BLDG51. News and Events |

14 Jun exposed “wounds” along the terra cotta facade of louis sullivan’s gage building remain undressed and prone to the elements

Posted at 14:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions by Eric

the giant cavity where the gage building's north cartouche was removed from is now fully exposed. the replacement will not be installed anytime soon. i'm concerned that (at the very least) prolonged exposure to the elements could weaken mortar joints. i'm by no means a...

14 Jun early 20th century graystone two-flat salvage, felsenthal store & flats terra cotta, and rare smithfield bridge rosette

Posted at 14:41h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

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. the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to...

09 Jun artifacts salvaged long ago from an early burnham & root residence (since demolished)

Posted at 04:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the chicago-based architectural firm of burnham and root was established in 1872 when the two men worked as apprentice draftsmen in the offices of drake, carter, and wight, building several private residences for the wealthy elite of chicago's meat industry. both of them married into...

07 Jun original cream-colored wrigley building ornamental terra cotta fragment joins bldg. 51 museum collection

Posted at 21:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

a single cream-colored terra cotta round and tapered fragment salvaged from the north tower of the historically important wrigley company headquarters (1921-1924) was recently donated to the bldg. 51 museum and archive earlier this week. executed by the northwestern terra cotta company, the diminutive neoclassical...

07 Jun forgotten objects rediscovered: what the patio theater’s tradesmen left behind

Posted at 04:06h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

i approached my exploration of the patio much as i had the congress, spending most of my time in the theater’s attic, looking for any and all objects left behind by the tradesman who worked there in the winter of 1926 (this timeframe is based...

30 May uncovering the past at chicago’s roaring twenties atmospheric patio theater

Posted at 19:04h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

in a happy chain of events, my documentation of the congress theater led to unabridged access of another historic chicago theater, once owned by the same developer. the patio theater opened in january of 1927 in the portage park neighborhood, and it remains today a...

29 May rare early 1870’s gothic victorian chicago cottage on sedgwick faces wrecking ball early this week

Posted at 19:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

a rare example of a largely intact and well-maintained gothic style victorian wood-framed cottage built shortly after the chicago fire of 1871 will be reduced to rubble this week. the two story wood-framed cottage likely was built on the site of a structure that succumbed...

27 May revisiting long-lost pieces of chicago’s past for future exhibits

Posted at 02:23h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

i've finally made time to meticulously catalog long forgotten remnants (largely in the form of ephemera) i've collected over the years from 19th and early 20th century structures undergoing extensive renovation or demolition. discovering and recording historically important material formerly sealed off and forgotten provides...

25 May bldg. 51 museum collaborates with decorators supply company in making limited edition of recast auditorium theater proscenium vault ventilation domes

Posted at 09:34h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the bldg. 51 museum is collaborating with the chicago-based decorators supply company to make a very limited edition of faithfully recreated, full scale cast plaster proscenium vault ventilation domes, original to the interior adler & sulivan-designed auditorium theater (1889), designed by louis h. sullivan and...

25 May a 1905 view of grant park from the room through recently discovered photos taken by auditorium hotel guest

Posted at 04:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

aside from the usual collecting of historically important objects, i have been adding substantially to my collection of ephemera, in an effort to find primary sources that may bolster or enhance the narratives i've gathered around historically-significant architectural building elements or artifacts in the bldg. 51...

22 May gage building facade restoration leads to boston valley terra cotta company visit

Posted at 21:19h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

i like to think of myself as a “watchdog” of sorts, especially when it comes to changes and transitions performed on downtown chicago’s historic buildings. while deeply engaged in surveying late 19th and early 20th century facade ornamentation, a comprehensive and ongoing photographic project, i noticed...

18 May historically important chicago building elevator artifacts fabricated by winslow brothers

Posted at 18:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

historically important building artifacts and winslow catalog images courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum collection and archive. chicago stock exchange building, adler & sullivan, architects. isabella building, william le baron jenney, architect schlesinger and meyer building, louis h. sullivan, architect fisher building, daniel burnham, architect ...

17 May historically important schiller building proscenium vault “star-pod” joins bldg. 51 museum collection

Posted at 21:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the bldg. 51 museum recently secured an original and largely intact louis sullivan-designed cast plaster proscenium vault "star-pod" panel salvaged from adler & sullivan's garrick theater auditorium during its demolition in early 1961. originally named the schiller theater, the building was designed by louis sullivan and...

17 May time stood still at the chicago athletic association before transformation into aboutique hotel

Posted at 20:38h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

i distinctly recall the afternoon in 2011 i spent wandering through henry i. cobb's 1893 chicago athletic association building and neighboring annex (schmidt, garden & martin) with a large group of investors, developers, architects, and designers hell bent on converting the buildings into a boutique...

17 May remnants from sullivan & adler-designed garrick theater join bldg. 51 museum collection

Posted at 04:20h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

in addition to the week's acquisition of plaster frieze work from frank lloyd wright's dana-thomas house, the bldg. 51 museum has obtained numerous historically important fragments of plasterwork from adler & sullivan's garrick theater auditorium. originally named the schiller theater, the building was designed...

15 May a very special artifact salvaged by richard nickel offers inspiration and motivation to carry on

Posted at 19:22h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

on an exceptionally gloomy day late last week i was feeling the dismal ambiance of both my mind and the weather, when seemingly out of the blue i was gifted a louis h. sullivan-designed staircase newel post from the chicago stock exchange building. the artifact...

14 May a post-fire chicago wood-framed building with western false front facade undergoing demolition

Posted at 22:00h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

even as greater attention has been directed toward endangered 19th century wood-framed chicago cottages, there has been a dearth of conversation around the looming threat toward wood-framed commercial structures. a steady stream of demolition permits continues to painfully destroy the integrity of enough neighborhoods across...

11 May largely intact post-fire chicago wood-framed workers cottage ripped apart in a matter of hours

Posted at 05:27h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

i spent the greater part of my afternoon - away from shop and studio - to photodocument a largely intact post-fire )1872-1874) wood-framed workers cottage (located in old town) as it was quickly reduced to rubble in a matter of hours. the very first image,...

11 May detailed photographic analysis of congress theater’s interior and exterior surfaces, part one

Posted at 04:13h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

up close and personal: a photographic study of congress theater's diverse, richly detailed, and nicely weathered surfaces, part one. ...

10 May senseless mutilation of michael reese hospital’s cornerstone represented by single fragment

Posted at 13:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

having recently unearthed a time capsule from the cornerstone of the holy bethel church at adams and damen, my attention wandered to other cornerstones in the bldg. 51 collection, and in particular, the fragment of the cornerstone pictured on the cover of the building 51...