16 Jul

Posted at 18:23h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

the bldg. 51 museum archive recently acquired a sizable collection of rare, seldom-seen stereoview cards documenting pre- and post-fire chicago, most of them focused on the “burnt district” downtown as the city vigorously rebuilt after the great chicago fire of 1871. stereoviews, or stereographs, are pairs...

14 Jul

Posted at 02:39h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages, Uncategorized by

the charles c. p. holden building (historically known as the holden block) is a rare, surviving italianate-stylecommercial loft building built in 1872. located at 1027-1029 w. madison street in chicago's west loop / near west side, it was constructed immediately after the great chicago fire...

10 Jul

Posted at 14:15h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press, Uncategorized by

John Vinci’s Virtual Reality Film:A Quest to Save KAM/Pilgrim Baptist Church Pilgrim Baptist Church, formerly Kehilath Anshe Ma’ariv Synagogue (KAM), deserves reconstruction and preservation. For more than a century, it has served both Jewish and Black communities. For Chicago’s Jewish community, it was a major center...

08 Jul

Posted at 17:50h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

william a. chappell's 1890s richardsonian romanesque style clark jewell-wells company wholesale warehouse pressed red brick and carved sandstone building occupies one of the downtown grand rapids's most imposing blocks. it originally housed the clark jewell-wells company, wholesale grocers. above the red sandstone first story, paired...

07 Jul

Posted at 14:02h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

exterior photographic survey of frank lloyd wright's meyer may house (1908-09), located at 450 madison avenue se, grand rapids, mich. the meyer may house is a frank lloyd wright residence in the heritage hill historic district of grand rapids, michigan. built for the may family in...

06 Jul

Posted at 20:05h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

exterior photographic survey of cecil corwin and frank lloyd wright's dutch colonial revival style henry g. and lily mitchell house (1894), located at 905 main street, racine, wisc. the henry g. and lily mitchell house, built in 1894 at 905 main street in racine, wisconsin, is...

04 Jul

Posted at 14:58h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

the images below offer a glimpse of artifacts, relics, photographs, and ephemera related to the great chicago fire of 1871 and its aftermath. images and artifacts courtesy of eric john nordstrom and the bld. 51 museum and archive. all rights reserved. 2026. ...

01 Jul

Posted at 17:27h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

henry fuermann (1861–1949) was an influential american architectural photographer best known for documenting the work of frank lloyd wright and louis sullivan. working mainly from chicago through his studio, henry fuermann & sons, he produced sharp platinum and gelatin silver prints that remain essential visual...

01 Jul

Posted at 15:13h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press, Uncategorized by

Pieces of long-lost Louis Sullivan building revealed on Chicago’s south lakefront A remnant of carved stone trim that has been used as shore-protecting riprap at Rainbow Beach since 1953. (Eric Nordstrom, Urban Remains) By Dennis Rodkin June 29, 2026 05:50 AM CDT After hiding in plain sight on the south lakefront...

29 Jun

Posted at 16:08h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by

exterior detail image of holabird and roche's brooks building (1909-1910), located at 223 west jackson blvd., chicago, il. the richly colored terra cotta ornament was fabricated by the northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, il. the brooks building is a high-rise building in chicago’s commercial core, the loop....

27 Jun

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

the henry b. and caroline clarke house, also known as the clarke-ford house, is a greek revival style home and house museum in chicago, illinois. built around 1836, it is considered the oldest surviving house built in chicago. henry brown clarke, a native of new york state, moved to chicago in 1833 with...

23 Jun

Posted at 16:09h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages, Uncategorized by

photographs of the major equipment company backstage pilot board at lawndale theater (1931), shortly before and during the building’s demolition in 2014. 2007: 2014: designed by architect william p. whitney, the lawndale theater stood at 4015 west roosevelt road on chicago’s west side. the pilot board produced interior effects...

22 Jun

Posted at 16:39h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

exterior photographic survey of the 1850s italianate style state bank of milwaukee (bank of milwaukee block), located at 210 east michigan street, milwaukee, wisc. the pre-civil war downtown milwaukee commercial building, clad in lemont limestone, was designed in two phases: the west half by george w....

21 Jun

Posted at 15:25h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by

recent exterior photographic survey of hermann v. von holst's commonwealth electrical substation (1924), located at 125 north des plaines street, chicago, il. the building was designed in 1924 by the prominent chicago architect hermann v. von holst. von holst is historically recognized for taking over frank...

20 Jun

Posted at 15:58h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel, Uncategorized by

exterior photographic survey of george h. johnson's civil war-era iron block building (1860), located at 205 east wisconsin avenue, milwaukee, wisc, the five-story commerical building features an intricate renaissance revival-style facade comprised of pre-fabricated cast iron fabricated by daniel d. badger architectural iron works located in...

17 Jun

Posted at 14:21h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages, Uncategorized by

exterior photos taken last evening documenting the demolition of a late-19th-century residence located at 2037 west rice street, chicago, illinois. photographic images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bld. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2026. ...

12 Jun

Posted at 21:02h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by

the at&t monroe exchange building, at 1340 west monroe street in chicago’s near west side, is a notable example of art deco utility architecture designed by holabird & root. originally operated by illinois bell, later part of at&t corp., the facility is one of chicago’s largely...

10 Jun

Posted at 16:50h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by

original henry fuermann interior photographic image of louis sullivan's national famer's bank (1908), located at 101 n. cedar avenue, owatonna, mn. the image was taken shortly after the bank was completed in 1908, with original elmslie-designed teller cages, electroliers, and signage intact. undated photographic image of...

09 Jun

Posted at 15:42h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by

among the most iconic prints issued during the fire are three 1871 hand-tinted currier & ives lithographs of chicago before and during the great chicago fire. currier & ives was a prolific new york city printmaking firm active from 1834 to 1907. known as “the grand...

08 Jun

Posted at 18:12h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Press, Sales and Promotions, Salvages, Uncategorized by

recent artifacts dug from a multitude of privy vaults located on the near west side of chicago. the earliest discarded remnants from long-forgotten lives, include, but not limited to, civil war-era john a. lomax cobalt blue glass soda glass bottles. a small selection of clear...

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