14 May

Posted at 23:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

on occasion urban remains ventures to acquire architectural artifacts from outside chicago, and this week brought a fragment from a mid-nineteenth century building in milwaukee that is undergoing redevelopment. the artifact is an original section of allover crazed painted cast iron entryway load-baring column with...

10 May

Posted at 22:21h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

a peek inside the construction being done at 112 south state street yielded a surprising glimpse into the building's former life as a luxurious vaudeville theater. to say the current architecture is unassuming is a vast understatement, as its facade effectively conceals over a century of history....

06 May

Posted at 00:08h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Sales and Promotions, Salvages by

after returning from my week-long trip to new orleans, i revisited the site of the crane brothers manufacturing factory complex (renamed northwestern manufacturing and then crane mfg. co. shortly after the 1871 great chicago fire). the building that most interested me was one of two pre-fire structures, built in...

05 May

Posted at 14:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

[caption id="attachment_20372" align="alignleft" width="900"] rose's product was advertised to contain nearly five pounds of fresh, lean beef in the form of a heavy syrup, priced at one dollar per pound. preston b. rose moved to chicago, where he used his chemistry knowledge to concoct a new...

03 May

Posted at 17:12h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

after thoroughly photo-documenting the interior and exterior of the two extant pre-fire crane brothers factory buildings constructed in 1865 and 1870, we were given 1-2 days to extract artifacts that i expressed interest in during a lengthy afternoon of search and discovery. with insurance certificates issued and...

03 May

Posted at 17:11h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

as the early 20th century head (roman goddess diana) of montgomery ward's "spirit of progress" joins an exhibition at the chicago cultural center, a new historically-important (with ties to both st. louis and chicago) and finely executed artifact enters the bldg. 51 collection, thanks to...

03 May

Posted at 16:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

an exciting acquisition joining a number of egyptian revival artifacts in the urban remains/ bldg. 51 collection is a brightly colored exterior polychromatic glazed terra cotta window surround cornice segment removed nearly 40 years ago from the historically-important chicago art deco gem known as the reebie storage warehouse,...

28 Apr

Posted at 10:41h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Sales and Promotions by

the historically important 19th century "spirit of progress" weathervane head, which once crowned the chicago school montgomery ward building (designed in 1898 by schmidt, garden & martin) is once again viewable to the general public at the cultural center, thanks to eric j. nordstrom (bldg. 51 museum)...

27 Apr

Posted at 17:54h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

following a recent demolition alert for the public life insurance co. building, it seems appropriate to segue into another charles sumner frost-designed structure that was torn down long ago. as it happens, frost's work links us to the crane family (see the recent blog on the crane mfg. company's pre-fire factory building). shortly before...

25 Apr

Posted at 23:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

a gargantuan early twentieth century neoclassical style commercial building, originally built for the public life insurance company and last occupied by the plumbing council of chicagoland, was recently handed a death sentence in the form of a demolition permit that virtually came out of nowhere....

20 Apr

Posted at 17:54h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

what survived the catastrophic great fire of 1871, it seems, might not survive the wrecking ball of today. at 154-166 north jefferson, the west loop is ready to gain another high rise residential tower, at the expense of a pre-fire factory that holds a rich history....

20 Apr

Posted at 13:08h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

among the more interesting surprises an old house can hold, insulation is sometimes unearthed during demolition in the form of dated ephemera and materials from a bygone era. the contents found are especially valuable in providing a sturdy timeline during which the house was constructed, especially if found resting on...

20 Apr

Posted at 12:51h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the monumental plaster female statue recently housed in off-site storage, has recently made another move, this time to be in a more secluded, climate-controlled space along with the rest of the bldg. 51 collection. thankfully it is solidly-built, with complete structural integrity to withstand relocation. longtime...

15 Apr

Posted at 13:37h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

every once in a while i feel uninspired, saturated with mixed emotions that lead to exaggerated negativity and seemingly unstoppable rumination on being "stuck." this becomes hugely counter-productive within the world of urban remains, where at times i'm subject to mundane tasks that any business owner is familiar with,...

13 Apr

Posted at 12:38h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

today marks the 44th anniversary of richard nickel's death, when the world lost a formidable preservationist and photographer. nickel died following his passion, in the collapse of the chicago stock exchange building as he salvaged architectural ornament. in memory of his life and work there will be an...

13 Apr

Posted at 00:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

this early nondescript cottage located on chestnut resembled somewhat the non-extant john kent russell house, especially in that its age and alterations made it into a richly complex case study, and one that i managed to thoroughly document before and during its demolition. like the russell house, the...

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