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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
i haven't returned to congress theater (fridstein and company, 1926) since i published my book on what i discovered from within in 2017). ...
more to follow in coming weeks. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bld. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2025....
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. ...
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...
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. ...
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. ...
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,...
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...
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...
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. ...
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...
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. ...
iphone images of a post-fire chicccago masonry residential structure undergoing demolition located at 1923 north cleveland avenue, chicago, il. the multi-story building facade is comprised of "parge and pencil" brick (likely from a shortage of face brick after the chicago fire of 1871) punctuated with...
photographic survey (work in progress) of george grant elmslie's old second national bank (1924), located at 37 south river street, aurora, il. ...
early 20th century sullivanesque style single story brick and white glazed terra cotta commercial building (now a church), located at 11743 south michigan avenue, chicago, il. the stock pattern terra cotta ornament, including centrally located cartouche and flanking full-bodied spread-winged eagles, were fabricated...