rarely does one find an all original and completely intact residential entrance or vestibule door lockset with every component being apart of the short-lived and thus, highly desirable anglo-japanese designed hardware fabricated by the russell & erwin company, with design patents issued as early as...
the bldg. 51 museum just acquired three magnificent electric light fixtures removed from the extant historic uptown theater designed by rapp and rapp. the lot consists of two matching single light sconces and a ceiling-mount pendant light with original canopy. the fixtures are comprised of finely...
we just recently acquired two matching c. 1915-18 original and intact american industrial crouse-hinds "explosion proof" incandescent light fixtures with unusual riveted joint yellow brass flat bar or strap cages. both fixtures have been thoroughly cleaned and refinished to greatly enhance the visual contrast between the...
this ornamented radiator grille, fabricated for the cyrus mccormick mansion remodel - where only two were actually installed - is considered to be the purest expression of a louis h. sullivan design executed in three-dimensional form by the winslow brothers foundry of chicago. interestingly, george grant...
the c. 1901 ornamental cast iron cyrus hall mccormick house radiator grille is by far one of the most significant acquisitions (as of recent) to join the ever-growing collection of historically important chicago building artifacts and/or fragments housed in the bldg. 51 museum. the oversized grille...
urban remains recently purchased several amazingly designed and finely cast neoclassical style oversized cast iron exterior facade corbels salvaged from the historically-important extant 14-story chicago and northwestern railroad office building located in downtown chicago. the prairie school style commercial building was designed by the architectural firm...
interior elements from the historically significant gethsemane missionary baptist church were salvaged earlier this week. during the process, i experienced a bit of a freak accident, when i fell off a ladder, bruising ribs and spraining my left arm. having been in the dark and intensely...
over fifty american depression-era "new old stock" pressed and folded baked green enameled steel reflectors or shades were recently discovered in the storage room of an old chicago area twine factory. the diminutive pendant or task lamp shades were designed and fabricated by or for harvey...
urban remains just acquired a limited supply of original american depression era railroad freight car flooring, comprised of remarkably dense and durable solid oak wood constructed "butcher-block" style. the rock solid wood planks were mostly salvaged from decommissioned great northern railway double-door steel box and postal...
the photo gallery below offers a few hand-picked or "highlighted" artifacts from this week's listings (10 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 20,000 item mark. the ultimate goal since...
the urban remains warehouse shipping and receiving area is completely filled with a large acquisition of artifacts purchased earlier this week. as of this writing we continue to sort through stools, building ornament, aviation equipment, industrial furniture, light fixtures and so on. the new inventory contains a...
[gallery ids="1737,1738,1739,1740,1741,1742,1743,1744,1745,1746"]...
last week the bldg. 51 museum acquired an exceptionally rare and historically important late 19th century ornamental cast iron guaranty (later prudential) building flush mount ceiling light fixture medallion. the all original fixture was removed from the commercial building's interior lobby during a senseless remuddling...
three virtually identical (condition varies) chicago stock exchange staircase balusters or panels designed by notable architect louis h. sullivan were acquired earlier this week and later added to the urban remains website product catalog. the historically important and highly sought after angled balusters were salvaged...
milwaukee is my home away from home, especially when i really want to wander around aimlessly, photodocumenting architectural details that capture my attention across the urban landscape. don't get me wrong, there is a substantial amount of terrain for me to document here in chicago,...
we just purchased a huge load of all original all-metal or pressed and folded steel furniture designed and fabricated by the simmons mfg. co., kenosha, wisc. coming across a few pieces here and there is good, but having the opportunity to purchase "simmons" furniture on...
earlier this week we acquired several boxes of assorted laboratory glassware, scales, unusual scientific instruments, signage and other medical oddities once used in a chicago area pharmacy or drugstore. the majority of the articles gathered date between 1880-1930 and are in remarkably great shape, considering age. once...
the highly anticipated bldg. 51 museum artifact catalog will be available for sale - both online and in stores by late spring. the limited edition (print quantity of 500) catalog is divided into three major sections, consisting of artifacts from notable building commissions by architect...
rare to find a large quantity (over 200 available) of all original (not the reproductions) american industrial galvanized steel locker room storage baskets designed and fabricated by the lyon metallic mfg. co., aurora, il. the locker baskets acquired in recent weeks, are comprised largely of...
the images below depict a rare, joseph f. l. uhl-designed chair patented in 1902 (considered a precursor to the slightly modified "perfection" chair) and manufactured by the uhl brothers company, toledo, oh. this early prototype was advertised as a new and useful improvement in the construction...