by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago the five story concrete flat slab constructed 1958 building designed by graham, anderson, probst & white at 110 n wacker has been undergoing demolition for the past several weeks. thousands of loop office workers have been able to witness...
two early 20th century chicago two-flats were issued demolition permits on march 6th. the buildings are located at 1346 and 1350 north claremont avenue respectively. the green fence has not been erected, nor has the wrecker delivered their excavators, but within the next week or...
i finally had a chance to leave my shop and shoot architectural ornament this afternoon. while driving around old town i recalled a demo permit issued for a structure on orchard. i had to triple-check the address (2252 n. orchard) when i pulled up...
by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago [caption id="attachment_35763" align="alignleft" width="1200"] the last series of images chronicling the demolition of clarence hatzfeld's south side masonic temple (1921).[/caption] [caption id="attachment_35766" align="alignleft" width="1200"] south entrance partially covered in snow.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_35765" align="alignleft" width="1200"] machines at rest after chicago snowstorm.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_35764"...
i have tens of thousands of images taken from dig sites across the city of chicago. sadly, only a few hundred have been edited and added to blog posts over the years. the "unearthing chicago" book will remain in suspended animation until the day i...
by eric j. nordstrom & ornament chicago very little remains of south side masonic temple (1921). a few riveted joint steel trusses and columns, partially covered with chunks of dangling concrete, will be pulled apart with the wrecker's long reach excavator this week. remnants of a grand...
by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago built as the bethel norwegian danish methodist episcopal church in 1905, the ingleside community church of the nazarene was demolished this week by heneghan wrecking. through a collective effort yesterday afternoon, the dated bedford limestone cornerstone and diminutive lithographed...
the following images are part of my ongoing efforts to digitize what i've dubbed "the john vinci artifact and photographic archive." given my limited bandwidth, i'm posting images now with the hopes of returning to fill in badly needed contextual information to offer greater insight and/or...
by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago images of the south side masonic temple building (1921) taken this morning. a single bedford limestone fluted column with ionic capital remains standing. the majority of clarence hatzfeld's ornament is on the ground in ruin or buried in a...
the former humboldt garage & auto service company building (1911) had a walk-in vault. shortly before that section of the building was demolished, the wreckers managed to open the door, where they discovered several ledgers, signs, salesman samples, blueprints, and other odds and ends left...
by eric j. nordstrom & ornament chicago with all the wrecking machines working in unison now, the south side masonic temple's east and north facades are fading fast. thankfully, some ornament has been carefully removed and awaits a new home - wherever that may be. sadly, the...
by eric j. nordstrom & ornament chicago ongoing destruction of the south side masonic temple (1921) has greatly disfigured the building. it's mesmerizing to watch the wrecking ball repeatedly being dropped on the indiana limestone along the north facade, while at the same, bearing witness to...
by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago here are the latest images from clarence hatzfeld's south side masonic temple demolition. the high reach hasn't been brought to life yet, but the ball has been swinging against the northeast corner of the building. not sure if the...
by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago i finally made time to edit more images of chicago's south side masonic temple (1921) demolition. the six-story structural steel and reinforced concrete frame structure with red face brick and carved bedford limestone facade was designed by chicago architect...
by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago the south side masonic temple (1921) is presently under demolition. it has been less than six months since I documented the demolition of the logan square masonic temple, also by clarence hatzfeld, architect, and more can be read about...
the humboldt garage & auto service company building, erected in 1911 by f.w. ries, is undergoing demolition. i'm sure i will be back to document its final moments. ...
by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago i was notified the other day that the ingleside community church of the nazarene (1905) located at the corner of 72nd and ingleside will be wrecked in the coming weeks. naturally, i struggled with internal resistance since i had...
