BLDG51. News and Events |

08 Oct bld. 51 museum archive acquires red slip terra cotta ornament salvaged from william alfred freret’s demolished la crosse, wisc. federal building (1889)

Posted at 16:53h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Uncategorized by Eric

the historic federal building and post office in la crosse, wisconsin, was designed by supervising architect of the treasury william alfred freret in the richardsonian romanesque architectural style. year built: construction on the grand brick and terra cotta structure began around 1889. demolition: the building was...

07 Oct bld. 51 museum archive holds largest collection of images and artifacts from catherine o’lerary’s “fire shrine” located at 558 de koven steet

Posted at 14:53h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

the history of 558 w. dekoven street—the reputed origin of the great chicago fire of 1871—traces the site’s transformation from catherine o’leary’s cottage to an 1880s boarding house and, ultimately, its demolition. patrick and catherine o’leary, whose surname originally appeared as “leary,” survived the fire and...

29 Sep recently discovered, rarely seen lithographic images of william w. boyington’s columbus memorial building (1893–1959) have been added to bldg. 51 museum archive

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

a collection of seldom seen lithographic prints showcasing the original custom-designed interior ornamental ironwork executed by the winslow brothers for william w. boyinton's columbus memorial building (1893-1959). the columbus memorial building, a 14-story steel-frame skyscraper at the southeast corner of state and washington streets in chicago,...

11 Sep bldg. 51 archive and museum acquires major john drury photographic archive used to produce old chicago houses

Posted at 18:26h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

original chicago daily news photographic print of adler and sullivan's three-story brick and lemont limestone john borden residence, located at 3949 south lake park avenue, chicago, il. the image was taken in october of 1940 and used the following year in john drury's "old houses of...

08 Sep rarely seen interior photographs of jenney & mundie’s 1893 central ymca association building, recently uncovered and digitized by the bldg. 51 archive and museum

Posted at 21:14h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

the central ymca association building at 19 south lasalle street in chicago was built in 1893. designed by the architectural firm jenney & mundie, it is one of the last surviving chicago loop skyscrapers associated with william le baron jenney. rather than face demolition, the...

16 Jul a sizable collection of rare, seldom-seen pre- and post-fire chicago stereoview cards has joined the bldg. 51 museum archive.

Posted at 18:23h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

the bldg. 51 museum archive recently acquired a sizable collection of rare, seldom-seen stereoview cards documenting pre- and post-fire chicago, most of them focused on the “burnt district” downtown as the city vigorously rebuilt after the great chicago fire of 1871. stereoviews, or stereographs, are pairs...

04 Jul building 51 museum and archive has acquired the largest privately owned collection of great chicago fire artifacts and ephemera to date

Posted at 14:58h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

the images below offer a glimpse of artifacts, relics, photographs, and ephemera related to the great chicago fire of 1871 and its aftermath. images and artifacts courtesy of eric john nordstrom and the bld. 51 museum and archive. all rights reserved. 2026. ...

01 Jul digitization underway for henry fuermann’s work as an early photographer of louis sullivan and frank lloyd wright

Posted at 17:27h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

henry fuermann (1861–1949) was an influential american architectural photographer best known for documenting the work of frank lloyd wright and louis sullivan. working mainly from chicago through his studio, henry fuermann & sons, he produced sharp platinum and gelatin silver prints that remain essential visual...

09 Jun bld. 51 museum and archive acquires several richly colored currier and ives hand-colored lithographic prints pertaining to the great chicago fire of 1871

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

among the most iconic prints issued during the fire are three 1871 hand-tinted currier & ives lithographs of chicago before and during the great chicago fire. currier & ives was a prolific new york city printmaking firm active from 1834 to 1907. known as “the grand...

08 Jun the bld. 51 museum’s “unearthing chicago” project is expected to become an authoritative book in early 2027

Posted at 18:12h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Press, Sales and Promotions, Salvages, Uncategorized by Eric

recent artifacts dug from a multitude of privy vaults located on the near west side of chicago. the earliest discarded remnants from long-forgotten lives, include, but not limited to, civil war-era john a. lomax cobalt blue glass soda glass bottles. a small selection of clear...

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...

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....

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 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...

08 May newly discovered photographic images of louis h. sullivan colloborator, interior designer louis j. millet

Posted at 19:52h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

louis j. millet (1856–1923) was a highly respected educator, founder of an industrial art school, and interior designer in the united states. famous for his stained glass artistry, millet worked on projects with louis sullivan and george w. maher, and collaborated with portraitist george healy...

05 May recently acquired historically important books and artifacts offer a compelling visual narrative of the chicago haymarket riot

Posted at 15:33h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

anarchy and anarchists: a history of the red terror and the social revolution in america and europe (1889) by michael j. schaack provides a detailed account of late 19th-century radical movements, especially the chicago haymarket conspiracy, from a law-enforcement perspective. schaack, a chicago police captain,...

24 Apr collection of important chicago-centric inland architect press halftones join bld. 51 museum archive

Posted at 16:00h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

bld. 51 archive has recently obtained a large collection of original period halftone images from inland architect press, featuring chicago buildings from the late 19th century. some examples from the collection are displayed below. established in 1883, the publication was a cornerstone of the architectural world, chronicling...