21 Jun

Posted at 04:22h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

late last week urban remains acquired a massive quantity of highly desirable 1940's american industrial "explosion proof" hanging ceiling-mount light fixtures once used to illuminate the interior of a sprawling midwestern munitions plant used to fabrication artillery shells for the war effort. the completely intact...

14 Jun

Posted at 14:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions by

the giant cavity where the gage building's north cartouche was removed from is now fully exposed. the replacement will not be installed anytime soon. i'm concerned that (at the very least) prolonged exposure to the elements could weaken mortar joints. i'm by no means a...

14 Jun

Posted at 14:41h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

the following 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. the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to...

09 Jun

Posted at 04:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the chicago-based architectural firm of burnham and root was established in 1872 when the two men worked as apprentice draftsmen in the offices of drake, carter, and wight, building several private residences for the wealthy elite of chicago's meat industry. both of them married into...

07 Jun

Posted at 21:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

a single cream-colored terra cotta round and tapered fragment salvaged from the north tower of the historically important wrigley company headquarters (1921-1924) was recently donated to the bldg. 51 museum and archive earlier this week. executed by the northwestern terra cotta company, the diminutive neoclassical...

07 Jun

Posted at 14:31h in Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following 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. the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to...

29 May

Posted at 19:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

a rare example of a largely intact and well-maintained gothic style victorian wood-framed cottage built shortly after the chicago fire of 1871 will be reduced to rubble this week. the two story wood-framed cottage likely was built on the site of a structure that succumbed...

25 May

Posted at 09:34h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the bldg. 51 museum is collaborating with the chicago-based decorators supply company to make a very limited edition of faithfully recreated, full scale cast plaster proscenium vault ventilation domes, original to the interior adler & sulivan-designed auditorium theater (1889), designed by louis h. sullivan and...

25 May

Posted at 04:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

aside from the usual collecting of historically important objects, i have been adding substantially to my collection of ephemera, in an effort to find primary sources that may bolster or enhance the narratives i've gathered around historically-significant architectural building elements or artifacts in the bldg. 51...

24 May

Posted at 14:29h in Events & Announcements, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following 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. the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to...

17 May

Posted at 21:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the bldg. 51 museum recently secured an original and largely intact louis sullivan-designed cast plaster proscenium vault "star-pod" panel salvaged from adler & sullivan's garrick theater auditorium during its demolition in early 1961. originally named the schiller theater, the building was designed by louis sullivan and...

17 May

Posted at 04:20h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

  in addition to the week's acquisition of plaster frieze work from frank lloyd wright's dana-thomas house, the bldg. 51 museum has obtained numerous historically important fragments of plasterwork from adler & sullivan's garrick theater auditorium. originally named the schiller theater, the building was designed...

08 May

Posted at 04:05h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

this post concerns an entire city block, containing a collection of historically significant post-fire "athens marble" italianate style rowhouses. each has witnessed fires, neglect, utter abandonment, and demolition since the houses were completed in 1874. in these rather depressing "ruins," i could only catch a glimpse...

05 May

Posted at 18:43h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

an excavation site just west of the m. schultz company piano factory and showroom (erected in 1889) yielded several artifacts spanning several decades. the earliest identifiable object was a small dark amber glass fragment with an embossed letter that once belonged to a quart-sized william...

01 May

Posted at 04:05h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

    long after the hodgepodge of 19th and 20th century buildings forming the ace hardware on ashland were demolished last year, excavation work finally began. multiple machines dug deep below grade in preparation for the foundation work of a new development, and just a few days later i...

21 Apr

Posted at 19:07h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

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...

20 Apr

Posted at 18:54h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

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...

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