BLDG51. News and Events |

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...

08 Apr rediscovered images of bradford lee gilbert’s richardsonian romanesque style illinois central station (1893-1974) digitized by bld. 51 archive

Posted at 14:09h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

newly discovered kodachrome images of bradford lee gilbert's richardsonian romanesque style illinois central station (1893-1974), located at the southern end of grant park near roosevelt road and michigan avenue, chicago, il. central station was an intercity passenger terminal located in downtown chicago, illinois, at the southern...

24 Mar bld. 51 museum acquires chicago heritage committee – country’s first preservation group – papers and related ephemera

Posted at 14:28h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Press, Travel by Eric

the chicago heritage committee was a pioneering grassroots architectural preservation group founded in 1960 by thomas stauffer and richard nickel to save adler and sullivan’s garrick theater and frank lloyd wright’s robie house. active until 1968, it was chicago's first organization dedicated to saving significant...

12 Mar collection of historically important helca iron works ornament desiged by john wellborn root for the 1887-88 rookery building lands in bldg. 51 museum collection

Posted at 15:04h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

the rookery building stands as a historic 12-story landmark in chicago's loop, renowned as the city's oldest surviving high-rise. completed in 1888 by the famed architectural team of daniel burnham and john wellborn root, it's celebrated as a masterpiece of the chicago school of architecture,...

10 Mar john drury research materials used for publication of “old chicago houses” joins bld. 51 museum and archive

Posted at 17:12h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

old chicago houses is a landmark book published in 1941 by journalist john drury. it serves as a "personal biography" of 110 historic homes in chicago. the book originated from a series of weekly articles in the chicago daily news, which ran from 1939 until...

08 Mar remarkable discovery: remnants from adler and sullivan’s 1889 walker house discovered along lake michigan

Posted at 16:40h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Uncategorized by Eric

after adler and sullivan’s walker warehouse (1889) was demolished in 1953, its stone slabs of all shapes and sizes were dumped along the shoreline of lake michigan and remained undisturbed for over seven decades. in the summer of 2025, eric j. nordstrom thoroughly documented and...

07 Mar ten years later: revisiting discovery subsequent documentation of vincenzo formusa, chicago’s oldest italian food importer at 710 west grand ave

Posted at 16:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Uncategorized by Eric

Part one: the destruction of a building occurs within a finite, and surprisingly quick time frame, but rarely is salvage such a tidy experience. each demolition spills into life outside the hours of actual wrecking, at first in the form of research to be done (and...

06 Mar 9 long years documenting the slow death of herman v. von holst’s 1924 southside chicago comed power station

Posted at 18:45h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Uncategorized by Eric

latest images of the dying southside chicago comed station (1924), located at located at 6141 s. prairie avenue. the building’s architect, herman v. von holst, was perhaps best known for taking on the responsibility of heading up frank lloyd wright’s architectural practice when wright went to...

03 Mar original drawings and ironwork from cyril colnik, the “tiffany of wrought iron masters.”

Posted at 16:46h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

original 1922 signed graphite on paper sketch of an ornamental wrought iron staircase newel post recently acquired by the bld. 51 archive and museum in spring of 2026. cyril colnik was a renowned metalsmith from austria, often referred to as "the tiffany of wrought iron.” he...

25 Feb historically important white glazed terra cotta ornament from the conway building – daniel burnham’s – “last commission” – joins bld. 51 museum

Posted at 19:14h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

the burnham center, formerly known as the conway building and later the chicago title & trust building, is an historic skyscraper in chicago, illinois. funded by the marshall field estate, it was daniel burnham's final design before his death in 1912, completed in 1913. the burnham...

24 Feb through the flames and beyond or chicago as it was and it is by wells & company

Posted at 17:08h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

"on the morning of the 9th of october, 1871, the telegraphic wires flashed to every part of this nation, and to nearly every portion of the civilized world, the shocking intelligence that chicago was in flames, hundreds of lives had been destroyed, and ten thousand...

22 Feb a visual narrative of washington porter ii’s 1930s unusual “kiosk sphinx” from beginning to end and remnant rediscovery in 2007

Posted at 18:55h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Uncategorized by Eric

photographic images of washingtion porter's beloved kiosk sphinx (louis i. simon, architect), located at 4043 lake park avenue, chicago, il. designed in egyptian revivalstyle to showcase porter's antique collection, it featured a 15-story observation tower visible from lake shore drive, intended to be topped with a...

17 Feb date dump: photographs and ephemera on willoughby j. edbrooke and franklin pierce burnham’s mecca flats hotel

Posted at 18:28h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Travel by Eric

mecca flats was a notable apartment complex in chicago's bronzeville neighborhood, serving as an architectural and cultural landmark from 1891 until its demolition in 1952. the site at 3360 s. state street is now occupied by s.r. crown hall, a modernist structure designed by ludwig...

06 Feb recent additions of rare and historically important architectural ephemera to building 51 museum and archive

Posted at 17:54h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

the following images represent a well-rounded cross section of historically important architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum archive in feburary of 2026. the image gallery below offers a preview of bldg. 51’s latest acquisitions: images courtesy of eric...

05 Feb rare bertrand goldberg marina city (1964-68) rental prospectus and construction images made available through bld. 51 museum archive

Posted at 04:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Travel, Uncategorized by Eric

original and largely intact 1962 marina city (bertrand goldberg, 1964-68) prospectus showcasing the building’s distinctive architectural elements with floor plans, site layouts, models, and photographs. the uniquely designed prospectus includes an embossed cover, saddle-stitched booklet with varied paper types, a fold-out building model, blank rental applications,...

04 Feb depression-era grant mason and gilman lane snapshots of frank lloyd wright’s roloson houses now digitized

Posted at 16:03h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized by Eric

recently digitized, original 1930s grant mason and gilman lane interior and exterior snapshot photos of frank lloyd wright's roloson houses (1894) at 3213-3219 s. calumet ave., chicago, il, are now available through the bld. 51 museum and archive. a small collection of digitized images provided...

03 Feb imporant architectural artifacts from lucius g. fisher’s neo-gothic fisher building chicago skyscraper added to bld. 51 museum’s ever expanding collection in january, 2026

Posted at 15:54h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Uncategorized by Eric

several architectural elements from d.h. burnham and company's fisher building (1896) and addition (1907) were recently purchased for the bld. 51 museum collection and archive. highlights include, but not limited to, a cast iron winslow brothers lobby level elevator floor indicator panel with opposed figural...

02 Feb exceedingly rare remnants from 1893 columbian exposition pabst pavilion gold-plated model brewery centerpiece found by anonymous collector

Posted at 18:55h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages, Travel, Uncategorized by Eric

the 1893 pabst pavilion, designed by otto strack for chicago’s world's columbian exposition, was a terra-cotta structure with a green copper dome and glass corners showcasing beer products. its highlight was a 13-square-foot 24 karat gold-plated cast bronze and white metal pabst brewery model executed...