day-to-day garrick theater (adler & sullivan, 1892) salvage activity as recorded by richard nickel. i only selected five days of notes, but feel compelled to do more, with additional images reflecting the work described by nickel. FRIDAY MAY 12, 1960: SATURDAY MAY 13, 1960: SATURDAY,...
i've taken nearly four thousand images of cook county hospital's facade restoration in a matter of 4-5 weeks time. the following 100+ images provide a "timeline" of the building's facade undergoing restoration work, largely in the form of cleaning the facade from grime and/or air ...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the most recent american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to our ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 45,000 catalog listings to date). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be)...
a selection of photographic images from the chicago architectural ornament survey is provided below. the architectural ornament is sourced from extant late 19th and early 20th century buildings within chicago's city limits. the majority of the buildings enjoy landmark status, while others are relatively unknown,...
yet another largely intact late 19th century chicago two-flat with incised joliet limestone window hoods is undergoing demolition. the roof and railings had been ripped off when i arrived. after leaving the defaced house, i drove about a mile away to document a former synagogue (completed...
several boxes filled with late 19th and early 20th century antique american elevator signs and artifacts collected by an elevator serviceman while working on historically important buildings from new york city to philadelphia arrived at urban remains last week. the collection includes seldom found signage and...
8:23-2018: photographing the restoration of cook county hospital's terra cotta and limestone facade is a welcome change from documenting/salvaging chicago buildings undergoing demolition. i hope to record this transformation for months to come - from beginning to end. ...
exterior terra cotta restoration work is drawing to a close on downtown chicago's 40-story jewelers building (later known as the pure oil building). the southwest turret - one of four used to conceal water tanks for fire suppression - is the last remaining turret completely...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the most recent american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to our ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 40,000 catalog listings to date). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be)...
i finally made time to digitize these richard nickel images of adler & sullivan’s jewelers building (1881-2) upper floors. unfortunately, the original sullivan-designed interior solid oak wood staircase railing was ripped out in 1960, but thankfully it was rescued by charles gregerson (and possibly nickel),...
day one: restoration of the beaux-arts style cook county hospital facade, comprised of limestone, brick, and terra cotta, is well underway. the partially demolished hospital (i.e., rear wings and powerhouse in 2010) was completed in 1913-14 with paul gerhardt as architect (served as cook county architect...
exterior restoration work has begun on howells and hood's 1925 tribune tower. several carefully stacked and labeled indiana limestone panels were removed from south facade for mast climber's anchor points. the gothic revival's limestone facade was executed by the indiana limestone company, bedford, ind. ...
another year of new residential development has once again left us to mourn the loss of hundreds of 19th and early 20th century house casualties leaving in its wake a quickly eroding historic fabric that has given chicago's neighborhoods visual character, identity, and a seemingly...
a rare artifact deserving highlight in the urban remains warehouse is a turn of the century cast bronze plaque designed by edward kemeys and executed by the winslow brothers. the single-sided metalwork depicts the cheyenne diplomat and warrior "chief left hand," remembered for his attempts...
the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the most recent american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to our ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 40,000 catalog listings to date). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be)...
i've devoted several hours each and every week at the ryerson and burnham library where the richard nickel archive is housed. there, i get lost in the past, where i carefully study, select, and digitize/edit thousands of images taken by photographer and salvager richard nickel...
as of late nearly every cottage slated for demolition contains virtually no interior or exterior ornament worth salvaging due to countless renovations, remuddlings that have subsequently stripped those distinctive elements that contribute to a historically specific identity. [gallery columns="4" ids="19560,19561,19562,19563"] i've come to accept this as the norm,...
the following images were taken while chicago architect john vinci and i spent the afternoon on a self-guided tour of st. louis-based city museum's architectural artifact installations scattered on multiple floors of an old colossal warehouse. the majority of the ornament comes from chicago, with large...
yet another early 20th century single-story commercial building accentuated with a white glazed midland terra cotta stock pattern facade - some of the pieces are from the "sullivanesque series - will be demolished next week. ...
after weeks of negotiating, i managed to purchase an original john wellborn root-designed kansas city board of trade building (1888) panel for the bldg. 51 architectural ornament collection. when the combination cast and wrought ornamental iron header panel arrived the other day, i spent nearly...