important "sullivanesque" ornamental terra cotta salvaged from a chicago garage undergoing demolition

once again i arrived on another heneghan wrecking job site (my crew and i recently completed salvage work at the a. finkl & sons foundry and the howard johnson excavation site) where a massive wooden rood truss warehouse constructed in 1918 was undergoing demolition.

when the demolition permit for this structure landed on my radar, i was immediately interested. the otherwise mundane masonry structure contained a remarkable "sulllivanesque" facade treatment, in the form of ornamental white-glazed terra cotta fabricated by the midland terra cotta company of chicago, ills.

the midland terra cotta company (established in 1910) gained widespread popularity during the early 20th century, especially with their highly sought after "sullivanesque" line of ornament that architects and/or builders could simply pick and choose from to give their building a unique identity in a cost-efficient manner. an army of salesman traveled the country distributing an impressive packet of double-sided, profusely illustrated, heavy card stock plates showcasing their vast assortment of "stock" terra cotta designs. these would often be accompanied by suggested configurations of the ornament on the facades of banks, commercial buildings, garages, shops and so on.

the warehouse that was outfitted with the "sullivanesque" terra cotta ornament was constructed at a cost of $18,000 in 1918. the brick garage was built for c.c. anderson, who resided at the reaper block by architect w.p. whitney with offices on south michigan avenue. the contractor and/or mason was identified as one h.l. schroeder according to a 1918 issue of the american contractor.

since many of these distinctive "sullivanesque" buildings have been lost to the wrecking ball in chicago area, i made sure to secure the salvage rights to the ornament at whatever cost. thankfully, heneghan was the demolition contractor, so i was able to hammer out a deal to obtain the terra cotta components during the building's demolition.

the first day was very productive and a complete success, with nearly all the ornament from the portion of the facade wrecked recovered in great condition. the large haul was brought back to the store where we carefully removed residual mortar, steel anchors and "fill" from the cavities or "webbing" designed to reinforce the fired clay ornament.

while preparing the terra cotta blocks for documentation in the studio, i could not help but notice and greatly admire the incredible intactness of the surface patina, which consisted of both allover crazing and deposits of soot and grime from prolonged exposure to the city's airborne pollutants. the heavily darkened regions worked in the ornament's favor for inadvertently accentuating the intricate design elements.

once the salvaged terra cotta was cleaned of unwanted debris, i made sure no one cleaned the surfaces with any chemicals. loose dirt and sand was simply vacuumed or wiped off with shop rags. i then photographed each and every piece of ornament in the studio. i saved some of the original face brick to combine it with the terra cotta in order to create a "system" that offers one an accurate portrayal of how the brick and terra cotta looked when used in conjunction on the facade itself.

the demolition of the "sullivanesque" warehouse is in progress, so the remainder of the ornament will be removed beginning early next week. i have already carefully selected pieces that have become the latest addition to the bldg. 51 museum (a subsection of the bldg. 51 building artifact book was devoted to "sullivanesque" midland terra cotta), but there are several duplicates that will become available shortly on the website so others that admire this type of terra cotta can obtain it for their collection as well.