27 Apr

Posted at 19:12h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

just this week i acquired two remarkably rare bottles dating to the mid-19th century, whose history is tied to the 1980’s demolition of chicago’s lake shore drive “s-curve.” in the world of excavation they represent small, yet important “portals to the past," the scarce remnants of...

26 Apr

Posted at 18:44h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by

images documenting 19th and early 20th century architectural buildings and ornament during first trip (april, 2021) to milwaukee in over a year. i spent the majority of my time revisiting familiar haunts along my "circuit" that arose from several previous trips aimlessly exploring the city's...

20 Apr

Posted at 19:02h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

  demolition of eckhart and swan milling company (flanders and zimmerman, architects) is well underway. additional images documenting its destruction will appear in future posts.  the architectural firm of flanders and zimmerman (located at 1521 in masonic temple), designed the flour mill, warehouse and stable in 1897...

20 Apr

Posted at 17:18h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

several original, seldom found, and profusely illustrated 19th and early 20th century commercial and residential builders' hardware catalogs were acquired by the bldg. 51 museum archive in early april. it will take several months to digitize and upload the collection of catalogs on the bldg....

20 Apr

Posted at 04:37h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

fearing the potentially violent protest of working class laborers, as well as in reaction to the haymarket affair, the residents of chicago's prairie avenue "millionaire's row" (prominent figures such as marshall field, george pullman, phillip armour, potter palmer and others) placed pressure on politicians to...

18 Apr

Posted at 20:29h in Bldg. 51, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

photographic study of gothic style hand-carved  bedford limestone architectural ornament adorning 19th and early 20th century university of chicago buildings taken from the midway plaisance. additional images will be added when time permits, including buildings within campus grounds.  campus buildings photographed included, but not limited to: international...

14 Apr

Posted at 03:37h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of APRIL,...

13 Apr

Posted at 12:13h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

  the excavating machines showed signs of life as they began opening a formerly vacant parcel of ground located just west of ogden slip (a man-made harbor located near the mouth of the chicago river) in preparation for yet another high-rise (the 42-story "optima"). shortly after they...

13 Apr

Posted at 12:10h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

the following images offers an in-depth visual study of chicago's extant building terra cotta, beginning in the early 1870s with the use of "gray body" terra cotta "trimmings" fabricated by the chicago terra terra company using white clay from indiana, to the richly colored polychromed...

11 Apr

Posted at 03:25h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

an original early 20th century granite paver was added to the urban remains collection this week, as a souvenir of the city’s early infrastructure and as an artifact tied to the wells street station that once operated at the site of the merchandise mart. the wells...

06 Apr

Posted at 20:55h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

for over three years now, i've been documenting the slow and painful declination 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...

06 Apr

Posted at 07:59h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

  in an irony-laden location-- between a parking lot and an adult novelties shop-- at the corner of randolph and elizabeth is an impressive bedford limestone archway that once comprised one of two entrances to the loeb apartment buildings. the largely intact carved stone assemblage is a...

05 Apr

Posted at 03:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

a suburban lawn becomes an architecture graveyard. richard nickel's collection of architectural ornament from demolished adler and sullivan commercial and residential buildings grew rapidly, beginning around 1958-1959. the neighbors were not pleased. richard nickel's copy of purchase order (dated jan, 3,...

05 Apr

Posted at 02:04h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by

the bunte candy factory salvage was a massive undertaking on a multitude of levels. the hulking structure was a 600,00 sq. foot factory, which included an administration building with a soaring water tank tower and its owns power plant building. the factory complex was considered...

05 Apr

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

milwaukee's venetian theater - an italian renaissance atmospheric movie palace designed by the architectural firm of peacock and frank - was reduced to a pile of rubble when i arrived in march of 2007.  two of us spent a cold sunday afternoon pulling out any...

02 Apr

Posted at 19:28h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by

the following images reflect my latest effort to carefully and methodically photodocument both 19th and early 20th century architectural ornament found on mostly well-maintained commercial and residential structures located in the wicker park neighborhood of chicago. the "wicker park architectural ornament archive" continues to grow...

02 Apr

Posted at 03:40h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the bldg. 51 museum recently acquired two original and largely intact louis sullivan-designed cast plaster proscenium vault "star-pod" panels salvaged from adler & sullivan's garrick theater auditorium during its demolition in early 1961. the condition of the panels vary in addition to the finish, with...

30 Mar

Posted at 21:30h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of MARCH,...

30 Mar

Posted at 09:33h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

towards the end of the 19th century the building industry began experimenting with aluminum as a decorative ornament, which had only become available through large scale production at beginning in the early 1890's. the first building to incorporate aluminum as a decorative building material in chicago...

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