match the recreated one currently being installed? i don't recall seeing any substantial glaze spalling from the ground, but after speaking to the lead mason working...
the primary reason for ending nearly every post with "to be continued" or "i will revisit at a later time" is lack of time. i feel weighted down by the stress of chasing deadlines everyday. i've reached a state of mind where i calculate my actions...