until the time comes when i'm slammed documenting the death of buildings, i've thoroughly enjoyed looking at the city's 19th and early 20th century architecture through my camera's zoom lens. i've taken several thousand images that i hope to make into an exhaustive photographic study...
discovering the remnants of bygone tradesmen in a building seems akin to finding the proverbial “needle in the haystack.” it takes patience and sufficient lighting as much as luck to pinpoint objects left undisturbed for many decades. it is all the more gratifying to uncover...
the isidore h. heller house was designed by architect frank lloyd wright and its design is credited as one of the turning points in wright's shift to geometric, prairie school architecture, which is defined by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves,...
research continues on a marvelous brick mansion that is in the process of being converted into a pre-school. the structure envelops two city lots, and appears to have been built around 1887. to accommodate the needs of the developers and satisfy building codes, the interior...
a wide array of american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or objects have been steadily added to the massive urban remains virtual catalog for a few weeks now. with the completion of a gold coast mansion salvage earlier this week, we have been working long...
in a previous blog entry i focused on a highly unusual depression-era mayan revival fisher theater seat end - one of several non-chicago based artifacts housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection catalog. the richly colored all original theater seat end reflects late 1920's exotic movie palace...
[caption id="attachment_21122" align="alignleft" width="900"] detail of built-up molding on pine wood exterior door. the entry and any and all images first published on may 26th, 2016.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_29214" align="alignleft" width="450"] 1886 sanborn insurance map with red arrow indicating location of the superior street italianate. note: the...
while looking for a hopkins and dickenson doorknob the other day, i ran across several boxes of "personal collection" 19th century builders' hardware i've had stowed away for years. when i pull the lid from the first container, i immediately recognized doorknobs from the william...
when companies are contracted by the city to demolish and replace structurally unsound vaulted sidewalks, their saw-cutting methods typically go beyond the curb and well into the street. the work continues with subsequent digging in and around the street, involving the removal of several inches...
[caption id="attachment_29177" align="alignleft" width="1000"] the studs and sheathing along the north wall are severely compromised and will need to be replaced. with the exception of the facade, the cottage's framing will no doubt be largely replaced, including the interlocking sill plates. additionally, i would be...
several "after sunset" fixtures were removed from an art modern house undergoing renovations late last week. the american art deco depression era fixtures were designed and fabricated by or for the lightolier corp., jeannette, pennsylvania. the super streamlined machine age electric fixtures are comprised largely of...
there really is no beginning or end to the surreal story of my crew and i being paid to completely deconstruct the historically important and visually stunning main lobby of the "850 lsd" or the lakeshore drive athletic club building. we were hired on to extract a collection...
i've spent a great deal of time in the congress theater attic space, a place where time seems to stand still. in the upper canopy of the building i find a rare quiet and peace, and often find myself overwhelmed with a sense of calm...
after slowing down some, i find myself deeply immersed again in the "unearthing chicago" project long after i finished cataloging several extensively archived chicago dig sites for the soon-to be-published "unearthing chicago" book (bldg. 51 museum press) due out this year. like any other project i've...
over the past few years i've been tirelessly documenting and/or salvaging chicago's 19th century brick and wood-frame cottages as they're demolished with astonishing rapidity. it's deeply saddening just thinking about the seemingly endless number of demolition permits that will be issued during this year's (2017) "building season,"...
the chicago athletic association (caa) was established in 1890 by notable chicago businessmen, marshall field, cyrus mccormick, and a. g. spalding as an exclusive club revolving around sports, business and social activities. in 1893 the club commissioned architect henry ives cobb to construct a venitian...
the bldg. 51 museum has recently assembled several architectural artifacts from buildings (demolished or heavily altered/modified) designed by henry ives cobb for an upcoming exhibit highlighting his work. an exceptionally well-made and intricately designed late 19th or early 20th century american gothic style interior ornamental...
i was taken aback when i discovered a seemingly endless field of debris (several decades worth) covering the floor of a gargantuan plenum duct running under the congress theater's auditorium floor. i spent a good deal of time combing through piles of candy wrappers, matchbooks,...
a recently discovered cache of 1890's refuse, in the form of everyday household bottles, jars, shoes, stoneware (i.e. impermeable and partly vitrified pottery), flint glass, ink wells, etc., was unearthed the other day during excavation of a residential lot where a house built around 1890...
the relentless search to aquire, identify, and document historically important remnants from chicago building demolished or altered has greatly assisted in driving the bldg. 51 museum collection and archive's sustained momentum and/or growth in the new year. while the museum's core mission remains sharply focused on...