burnham and root's house for edward e. ayer, a wealthy chicagoan who made his wealth as a supplier of railroad ties. the exterior rubble walls were comprised of split granite boulders. the ironwork was truly remarkable as seen in the hinged gate, massive strap hinges...
louis h. sullivan-designed commercial and residential architectural ornament housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection: ...
some of the most unique artifacts in the bldg. 51 collection (and for sale in the urban remains warehouse) are rescued from non-extant theaters hearkening to the early 20th century theater boom. aside from remarkable light fixtures, seating, decorative plaster and exterior elements from these...
rediscovered images from the richman brothers downtown chicago department store building salvaged in july of 2007. the building was formerly known as the bee hive dry goods store constructed in 1884 by the architectural firm of adler and sullivan. traces of the original facade were...
photograhic survey of character-defining features found on the exterior of 19th and 20th century buildings located in chicago. architectural details include, but not limited to, datestones, name (includes mongrams) plaques, and emblematic designs identifying the structure's identity, purpose or function. ...
images from ongoing visual survey of the henry j. schlack's designed st. martin of tours abandoned german catholic church (1895) located at 5848 s. princeton avenue in the englewood neighborhood of chicago. the majority of the photographs taken thus far, concentrate on the bedford limestone...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 70,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 16 years). the newly acquired items for the month of JANUARY, 2022, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if...
designed by louis h sullivan and/or his junior draftsman, frank lloyd wright, the house was completed in 1892. the rich ornamentation provides abundant fodder for research on the charnley-persky house, sullivan’s work, and groundbreaking work completed during this time. the ornament throughout the interior and...
for nearly five years now, i've been methodically documenting the slow decay of one of hermann v. von holst's finest chicago comed substations (completed in 1924) located at located at 6141 s. prairie ave. while the building thankfully dodged a demolition permit issued in 2018,...
the destruction last year of the osborne & adams building (erected in 1872) remains a deeply upsetting affair, and one i remember each time i walk past the three gargantuan keystones housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection. the exterior architectural elements were rescued from...
forgotten objects and ephemera found hidden in the crawlspaces, attics, plenums and basements of five depression-era chicago theaters. my "lost and found" project of documenting and discovering what tradesmen and theatergoers left behind or discarded over the decades lasted nearly three years. after collecting and organizing...
the five- story tyler and hippach mirror company factory building (1902) is set for demolition in early 2022. a fence was erected around the building shortly after its last occupant, the wm. j. cassidy tire company, moved out. located at 344. north canal street, the...
the ornamental distribution legacy of richard nickel and the garrick theater salvage richard nickel was born and raised in chicago’s humboldt park and logan square neighborhoods and from an early age was deeply moved by stained glass figures. after serving in the army, nickel enrolled...
throughout 2021, the bldg. 51 museum amassed 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 narratives of the museum's architectural...
the following digitized and edited photographic images presented below were selected from hundreds of pieces of ephemera housed at ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago, john vinci collection, and bldg. 51 museum collection. while i've spent several months combing through the richard nickel committee archive,...
i'm continuously arranging and rearranging any and all artifacts housed within the bldg. 51 museum, as a means to generate inspiration and flush out narratives held within these historically important remnants of the past. at the most basic level there is information attached to every object...
the links (arranged in chronological order offer), highlights of the work of eric j. nordstrom, urban remains, and the bldg. 51 museum archive in 2021. over the past few years my work towards creating and/or collaborating with people and organizations deeply entrenched in architectural preservation...
when looking for a document in daniel brenner’s archive the other day, i stumbled across a folder containing remarkable images (nickel?) from the "louis sullivan and the architecture of free enterprise" exhibit held at the art institute in 1956. if i recall correctly, frank Lloyd wright,...
late 19th and early 20th century historically important chicago building architectural ornament housed in the bldg. 51 musuem collection. ...
latest images from my ever-growing photographic survey of extant late 19th and early 20th century chicago residential and commercial structures located across chicago. notable examples of south side chicago architecure recorded in this survey include frank lloyd wright's heller, blossom, and robie houses, burnham and...