BLDG51. News and Events |

30 Jun additional historically important winkle terra cotta works figural salesman sample and building terra cotta joins bldg. 51 musuem archive

Posted at 14:12h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

a seldom found, oversized full-figured red slip glaze terra cotta eagle salesman sample and late 19th century stock pattern commerical or residential terra cotta block (see image of winkle factory with workers surrounding finished building ornament) were added to the bldg. 51 musuem archive during...

29 Jun stop: protesting the demolition of chicago’s old stock exchange in 1972.

Posted at 15:10h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

series of photographs taken during a day of protest against the demolition of adler and sullivan's chicago stock exchange (1894) in 1972. campaign buttons, flyers, brochures, and posters (see below) were handed out by preservationists to draw attention to the building's impending destruction. the images...

28 Jun photographic survey of louis h. sullivan-designed ornament on adler and sullivan’s s.a. maxwell (jewelers) building

Posted at 17:24h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

virtual gallery of images representing ongoing project photodocumenting architectural ornament designed by louis h. sullivan on the facade of adler and sullivan's s.a. maxwell five-story loft building erected in 1881. note: additional images of the ground floor and what was discovered behind multiple damaging alterations will...

28 Jun chronicling the destruction of 19th century commercial and residential chicago buildings

Posted at 05:12h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

i'll be posting any and all my images of every 19th or early 20th century chicago house and/or commercial structure i've documented/salvaged over the past five years. this will be a work in progress, so except the chronology to be scattered. perhaps in time, i...

23 Jun collection of seldom found ephemera and photographs capturing early chicago preservation movement

Posted at 19:25h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the following images offer a cursory glance at an ever-growing collection of ephemera, objects, and photographs (largely owned and housed in the bldg. 51 archive) pertaining to chicago architectural preservation, with the earliest material dating back to the inception of chicago preservation movement in the...

22 Jun demolition of william j. cassidy tire building (1902) nearly complete

Posted at 15:32h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

demolition of the tyler and hippach mirror company factory building (1902) is nearing completion. located at 344. north canal street, the building was designed by notable chicago church architect henry j. schlacks. images courtesy of...

22 Jun walter burley griffin’s “solid rock house” reduced to solid rubble in a matter of days.

Posted at 14:20h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

latest, and likely the last, set of images chronicling the destruction of walter burley griffin's william f. temple house (1911), including building samples (concealed in 1918 when house was heavily altered by barry byrne) collected and documented from the demolition site. ...

20 Jun eric j. nordstrom’s unearthing chicago project revisited through multitude of documented discoveries

Posted at 07:51h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

i will be adding several blog posts over the course of the year pertaining to images and artifacts from the "unearthing chicago" project that reached its end in late 2016 with the discovery of one of the earliest known downtown chicago privy pits or vaults...

19 Jun frank lloyd wright’s b. harley bradly house: a photographic study of wright’s first prairie school residence

Posted at 03:49h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

photographic study of frank lloyd wright' b. harley bradly house (1900-1901). Date: 1900 Address: 701 S. Harrison Avenue, Kankakee, Illinois 60901 City: Kankakee, Illinois Category: Residential Links: http://www.wrightinkankakee.org/Visit.html Accessibility: Public Restoration status: From 2005 to 2010, the house was restored to its 1901 appearance. It is now operated by Wright in Kankakee as a public museum Wright’s...

15 Jun photographic survey of barry byrne and alfonso iannelli’s st. francis xavier school (1916-1923)

Posted at 03:05h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

st. francis xavier school (1916-23) designed by barry byrne with sculpture by alfonso iannelli. the winged corner angels and ornamental cornice (images at very bottom of post) were later removed and bricked over. ...

14 Jun william f. tempel house salvage covered by dennis rodkin of chicago’s crain magazine

Posted at 13:28h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

June 14, 2022 Take a look at artifacts saved from a demolished Prairie Style bungalow The pedigreed Winnetka home, with parts designed by three different architects and artists of note, is being replaced by a new $3.8 million home. DENNIS RODKIN Eric J. Nordstrom Before demolishing a pedigreed Winnetka bungalow,...

14 Jun salvaging 19th century chicago cottages and the work of gordon matta-clark

Posted at 10:14h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

in the wake of a number of demolitions that razed beautifully intact 19th century buildings, it feels redundant to pine over the loss of irreplaceable architecture and the blatant disregard for a historic landscape. instead, having returned from a vacation where i was able to...

13 Jun exterior and interior architectural artifacts salvaged from william f. tempel house (1911-1919) join bldg. 51 musuem collection

Posted at 16:02h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

leaded glass windows, interior fixtures, and other furnishings salvaged from the william f. tempel house have joined the bldg. 51 musuem. images include fixtures in situ when the walter burley griffin-designed house was built in 1911, along with barry byrne and alfonso iannelli addition completed...

13 Jun frank lloyd wright’s 1892 harlan house documented shortly before its demolition after devastating fire in 1963

Posted at 08:59h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

richard nickel images of frank lloyd wright's dr. alison w. harlan house (1892) shortly after tragic fire in 1963 that led to its demolition. thankfully both interior and exterior fret-sawn wood panels were saved, including a restored soffit panel from underside of main balony supported...

08 Jun urban remains and bldg. 51 new showroom: photos a work in progress

Posted at 13:21h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

a one month visual timeline capturing the slow, but steady, urban remains showroom and bldg. 51 musuem as it continues to evolve through a seemingly unending stream of artifacts arriving from storage - and a recent historically impotant house salvage. early may: ...

08 Jun a detailed look at 14-story pabst building’s interior ornamental ironwork executed by winslow brothers

Posted at 02:03h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

a collection of seldom seen detailed lithographs or half-tones showcasing the original custom-designed interior ornamental ironwork executed by the winslow brothers for solon s. beman's non-extant 14-story pabst neo-gothic style commercial building (1891) located in milwaukee, wisc. the...

07 Jun a look back at documenting architectural ornament in boston’s back bay

Posted at 15:20h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

pushing lots of pixels lately to avoid burnout from setting up shop this month. revisiting thousands of dormant and/or forgotten images taken over the past decade has inspired me to pick up the camera and prepare for travel once again, where i can continue photodocumenting...

07 Jun 19th century cast iron sidewalk and stoop vault lights have all but vanished in chicago

Posted at 09:03h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions by Eric

sadly, there aren't many original (that i know of) sidewalk "vault lights" (i.e., cast iron hub and glass rondel configuration) left to document in chicago. the donohue building (1883, julius speyer architect) offers one of the best examples - largely intact, multi-panel commercial entrance stoops...

06 Jun documenting the destruction of dankmar adler’s house in 1961

Posted at 05:23h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

the death of dankmar adler's house as documented by richard nickel in 1961. the architectural firm of adler and sullivan designed three adjoining rowhouses, located at 3541-45 s. ellis avenue, between 1885-1886. dankmar adler lived in the middle house between adler’s close friend and family lawyer...

01 Jun walter burley griffin’s william f. tempel house (1911): a photographic survey of its exterior taken shortly before demolition

Posted at 04:00h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

the following images were taken from an exhaustive photographic survey of walter burley griffin's william f. tempel house conducted weeks before it was salvaged by urban remains. the house is currently undergoing demolition to make way for new development. the images provide a visual record...