the last installment of images documenting the final days of the former f. hyman & company commerical building (1884) located at 1329 n. clybourn avenue. i was drawn to this building early on because of its unusual transistional facade comprised largely of lemont limestone (often...
after a week of wrecking, an 1880s five-story commerical building, located at 1329 n. clybourn avenue, has been reduced to a pile of rubble enclosed within a masonry shell. the building's transistional facade is rather unusual, in that its comprised largely of lemont limestone (often...
the following posts (listed chronologically) offers a virtual guide through my thoroughly methodical and exhaustive efforts documenting chicago's historic extant congress theater (1926), from the moment i stepped foot into the theater's lobby, to the publication of the book "lost and found," which focuses on...
the non-extant michael reese hospital was erected in south side chicago, on the site where the city's first hospital was constructed in 1880. the newly completed building was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on june 16th, 1907, having been built at a cost of nearly one...
the following five bottles and/or bottle fragments were culled from the bldg. 51 museum "unearthing chicago" project archive based on their captivating narratives. images of the bottles and the links to their forgotten histories are found below. MID-19TH CENTURY BOTTLES UNEARTHED DURING THE DEMOLITION AND SUBSEQUENT...
it is well known that louis sullivan spent the last two decades of his life and career mired in dire poverty. the architect responsible for defining chicago's architectural ethos, and for raising some of the most exceptional skyscrapers would find himself in dismal poverty, reliant...
as demolition of the early 20th century building housing the storied pacific garden mission - more commonly known as the "old lighthouse" - was drawing to a close, a battered and broken floor safe was found in the rubble. the diminutive, baked enameled black safe, with...
some of the most unique artifacts in the bldg. 51 collection (and for sale in the urban remains warehouse) are rescued from non-extant theaters hearkening to the early 20th century theater boom. aside from remarkable light fixtures, seating, decorative plaster and exterior elements from these...
rediscovered images from the richman brothers downtown chicago department store building salvaged in july of 2007. the building was formerly known as the bee hive dry goods store constructed in 1884 by the architectural firm of adler and sullivan. traces of the original facade were...
the destruction last year of the osborne & adams building (erected in 1872) remains a deeply upsetting affair, and one i remember each time i walk past the three gargantuan keystones housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection. the exterior architectural elements were rescued from...
forgotten objects and ephemera found hidden in the crawlspaces, attics, plenums and basements of five depression-era chicago theaters. my "lost and found" project of documenting and discovering what tradesmen and theatergoers left behind or discarded over the decades lasted nearly three years. after collecting and organizing...
the five- story tyler and hippach mirror company factory building (1902) is set for demolition in early 2022. a fence was erected around the building shortly after its last occupant, the wm. j. cassidy tire company, moved out. located at 344. north canal street, the...
a selection of historic chicago buildings lost in 2021. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2022. EARLY 1860S CORNELIUS C. HOPPER ITALIANATE STYLE MASONRY RESIDENCE DESTROYED CIVIL WAR-ERA ITALIANATE STYLE RESIDENCE BUILT FOR CORNELIUS C. HOPPER FACES IMMINENT DEMOLITION SENSELESS DESTRUCTION...
i'm continuously arranging and rearranging any and all artifacts housed within the bldg. 51 museum, as a means to generate inspiration and flush out narratives held within these historically important remnants of the past. at the most basic level there is information attached to every object...
the following image gallery offers some of latest american architectural builders' hardware aquired over the past month. the salvaged chicago residential and commerical hardware dates to the late 19th and early 20th century. ...
around the time i began salvaging a chicago italianate row house constructed shortly after the fire, i was deeply immersed in the book, “the carpenter and joiner, and elements of hand-railing,” written by robert riddell in 1869. the highly technical book discusses the “art” of...
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....
the cornelius c. hopper house (1863) was demolished in a matter of hours late last week. sadly, very little, if anyhting, was salvaged from the exterior and/or interior of the three-story italiante style masonry residence punctuated with unornamented lemont limeston window hoods. the original solid...
civil war-era italianate style residence built for cornelius c. hopper in 1863-64 faces imminent demolition. according to period city directories, hooper was secretary of the peoples gas light and coke company. wood or tin ornamental bracketed cornice and rooftop cupola were removed/destroyed long ago. original unornamented...
SELECTED DIG STORIES FROM 2014-2019: FREQUENTLY UNEARTHED BOTTLES OF STOVE POLISH TIED TO NEGLECTED FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT-DESIGNED FACTORY BUILDING UNEARTHING THE REMAINS OF THE FORMER CURTISS FACTORY - HOME OF THE "BABY RUTH" CANDY BAR THE MOST COMMONLY UNEARTHED BOTTLE IN CHICAGO AND ITS CONNECTION WITH LOUIS H....