11 Jan

Posted at 15:56h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Press by

with a surprisingly large number of frequent acquisitions populating both museum and gallery these last three months, i have been deeply entrenched in documenting and displaying chicago-centric ephemera, photographs, and architectural artifacts in a satisfactory manner before another acquisition – big or small – arrives...

11 Jan

Posted at 15:27h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Press by

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 95,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 18 years). the newly acquired items for the winter months of 2023-20 have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if...

31 Dec

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

note: the following links represent some of highlights accomplished in 2023. the posts are arranged chronologically, from beginning of 2023 to end.  BLDG. 51 ARCHIVE ACQUIRES SIZABLE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF IMPORTANT RICHARD NICKEL PHOTOGRAPHS ROOKERY BUILDING BLUEPRINTS, RARE BOOKS, ORNAMENTAL TERRA COTTA, BUILDERS' HARDWARE, AND PLYMOUTH BUILDING...

30 Dec

Posted at 16:35h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press, Salvages by

demolition permit issued for bell avenue chicago 19th century brick workers cottage with completely intact bracketed pine wood cornice, lemont limestone keystones, and double arch attic window accentuated with fret-sawn spandrel. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, bldg. 51 archive, and chicago...

30 Dec

Posted at 16:02h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by

note: the following links represent only a fraction of work accomplished in 2022.  HENRY J. SCHLACKS ABADONED ST. MARTIN OF TOURS CHURCH (1895) IN NEED OF MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR HIGHLIGHTS AND RECENT AQUSISTIONS FROM BLDG. 51 COLLECTION 1880S FIVE-STORY COMMERICAL BUILDING WITH COMBINATION LEMONT AND BEDFORD LIMESTONE FACADE...

24 Sep

Posted at 13:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by

NEWS | SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 2022 Alice Award for Illustrated Books Winner Announced COURTESY OF FURTHERMORE GRANTS IN PUBLISHING    Hudson, NY — Furthermore grants in publishing, a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, is pleased to announce the 2022 Alice is awarded to Alphawood Foundation, Chicago, IL for its publication, Reconstructing the...

20 Sep

Posted at 15:07h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by

Chirag G. Badlani, Executive Director of Alphawood Foundation Chicago, is pleased to announce that the Foundation has won the 2022 Alice Award for its publication, Reconstructing the Garrick: Adler & Sullivan’s Lost Masterpiece (Alphawood Foundation Chicago, 2021). The lavishly illustrated, 352-page book was edited by...

08 Mar

Posted at 03:59h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by

  This Popular House Style in Chicago is Going Extinct Workers cottages, once a staple of Chicago’s middle-class culture, came to define the character of its residential neighborhoods. Now they’re being demolished in the name of urban development. Can they be saved, or will they slip, one...

20 Oct

Posted at 19:02h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by

eric j. nordstrom's videotaped talk and/or interview on salvaging american architectural artifacts, their value and the industry at large, can be viewed by clicking the link below: https://player.vimeo.com/video/467122667 additional guest speakers listed below: ASA Spotlights Personal Property Sessions and Experts for 2020 ASA International Conference by Jessica Wilhelmy | Aug...

22 Sep

Posted at 15:33h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press, Salvages by

a chicago two-story 1880s masonry cottage or "boarding house" with completely intact fret-sawn pine wood bracketed cornice and diminutive lemont limestone window keystones accentuated with deeply incised simple scroll motifs will be destroyed in the next week or two. a demolition permit has been pulled and...

11 Nov

Posted at 19:55h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by

urban remains and bldg. 51 museum owner eric j. nordstrom featured in october 2019 issue of sophisticated living magazine. magazine link: https://lsc-pagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=619240&p=&pn=#{%22issue_id%22:619240,%22page%22:92}     further reading: THE URBAN ARCHAEOLOGIST URBAN REMAINS FEATURED IN PLAYBOY MAGAZINE IN 2011...

27 Aug

Posted at 14:20h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Press by

Antique shop owner keeps meticulous records of demolished workers cottages Eric Nordstrom, owner of Urban Remains, tries to find a story in the homes’ artifacts By Paul Biasco  Aug 23, 2019, 12:59pm CDT Share this story Share this on Facebook (opens in new window) Share this on Twitter (opens in new window) ...

16 Apr

Posted at 21:16h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by

inspired by spending the past several months organizing and digitizing images and artifacts belonging to chicago architect john vinci, i’ve now begun volunteering one day a week at the ryerson and burnham library archive, where i’m combing through and digitizing images from hundreds of contact sheets...

16 Oct

Posted at 03:02h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press by

"Lost and Found" will be available for purchase by the end of December 2017. The 58 page, soft-bound booklet scours the depths of the Congress Theater, chronicling the building's history through depression-era artifacts and detritus found in hidden corners of the structure. A full-color catalog...

30 Aug

Posted at 17:40h in Bldg. 51, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Press, Travel by

Boston Valley Terra Cotta’s Master Sculptors Restoring Chicago’s Gage Building June 22, 2017|Blog, Gage Building, News/Events Boston Valley Terra Cotta has been making progress on the very detailed, ornamental terra cotta facade restoration of the Gage Building in Chicago. Designed by architect Louis Sullivan in 1899, the Gage Building’s Art Nouveau...

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