a look back at 2017, beginning with a summation of 2016 and ending with the publication of "lost and found." the links to 43 out of 450 blog entries posted in 2017 are listed below. https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/12/26/lost-and-found-a-bldg-51-publication-is-now-available-for-sale/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/12/20/demolished-james-higgie-building-lives-on-through-salvaged-ornament-and-images/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/11/30/3-days-in-nyc-documenting-historic-architecture-and-preservation-efforts/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/10/19/documenting-restoration-of-chicagos-historic-buildings-this-fall/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/09/30/chicago-fragments-from-john-vincis-past/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/09/27/installation-of-gage-buildings-recreated-terra-cotta-cartouche-completed/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/09/23/louis-h-sullivans-farmers-and-merchants-union-bank-1919-in-photographs/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/08/28/tradesmans-beer-bottle-discovered-in-the-wall-of-a-19th-century-chicago-cottage-undergoing-demolition/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/08/24/2017-the-year-of-documenting-downtown-chicagos-19th-early-20th-century-architectural-ornament-at-feverish-pace/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/08/17/minnesota-roadtrip-merchants-national-bank-foshay-tower-masonic-temple-and-beyond/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/08/16/documenting-historic-chicago-movie-palaces-remains-top-priority-for-2017/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/08/04/bldg-51-museum-acquires-lost-records-of-architectural-firm-graven-and-mayger/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/07/31/vast-assortment-of-ephemera-photographs-drawings-and-books-from-the-architectural-offices-of-jenney-mundie-acquired-by-bldg-51-museum/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/07/18/documenting-a-post-fire-chicago-italianate-row-house-staircase-during-its-deconstruction/ 17/a-photographic-study-of-historic-commercial-building-ornament-in-la-crosse-wisc/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/07/07/high-noon-entertainment-collaborating-with-eric-j-nordstrom-on-documenting-the-death-of-buildings/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/06/29/documenting-a-post-fire-chicago-row-house-where-time-stood-still/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/06/29/a-closer-look-at-george-frears-patented-pre-chicago-fire-artificial-italianate-row-house-keystones/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/06/21/nortown-theater-taught-me-how-to-thoroughly-document-and-deconstruct/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/06/08/the-frank-lloyd-wright-windows-of-the-bldg-51-architectural-artifact-museum/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/05/25/photographic-study-of-19th-century-objects-discovered-in-stud-cavity-of-post-fire-chicago-cottage-during-its-demolition/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/05/25/bldg-51-museum-collaborates-with-decorators-supply-company-in-making-limited-run-of-recast-auditorium-theater-proscenium-vault-ventilation-domes/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/05/22/gage-building-facade-restoration-leads-to-boston-valley-terra-cotta-company-visit/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/05/16/the-chicago-terra-cotta-company-and-william-lebaron-jenneys-starkweather-building/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/05/15/a-very-special-artifact-salvaged-by-richard-nickel-offers-inspiration-and-motivation-to-carry-on/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/05/10/behind-the-lovers-playground-a-frank-lloyd-wright-designed-architectural-detail-that-survived-the-wrecking-ball/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/05/05/19th-century-building-parts-and-bottles-unearthed-during-excavation-near-the-m-schultz-piano-factory-1889/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/04/27/bldg-51-museum-acquires-c-1908-henry-babson-house-stained-glass/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/04/24/uncovering-the-1920s-boot-of-a-theater-tradesman-in-the-congress-theater-attic/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/04/18/regarding-the-characteristics-of-stone-used-in-rebuilding-after-the-great-chicago-fire/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/04/16/a-remarkable-discovery-original-chicago-creosoted-wood-block-city-street-pavers-recently-discovered/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/04/09/systematic-deconstruction-of-the-850-lakeshore-drive-athletic-clubs-grand-interior-lobby/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/04/06/saic-lecture-series-trash-talks-the-afterlives-of-buildings/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/04/04/photodocumenting-suspended-animation-in-uptown-theaters-ornamental-terra-cotta-facade/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/03/22/the-bldg-51-museum-of-chicago-building-artifacts-continues-its-expansion-in-2017-with-several-newly-added-historically-important-pieces/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/03/09/bldg-51-museum-hosts-saic-historic-preservation-graduate-program-student-field-study-trip/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/03/02/full-figured-terra-cotta-eagles-carefully-extracted-during-final-moments-of-buick-dealership-demolition/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/02/20/the-death-and-regeneration-of-the-chicago-athletic-association-buildings-stalactite-ceiling/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/02/10/a-rare-glimpse-inside-rapp-and-rapps-central-park-theater-chicagos-oldest-extant-movie-palace/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/01/18/things-congress-theaters-plaster-tradesmen-left-behind/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/01/16/loewenberg-loewenbergs-logan-square-automobile-showroom-demolished/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2017/01/05/documenting-and-deconstructing-the-19th-century-chicago-workers-cottage/ https://bldg51.com/news-and-events/2016/12/31/a-sobering-recollection-of-chicagos-disappearing-cityscape-in-2016/ ...
by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago By the 1940s onward the J.L. Higgie building had begun a protracted period of what could be considered gradual decline. In this postcard from the 1940s one notes the classic bell shaped roofs from the earlier 1920s photo are...
[caption id="attachment_34392" align="alignleft" width="900"] ogen avenue facade with terra cotta name plaque in place.[/caption] by Eric J. Nordstrom and Ornament Chicago: As another exhausting week continues additional details of the family behind the curious wedge-shaped J. L. Higgie building continue to emerge. After some more research...