saving the only remaining identifiable pre-fire artifact from an augustus bauer-designed building (1869)

with the exception of the building itself, the only remaining exterior architectural ornament left undisturbed on the historically important augustus bauer-designed german school, a survivor of the great chicago fire, is a simple, yet elegant hand-carved oversized side entrance keystone featuring a a raised and tapered panel integrated with a heavy circle with a deeply recessed opening.

the circle may have been designed to echo the much larger and more prominent oculus, located on the building's red brick facade, just below the corbeled roofline (see image below), depicting the school's original bauer-designed facade shortly before being replaced or covered over with a light tan brick veneer in 1944-45.

upon closer inspection of the heavily pixelated and grainy black and white photograph, one can make out what appears to be an identical keystone positioned directly above the main entrance. furthermore, and like the keystone recovered, the arch top lintels or window headers and sills were likely comprised of limestone, which would serve to visually accentuate these features against an otherwise monotonous red brick field pattern.

aside from the vast collection of original building materials (e.g., joists, cut nails, two-part molding, etc.) recovered from building's interior, the keystone represents the only identifiable architectural artifact the was spared from the radical facadectomy that eradicated the building's architectural identity and now the demolition.

because of this, i felt the need to not only call attention to the importance of this historic artifact, but also photodocument the process of rescuing the keystone with a little persuasion and monetary compensation. the backhoe operator's experience and skill handling the combination bucket and claw thumb quickly and effectively "plucked" the stone from the building (where it sat since 1869) and brought safely to the ground for transport to my photo studio, where it has been documented and now safely resides in the bldg. 51 museum.