02 Jan

Posted at 17:36h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

throughout 2021, the bldg. 51 museum amassed several historically important architectural fragments and objects, in addition to the evolving archive, consisting of period photographs, books, documents, drawings, blueprints, models, and other related materials that will prove invaluable to bolster the narratives of the museum's architectural...

18 Dec

Posted at 00:13h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by

i am thrilled to have finally located and authenticated two heavily carved oak wood staircase railings salvaged from the potter palmer mansion or "castle," designed and built by architects henry ives cobb and charles sumner frost between 1883-1885. the railings were acquired by the bldg....

07 Dec

Posted at 15:23h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of DECEMBER, 2021, have been...

06 Dec

Posted at 03:29h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

historically important art deco style architectural artifacts salvaged from notable chicago buildings erected during the 1920s-1930s. the original ornament - all identified, meticulously documented and photographed is housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection. when time permits, i will provide additional information, identifying the building ornament...

19 Nov

Posted at 17:32h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

descriptive text from the palmolive building (1928) dedication booklet and rental brochure: as it has done in new york, so in chicago, business is moving north, out of the loop, too long the imaginary compass of commerce. northward to quieter streets, clearer skies, more pleasant surroundings. seeking...

03 Nov

Posted at 13:53h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of NOVEMBER, 2021, have been...

26 Oct

Posted at 19:49h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the metallic compression casting company manufactured "house trimmings," such as knobs, hinges, escutcheons, bell pulls, along with dies for printing wall paper, and for bookbinders. the highly successful inventions of charles and michael smith during the 1860's, were used extensively at their foundry in bomerville,...

08 Oct

Posted at 09:56h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the first city directory– which compiles the names, addresses, occupations, and other important demographic information about a given city– is believed to have been commissioned in london by the office of the exchequer in 1588. it enabled the mayor of london to better gauge the...

06 Oct

Posted at 05:39h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of OCTOBER, 2021, have been...

04 Oct

Posted at 19:21h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the bldg. 51 museum archive recently acquired an exceptionally rare 1st edition of william h. birkmire's "skeleton construction in steel buildings," published by john wiley & sons, new york, ny., 1893. the profusely illustrated hardcover book with red cloth and gilt-stamped lettering contains information on...

28 Sep

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

by the time i arrived in the summer of 2007, the nortown theater was already dead. stripped of its utilities, burnt by fire, and extensively damaged by prolonged neglect. note: salvaging/documenting the nortown theater's facade and its ornamental terra cotta was addressed in a previous blog entry,...

22 Sep

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

urban remains and bldg. 51 recently acquired several sections of historically important egyptian revival style spray-glazed terra cotta ornament from the non-extant walter bailey-designed knights of pythias building (1928), also referred to as the "skyscraper" of bronzeville.  the building's architect, walter thomas bailey, was an american...

16 Sep

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

the bldg. 51 museum recently acquired two unusual chicago fire books (published, 1872) featuring a collection of gruesome accounts collected by writer and publisher george l. barclay. graphic lithographs including children being burned alive, criminals hung and "brained," and buildings being purposely detonated (often still...

08 Sep

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

the following images represent a well rounded cross section of historically important architectural materials added to the bldg. 51 archive in 2019. a more focused and in-depth blog post, will touch upon some of the more notable and historically important architectural artifacts acquired for the...

01 Sep

Posted at 14:31h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the st. louis-based winkle terra cotta co., with offices in the century bldg. at 9th and olive sts., and works at 5739 manchester ave., was established as the joseph winkle terra cotta works in 1883, located in cheltenham, a suburb of st. louis. in 1889...

18 Aug

Posted at 14:11h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products by

the bldg. 51 museum's extensive collection of  late 19th and early 20th century "sullivanesque" style commercial building terra cotta is presented below in an exhaustive, ever-growing photographic survey conducted by eric j. nordstrom. the terra cotta ornament was designed by disciples of louis h. sullivan's,...

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