05 Jul design elements from adler & sullivan’s transportation building preserved through albert sullivan house demolition

the following blog entry revolves around richard nickel images documenting the removal of the louis sullivan-designed carved bedford limestone entrance lunette from the albert sullivan house’s façade in 1970. the lunette is one of only a few surviving links to sullivan’s work on the 1893 chicago world’s fair transportation building (designed around the time the house was built).

in addition to the stone lunette, sullivan incorporated extra cast plaster transportation building ornament throughout the interior (e.g., a lion head, cove molding, and frieze) of the residence. only a few fragments of the frieze from a bedroom and complete sections of cove molding from the vestibule survive from the interior. the lion head was either destroyed or stolen before nickel began dismantling the house.

the house was built for sullivan’s mother in 1891, but she died around the time of its completion. sullivan himself lived there from 1892-1896, but was kicked out by his brother albert, who lived there with his family until 1905. 

nickel arranged for siue to purchase the house to save the façade, which he then dismantled in the winter months of 1970. sadly, the carefully documented and numbered stones from the façade remain in storage.

additional nickel images and floor plan drawing by john vinci included in the gallery below. a more detailed blog detailing deconstruction of the sullivan house facade will be discussed in a forthcoming post.

images and ornament courtesy of the john vinci collection, bldg. 51 museum archive, and richard nickel archive, ryerson and burnham archives, art institute of chicago.

update: 8-8-2018:

cultural historian tim samuelson kindly allowed me to photograph his piece of albert sullivan house ornament – the only other known recreated plaster ornament used on the transportation building.  in addition to the cast plaster cove molding and lion head (the latter presumed lost or stolen), this section of trim was used in house interior – likely on the second floor in sullivan’s bedroom.