22 Jan

Posted at 16:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Travel, Uncategorized by

the bldg. 51 museum collection recently acquired additional historically important redl slip terra cotta ornament from milwaukee’s former main passenger rail station, the chicago & north western lake front depot. designed by charles sumner frost in a romanesque style, the brick and terra cotta-clad depot...

21 Jan

Posted at 18:56h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Travel, Uncategorized by

for almost three decades, i've driven past this small polychromatic art deco terra cotta storefront, always expecting it to disappear before my next visit. thankfully, it still stands and remains largely intact. the two-story hugo miller-designed wile building (1923, rebuilt 1928) is located at 1211-13 west...

20 Jan

Posted at 17:06h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

the iconic two-story stained glass window in the former pabst brewhouse, currently the brewhouse inn & suites, was commissioned by captain pabst in the 1890s. it was designed by milwaukee artist frederick wilhelm heine and fabricated by the charles baumbach company.   the leaded glass window...

20 Jan

Posted at 03:25h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

detail photographic images taken after scaffolding was removed (a few months ago) from the flemish renaissance revival-style frederick pabst mansion (george ferry, architect, 1892) located at 2000 west wisconsin avenue, milwaukee, wisc. both the original buff-colored slip glaze ornamental terra cotta (executed by the northwestern terra...

15 Jan

Posted at 18:05h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

several boxes of original louis h. sullivan-designed chicago stock exchange building custom door hardware were obtained for the bld. 51 museum and archive - all of it salvaged by three oaks wrecking company. the plethora of historically important hardware had been in storage since the...

14 Jan

Posted at 18:43h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

the kenna apartments, officially named the john f. kenna apartments, are a historic landmark located at 2214 e. 69th street in chicago’s south shore neighborhood. known for their distinctive prairie school architecture, the building was designed by barry byrne—a protégé of frank lloyd wright—and features...

12 Jan

Posted at 18:19h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press, Travel, Uncategorized by

threatened with demolition. exterior photographic survey of george kinglsey's four-story polychromed terra cotta-clad jackson storage and van company warehouse (1923-24), located at 112 east burlington street, la grange, il. notable prairie school architect francis barry byrne was likely involved in the facade's design program. according to tim samuelson,...

10 Jan

Posted at 19:52h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

the bld. 51 museum and archive recently obtained original, historically significant terra cotta panels and fragments from burnham and root's 1887 rookery building facade in downtown chicago, recovered during repairs performed over the last few decades. like many 19th- and early 20th-century terra cotta-clad commercial...

09 Jan

Posted at 16:07h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

exterior photographic survery (ornament detail) of george kingsley's jackson storage and van company warehouse (1921), located at 5951 west madison street, chicago, il. the sullivanesque style white glazed terra cotta was fabricated by the midland terra cotta company, chicago, il.. the jackson storage and van company warehouse...

07 Jan

Posted at 17:28h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

a set of newly discovered oversized mounted james w. taylor construction photographic prints of william le baron jenney's leiter ii building (1891) located at 401 south state street, chicago, il., have joined the bldg. 51 museum archive. the digitized sepia-toned photographic prints by notable 19th...

06 Jan

Posted at 16:38h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Press, Travel, Uncategorized by

recent images (1-5-2025) of frank lloyd wright's joseph jacob walser junior house (1903), located at 42 north central avenue, chicago, il. the j. j. walser jr. house is a prairie style home at 42 north central avenue in the austin neighborhood of chicago, illinois. designed by...

05 Jan

Posted at 17:13h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

chicagoan anna jirak krause compiled a detailed and vivid account of the 1933-1934 century of progress international exposition—also known as the chicago world's fair—through a souvenir album containing pages of handwritten notes and attached ephemera. this album represents one of the most comprehensive first-hand records documenting...

04 Jan

Posted at 16:03h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press, Travel, Uncategorized by

2026 photographic survey of george fred keck's 1933-34 century of progress "house of tomorrow," located at 214 lake front drive, beverly shores, indiana. designated the "century of progress," the fair attracted 39 million attendees, showcasing how advancements in science and technology could enhance everyday life. although...

02 Jan

Posted at 15:59h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by

recent restoration images - taken in mid-december of 2025 - of joseph lyman silsbee's bandstand (1897) located at west music court in garfield park. the four-sided structure is faced with white marble supplied by the georgia marble company.the uniquely designed stamped or pressed copper dome with...

02 Jan

Posted at 06:26h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Press by

the bldg. 51 archive (led by its owner, eric j. nordstrom) has devoted nearly several years to painstakingly build a thoroughly researched and systemattically organized database pertaining to the universe of downtown chicago's commerical buildings dating from its pioneer days to the present. the database contains...

01 Jan

Posted at 16:29h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Press, Sales and Promotions, Salvages, Travel, Uncategorized by

note: the following links represent some highlights accomplished in 2024. the posts are arranged chronologically, from beginning of 2025 to end of year. as 2025 draws to a close, i culled the the work of eric j. nordstrom, urban remains, and the bldg. 51 archive to...

01 Jan

Posted at 15:00h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following images represent only a fraction of the bldg. 51 museum archive's massive collection of photographs and related ephemera (e.g., blueprints, drawings, lithographs, building contracts, stationary, etc.) on the construction of city of chicago commercial buildings built between 1850-1990. this is the largest private...

30 Dec

Posted at 19:01h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Press, Uncategorized by

original signed richard haas painting (1985) of theodore link's gargantuan romanesque style union station headhouse (1894), located at 1820 market street, st. louis, mo. haas's artwork was used for the cover art of barbaralee diamonstein's heavily illustrated 1986 book entitled "remaking america: new uses, old places." backside...

30 Dec

Posted at 17:16h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

original linen-backed period photographic images of graven and mayger’s mayan revival style 3500-seat fisher theater in albert kahn’s fisher building (1928), located at 3011 west grand blvd., detroit, mi. the theater was completely gutted in 1961 - replacing the auditorium's mayan revival theme with mid-century...

25 Dec

Posted at 02:11h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Uncategorized by

a second time capsule buried within the lightly incised lemont limestone cornerstone of the church erected in 1890 and destroyed by fire in 1896, was removed intact earlier this week. once again, the soldered-joint zinc box or time capsule was damaged upon careful removal from...

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