06 May

Posted at 09:59h in Bldg. 51, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

demolition of the downtown chicago howard johnson inn, constructed in the late 1960's, is nearly complete. in preparation high-rise development that will be constructed on the site (located at the corner of la salle and superior), the wrecker has spent the past few weeks systematically "potholing" the...

06 May

Posted at 09:54h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

last night i finished editing images of two incredible artifacts carefully removed the a. finkl & sons foundry. both depression-era artifacts join the ever-growing number of antique american industrial objects and furniture being salvaged from this notable sprawling chicago industrial complex. before being taken down and brought...

05 May

Posted at 12:37h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

as part of our ongoing salvage efforts at a notable chicago foundry complex, we finally gained access to yet another building on the sprawling industrial campus; the building formerly served as a distribution center for standard oil of indiana. there, we discovered several matching, unusually-shaped dirk saaf-designed...

28 Apr

Posted at 17:51h in Bldg. 51, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions by

the gallery below represents one of my many sub-collections with a focus on early american signs (both vitreous or porcelain and baked-on enameled) that would be found in factory settings dotting the urban landscape. i selected these signs based on their subject matter, characteristic surface wear, rarity...

28 Apr

Posted at 16:05h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions, Salvages by

the photo gallery below offers a glimpse of some of the newest artifacts recently acquired from last week's listings (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 23,100 item mark. the...

27 Apr

Posted at 14:58h in Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

over the past two weeks urban remains has acquired several depression-era interior illuminated exit light wall sconces and ceiling light fixtures salvaged mostly from extant commercial structures that performed upgrades long ago.  the majority of the single electric exit lights are equipped with brilliantly colored ruby red...

21 Apr

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

the photo gallery below offers a glimpse of some of the newest artifacts recently acquired from last week's listings (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 23,000 item mark. the...

17 Apr

Posted at 10:29h in Bldg. 51, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

very unique and primitive late 19th century single-sided exterior "foreman" occupational sign purportedly salvaged from the temporary and/or mobile construction office or shack housing the general contractors involved in the construction of the chicago world's fair of 1893 (more commonly referred to as the world's...

15 Apr

Posted at 01:01h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Salvages by

i've been spending the past couple of weeks visiting the sites of 19th century wood frame structures undergoing demolition. nearly all of these houses have been ravaged time and again with cobbled alterations to the point where any traces revealing visual cues of age, lie...

14 Apr

Posted at 17:02h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

the image gallery below provides several collections of 19th and early 20th century fragments and bottles unearthed from various demolition and/or dig sites in the city of chicago. from wolf's point to the wood-lined privy "vault" discovered at the john kent russell house (1855) and everything in between, the...

14 Apr

Posted at 17:00h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

i have yet to post concluding remarks on the final days of the gethsamane missionary baptist church's demolition. i'm so incredibly behind on posting about my involvement in this seemingly endless demolition craze because i'm either out the door at a moment's notice to document yet another...

14 Apr

Posted at 00:57h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions by

the photo gallery below offers a glimpse of some of the newest artifacts recently acquired from last week's listings (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 22, 800 item...

08 Apr

Posted at 09:39h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the bldg. 51 museum, consisting of a curated election of historically important american architectural artifacts, is proud to announce its latest acquisition: an original interior art deco style multi-faceted glass paneled electric pendant light removed long ago from the chrysler building. after a phone call discussing provenance...

06 Apr

Posted at 00:27h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the photo gallery below offers a glimpse of some of the newest artifacts recently acquired from last week's listings (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 22,700 item mark. the...

03 Apr

Posted at 13:56h in Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions, Salvages by

several matching all original interior antique american square-shaped diminutive ceiling rosette tiles were recently salvaged from a late 19th century corner schlitz saloon or tavern (non-extant) located in chicago. the deeply embossed tiles, along with cove molding and wainscoting used throughout the saloon contained markings indicating...

27 Mar

Posted at 17:31h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

weeks after the auction concluded, the highly anticipated arrival of two historically important early 20th century darwin d. martin interior residential sconces is now over. both the patinated bronze sconces and bulbous white opalescent glass globes (likely original) arrived in safe and sound condition earlier...

27 Mar

Posted at 15:02h in Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

urban remains recently acquired several matching american industrial depression-era wall-mount oversized air hose reels or "aireels" salvaged from the notable chicago-based a. finkl & sons foundry undergoing demolition. nearly twenty air hose reels were found in various outbuildings scattered around the foundry complex. the wall-mount "aireel" was...

error: Content is protected !!