BLDG51. News and Events |

08 Jun depression-era collection of original mounted photographic images from the commerical firm aerial explorations, inc., join bld. 51 image archive

Posted at 15:37h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

aerial explorations, inc. was a notable american commercial photography company active in the 1930s. based in a studio inside the chrysler building at 405 lexington avenue, new york, ny, the company became known for its detailed black-and-white aerial photographs of manhattan’s changing skyline and major infrastructure...

06 Jun chicago architectural foundation buys h.h. richardson’s south side chicago glessner house in 1965

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

richard nickel contact print images (taken in 1965-66) of h.h. richardson's john j. glessner house (1887), located at 1800 south prairie avenue, chicago, il. at the time, the house was occupied by the lithographic technical foundation. thankfully they kept the floorplan largely intact during their occupancy. after...

05 Jun eric j. nordstrom and urban remains interview on chicago’s wbbm radio

Posted at 15:24h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press, Uncategorized by Eric

about wbbm: wbbm (780 khz), branded newsradio 105.9 wbbm, is a chicago-licensed commercial all-news am station owned by audacy. its studios are at two prudential plaza in the loop, and its transmitter in nearby bloomingdale is shared with sister station wscr. a class a clear-channel station, wbbm...

04 Jun recent photographic survey of holabird and root’s 26-story daily news building (1929)

Posted at 18:29h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by Eric

exterior photographic images of holabird and roche/root's chicago daily news building (1929), located at 400 west madison street, chicago, il. i've included additional period images of the building taken before and around the time it was completed. the riverside plaza is an art deco style building at 2 north riverside plaza...

01 Jun back from the dead: fred w. morgan residence (1890s) undergoing restoration

Posted at 18:17h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by Eric

exciting update as of 6-1-2024: recent images of the fred w. morgan residence (1895?) undergoing restoration. i hope the ornamental wrought-iron fence and gate are eventually restored as well, but i’m pleased that the morgan house and the surrounding buildings have been given a new lease...

30 May photographic survey of paul gerhardt jr.’s robert j. quinn fire academy, built on the site where the great chicago fire of 1871 started

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

the robert j. quinn fire academy is the active training facility for the chicago fire department, located at 558 w. dekoven street. it famously sits on the exact spot where the great chicago fire of 1871 began. site history: the origin: the fire academy was built in...

28 May terra cotta restoration well underway on downtown chicago’s pittsfield building (1927-28) and montgomery ward tower (1899)

Posted at 14:43h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by Eric

exterior terra cotta restoration well underway on graham, anderson, probst & white's 37-story pittsfield building (1927-28), located at 55 east washington street and schmidt, garden, and martin's montgomery ward tower building (1899), located at 6 north michigan avenue, chicago, il. images courtesy of eric john nordstrom...

26 May the “keyhole” beveled window house on washington blvd. as documented by charles cushman and eric j. nordstrom

Posted at 16:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by Eric

the house with a "keyhole" window on washington blvd. exterior detail images of ornamental brownstone ornament on 19th century three-story residence located at 2210 west washington blvd., chicago, il. the house’s most distinctive feature is the “keyhole” window opening, which originally consisted of a large circular clear-glass...

24 May rare ante-fire tract book rescued from great chicago fire of 1871 joins bld. 51 musuem and archive

Posted at 20:00h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

rees, chase & co. was a prominent chicago land-title abstract firm whose early records became vital to preserving property ownership in cook county after the great chicago fire of 1871. historical background. in 1855, james h. rees joined horace and samuel chase to form rees, chase...

24 May sizable collection of depression-era linen-back photographic images of downtown new york city skyscrapers joins bld. 51 museum and archive

Posted at 16:13h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

several original 1920s and 1930s photographic images documenting manhattan's ever-evolving skyscraper skyline. the majority are linen-backed silver gelatin prints made and distributed by multiple commerical studios including brown brothers and kaufmann and fabry. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bld. 51 archive and museum....

22 May great chicago fire, architectural ornament, and “the blob” at chicago history museum

Posted at 17:31h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by Eric

recent photographs of exhibits at the chicago history museum, including the 7000 pound "blob of metal" located on the richard m. and shirley h. jaffee history trail at the chicago history museum. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bld. 51 archive. all rights...

21 May the lind block: john van osdel’s pre-fire chicago landmark that survived the great fire of 1871 before being demolished decades later

Posted at 16:18h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

designed by john m. van osdel, chicago’s first licensed architect, and completed in 1852, it is best remembered as one of the few downtown buildings in the path of the great chicago fire of 1871 to survive intact. despite its significance, the building was demolished in...

19 May to hell and back: photodocumentation of the 1889 haymarket riot police monument

Posted at 17:14h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by Eric

recent photographic survey of the haymarket police monument, a nine-foot bronze statue of a 19th-century chicago police officer, now standing outside the chicago police department headquarters at 3510 s. michigan avenue. unveiled in haymarket square on may 30, 1889, it was the first monument in the...

19 May rare and original chicago evening post extra newspaper covering the great conflagration of 1871 joins bld. 51 museum and archive

Posted at 16:24h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

the chicago evening post "chicago in flames" extra edition published on tuesday, october 10, 1871, is one of the most famous and historically significant artifacts from the great chicago fire. it provided the public with urgent, raw updates just as the multi-day disaster was finally...

18 May bld. 51 musuem and archive acquires important signed and dated lithographic print of w.d. kefoot’s realty company building – the first building built in the burnt district

Posted at 15:53h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

oversized lithographic print of the w.d. kerfoot realty company building at 89 west washington street, chicago, illinois, showing the structure between october 1871 and june 1872; signed and dated by emil rudolph to his friend john “bet-a-million” gates. the 12 by 16 foot "shanty of boards"...

16 May bldg. 51 archive and museum acquire rare collection of images of the 1880s boarding house built on site where the great chicago fire of 1871 began.

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

several newly acquired photographic images of the 1880s three-story lemont limestone boarding house built on the site of catherine o’leary’s cottage (the o’learys sold the lot at 558 w. dekoven street in 1879), where the great chicago fire of 1871 began. the embedded marble plaque marking...

15 May tower trifecta: exterior survery of downtown chicago’s wrigley, tribune, and medinah athletic club buildings

Posted at 13:53h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by Eric

2025 exterior photographic images of walter ahlschlager's medinah athletic club (1929), howells and hood's 36-story tribune tower building (1925), and graham, anderson, probst & white's wrigley building (1924). courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bld. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2026. ...

14 May slowly but surely, frank lloyd wright’s waller apartments (1895) are being rehabilitated

Posted at 14:55h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by Eric

slowly but surely renovation improvements are happening to frank lloyd wright's waller apartments (1895). 2022 ans 2026 exterior photographic survey of frank lloyd wright's edward c. waller apartment buildings (1895), located at 2840-2858 west walnut strteet, chicago, il. prominent chicago real estate developer edward c. waller commissioned...

13 May 19th century grand avenue workers cottage across from former urban remains warehouse undergoing demolition

Posted at 18:56h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized by Eric

a 19th century, two story workers cottage—built with a heavy timber wood frame, a brick exterior, and three decorative front stone window keystones—is scheduled for demolition today (may 13, 2026). the home stands at 1855 west grand avenue in chicago, illinois. another nearby wood framed cottage...

12 May exterior detail photographic survey of burnham brothers’s 37-story art deco style carbon and carbide building (1929)

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

exterior detail photographic images of burnham brothers's 37-story art deco style carbon and carbide building (1929), located at 230 north michigan avenue, chicago, il. the green and gold glazed terra cotta ornament was fabricated by the northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, il. the carbide & carbon building...