BLDG51. News and Events |

01 Nov copper-lined time capsule extracted from park view church’s school during its demolition

Posted at 20:48h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Salvages by Eric

i was already stressed and exhausted from pulling the last of the zettler-signed "munich" style windows from the park view lutheran church's interior (1929) , when i was forced to pause for an hour as a wrecking machine nearby began pulling down the facade of the...

01 Nov one of the last standing downtown chicago post-fire worker cottages is hurtling towards oblivion

Posted at 18:41h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

previous posts have covered this historically significant 1870's-era cottage and the "death sentence" it was handed way back in summer 2016. however, the post i have been dreading all along is finally here. the wheels are now in motion, and the "kiss of death," in...

26 Oct urban remains methodically extracts park view church’s “munich” style tryptych windows executed by drehobl brothers

Posted at 05:00h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, Salvages by Eric

for the past two weeks i've devoted nearly every afternoon methodically and painstakingly extracting any and all art glass windows from the soon-to-be-demolished gothic style park view lutheran church featuring an indiana blue limestone facade and single bell tower topped by a an unusual oversized...

18 Oct latest inventory includes gothic style church lighting, early chicago terra cotta, and various medical/industrial furniture

Posted at 02:50h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions, Salvages by Eric

the following photo gallery offers a glimpse of the most recent artifacts salvaged and/or acquired and posted in the urban remains massive website catalog (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories). this year marks the ten year anniversary of urban remains, and from day one, one...

14 Oct unusually large “pocket” of packed late 19th century rubbish discovered on the near north side

Posted at 21:26h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

i was called to examine a desolate triangular-shaped parcel of land being excavated on the near north side shortly after i completed documenting the soon-to-be demolished art deco style 1930's ornamental limestone facade concealing "buddy's parking garage" on clark street (images highlighting the exterior decorative elements will be...

13 Oct two-story mid-1880’s brick workers cottage on marshfield street demolished

Posted at 15:49h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

another well-maintained 19th century brick workers cottage, boasting an interior that had been unaltered since the depression, was ripped apart in a matter of hours earlier this week. the two-story brick cottage, bedecked with a bracketed wood cornice, deeply incised window hoods or headers, and the original double pine...

12 Oct early building occupant identified by papers left under building’s attic floor boards

Posted at 05:30h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

the noble square neighborhood "cornerstore" facing demolition began as a single story brick workers cottage, likely constructed in the latter half of the 1870's. through time the back section of the structure remained residential, while the front underwent dramatic reconstruction, including removal of the majority...

08 Oct bottles and building parts from chicago’s past pulled from excavations across the city

Posted at 21:04h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

the following compilation of images were taken from various chicago excavations - both commercial and residential over the past few weeks. the wide range of objects or artifacts recovered (and in many cases documented in the studio) include 19th century wood "pilings" once supporting a...

05 Oct quintessential 1880’s chicago cottage on maud street handed death sentence despite well-maintained facade

Posted at 21:42h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

while poring over demolition permits issued over the past few days, a particular brick cottage jumped forward. the facade of this exemplary mid-1880's brick cottage - replete with deeply incised keystones, paneled bargeboard and bracketed cornice - nearly made my heart skip a beat. i...

05 Oct recent acquisitions include vintage medical furniture, stained glass, millwork, unearthed bottles, gauges, terra cotta

Posted at 04:18h in Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Sales and Promotions, Salvages by Eric

03 Oct demolition of buildings housing vincent formusa’s italian import business through sequential photography

Posted at 22:34h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

the following collection of images offers a small visual record of the painstakingly slow eradication of two adjoining late 19th century multi-story masonry chicago buildings that housed vincent formusa's italian import business (see above) since 1898. the discovery and subsequent documentation of the building's hidden upper-story "time capsule" during its...

27 Sep photographing the facade of h.i. cobb’s chicago athletic association building

Posted at 21:05h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

it's been nearly two years since i got to spend several consecutive afternoons photographing the entire facade of henry ives cobb's chicago athletic association building. my access was granted during a time when the building was covered from top to bottom in a web of scaffolding,...

23 Sep the facade of st. john’s church (1910) obliterated in a matter of hours

Posted at 17:59h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

an alarming number of chicago churches constructed in the 19th and early 20th century have been taken down this year. st. john's (1910) on moffatt street is the latest casualty. when i arrived on its last day, it was already a pile of ruin with the exception...

22 Sep back-to-back destruction of two exceptionally intact victorian-era chicago houses

Posted at 21:18h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

two 19th century houses were handed the death sentence earlier this week. the late 1890' two-flat with rusticated stone arches on george street (see below) has already been pulled apart and trucked off. the second house (1880-1884), replete with pressed ornamental brick, rusticated stone, and exceptional...

21 Sep early wall paper, mummified rat, and “pleasure club” invite found resting on william schmidt’s post-fire cottage sill plates

Posted at 19:22h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

after the evergreen street post-fire cottage (1874) was brought down and the dust settled, i jumped up on the heavily notched old growth white pine wood sill plates, resting atop the few brick walls that remained standing. with camera in tow, i aimed to closely examine the materials...

21 Sep dated cornerstone time capsule with contents successfully extracted shortly before st. john’s church razed

Posted at 01:32h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

as the facade of st. john's church came crumbling down (a terrible loss for chicago's preservation movement) several pieces of limestone ornament, the dated cornerstone, and the copper time capsule found within it, were carefully removed. they are currently being documented in my studio, where...

14 Sep decorators supply company’s richly designed ornament has greatly enhanced chicago’s architecture

Posted at 22:25h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

the decorators'' supply company traces its history back to 1883 when the original founders, simon strahn and richard c. foster, established a partnership to manufacture "artistic decorative accessories." an old lease document dated april 13, 1890 describes the company as a carving and guilders business. by...

13 Sep the death of a wood-framed post chicago fire cottage through sequential pictures

Posted at 21:04h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, Salvages by Eric

a remarkably intact wood-framed cottage with gable front was reduced to rubble in a matter of hours this past weekend. once the residence of william schmidt - a chicago patrolman during the 1870's - the house likely dated to shortly after the great chicago fire...

10 Sep exceptional c. 1880’s transom art glass windows discovered during demolition of former organ factory

Posted at 19:16h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

there's good reason why i cannot leave a wrecking site until everything has been trucked off, including the earth excavated for laying the foundation of the structure replacing the one reduced to rubble. every now and then, while a building is being blasted by the excavator's bucket, something...

07 Sep demolition on a group of neighboring 19th century houses on evergreen street has finally begun

Posted at 05:06h in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Salvages by Eric

i never made it to work on friday. instead, i drove over to evergreen street after seeing demolition permits reissued, and hearing from an associate that the bright yellow wrecking machine is parked in front of the four endangered structures there. catching wind of this...