BLDG51. News and Events |

08 Oct red slip-glazed terra cotta ornament salvaged from alfred freret’s la crosse post office (1889) joins bld. 51 museum collection

Posted at 16:48h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Travel by Eric

historic american building survey (habs) images of william alfred freret's richardsonian romanesque style brick and terra cotta la crosse, wisc. post office building (1889) prior to its senseless destruction, the extant building that replaced it in 1979, and red slip terra cotta ornament and exterior...

07 Oct photographic survey of geoerge maher’s john c. scales house and its silsbee-esque stonework

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

photographic survey of george maher's american victorian style john c. scales house (1894), located at 840 west hutchinson street, chicago, il. the exterior is punctuated with richly colored rusticated stonework, gothic style fret-sawn woodwork, red slip-glazed terra cotta and leaded glass windows. ...

05 Oct exterior detail images of wheelock and thomas’s downtown chicago post-fire bryant building or delaware block

Posted at 01:18h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

detail images of wheelock and thomas's downtown chicago post-fire bryant building or delaware block (1873), located at 36 west randolph street, chicago, il. the building was extensively remodeled (both interior and exterior) in 1889 and renamed the chicago real estate board building. the building is comprised...

02 Oct slipped through the cracks: another downtown chicago sullivanesque building left for dead is quickly destroyed

Posted at 19:38h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

slipped through the cracks: what remained of william j. brinkman's kuntz-remmler building (1908) located at 424 south wabash avenue, chicago, il., was recently demolished to make way for a spellbinding structure by enc construction and development. the cream-colored sullivanesque style building (a clumsy knock off of...

02 Oct hammond, beeby and babka’s bastardized take on the chicago school in the form of a grossly gargantuan public library

Posted at 14:41h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

exterior detail images of hammond, beeby, and babka's 10-story harold washington library (1991), located at 400 south state street, chicago, il. i've included kodachrome images...

30 Sep after nearly 7 years of documenting frank lloyd wright’s a.d. german warehouse, it’s now open to the public for tours

Posted at 15:37h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

after nearly seven years documenting restoration of frank lloyd wright's a.d. german warehouse, the interior is accessible to the public and available for tours! interior and exterior photographic images of frank lloyd wright's a.d. german warehouse (1914), located at 300 south church street, richland center, wi. it...

26 Sep demolition of the damen silos – the last standing concrete “stacker of wheat”

Posted at 14:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

demolition images of the sante fe grain elevator or "damen silos" (john metcalf, civil engineer), located at 2860 south damen avenue, chicago, il. the reinforced concrete grain elevators were built between 1906-1933 by the topeka & santa...

24 Sep severance at its finest: 19th century two story masonry rowhouse punctuated with patented frear or “artifical” stone and corbelled arch brick cornice

Posted at 19:41h in Bldg. 51, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

severance at its finest. recent images of a 19th century two story masonry rowhouse punctuated with patented frear or "artifical" stone and corbelled arch brick cornice located at 24-26 south sacramento blvd., chicago, il. the...

22 Sep fridstein and company’s 1926 congress theater in logan square continue to crumble nearly 8 years after my last visit

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

i haven't returned to congress theater (fridstein and company, 1926) since i published my book on what i discovered from within in 2017). ...

20 Sep george elmslie-designed terra cotta now for sale through collaboration between bldg. 51 museum and city museum

Posted at 15:39h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

19 Sep photographic survey of roseland’s sullivanesque style american ideal cleaning company

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

recent exterior survery of sullivanesque style single story american ideal cleaning company commerical building, located at 10351 south michigan avenue, chicago, il. the "stock" pattern white glazed terra cotta ornament was executed by the midland terra cotta company, chiago, il. ...

19 Sep clumsy classicism and soot city: bld 51 museum joins forces with casalino archive to showcase newly discovered kodachromes of cobb’s post office and surrounding buildings as they appeared in 1965

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

the bld. 51 museum is collaborating with the chicago-based casalino archive to digitize and showcase newly discovered and seldom seen color slides (e.g., kodachromes) of henry ives cobb's federal building and post office (1898-1905) and surrounding historically important commerical buildings as they appeared in the...

15 Sep 2025 photographic survey of parker berry’s 1915 sullivanesque style first state bank of manilus

Posted at 16:17h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

2025 photographic study of parker berry's two-story first state bank of manilus (1915), located at 122 east maple street, manilus, il. the polychromed sullivanesque terra cotta ornament was executed by the american terra cotta company, il. ...

11 Sep solon s. beman’s red brick and rusticated lemont limestone holy rosary roman catholic church (1890)

Posted at 17:41h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

recent images of solon s. beman's red brick and rusticated lemont limestone holy rosary roman catholic church (1890), located at 11300 south dr. martin luther king, jr. drive, chicago, il. ...

10 Sep an afternoon photographing gary, indiana with urban documentarian camilo josé vergara

Posted at 19:16h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Travel by Eric

weekend images taken during my weekend "tour" of gary, indiana, with urban documentarian camilo josé vergara. some of the sites we visited together are subject matter in his books, american ruins (vergara, 1999) and unexpected chicagoland (vergara with tim samuelson, 2001). for additional information on vergara's work,...

07 Sep restored montgomery ward administration building tower “century of progress” statue returns to its perch

Posted at 18:01h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

before and after: recent images of montgomery ward building tower (1929), located at 619 west chicago avenue, chicago, il. "spirit of progress" was briefly grounded for repair and restoration, led by andrzej dajnowski of...

04 Sep urban remains and bld. 51 museum secure salvage rights to walter burley griffin’s 1913 frank a. hindes house

Posted at 15:22h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Travel by Eric

last? salvage images of notable prairie school architect walter burley griffin's frank a. windes house (1913), located at 645 abbottsford road, kenilworth, il. house demolition will begin in a matter of days. feeling burned out and broken - not to mention nearing 50 years of age, i...

04 Sep exterior detail survey of hugh garden-designed third church of christ scientist (1899-1901)

Posted at 14:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

late summer 2025 detail images of hugh garden's richly ornamented glazed terra cotta third church of christ scientist (1899-1901) located at 2151 w. washington blvd., chicago, il. ...

03 Sep important great chicago fire of 1871 “relics” added to ever-growing bldg. 51 museum collection

Posted at 16:08h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by Eric

original pocket-sized "souvenir" medal representing the first anniversary of the disastrous conflagration known simply as the "great chicago fire" of 1871. the unique and diminutive artifact is commonly referred as the "chicago fire medal" according to multiple museums and other institutions that have one in their...

01 Sep many shades of color: michaelsen and rognstad’s on leong merchants association building (1928) terra cotta ornament

Posted at 14:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous by Eric

exterior photographic survey of michaelsen & rognstad's on leong merchants association building (1928), located at 2216 s. wentworth avenue, chicago, il. the richly colored michaelsen-designed polychromed glazed terra cotta ornament was executed by the american terra cotta company, crystal lake, il. ...