post-chicago fire osborne and adams leather company building demolition imminent

after the demolition delay hold was lifted for 209 west lake street, i knew that within a week the wreckers would be onsite to rapidly tear apart the former osborne and adams leather company building -- a shame since it was constructed shortly after the great chicago fire of 1871 wiped out the downtown district.

over the last two days i've been photographing this building in every conceivable way to create a visual archive of its exterior characteristics (primarily the distinctive facade) for future research. i would much rather see the building's front repaired to set the stage for adaptive reuse. this is, of course, wishful thinking considering the alarming rate at which chicago's historic fabric is disintegrating.

i find various facets of the building's construction to be incredibly distinctive. it stands out by nature of its age, as only a few of the extant buildings within the loop were constructed so soon after the great chicago fire. the 1872-1874 building contains a "faux stone" facade since it was very difficult to obtain the necessary cut stone to dress the facades of buildings being rapidly rebuilt in the "burnt district." nearly all of the surrounding stone quarries were slammed with meeting the demands or supplying the stone needed to rebuild after the disaster. in fact, some buildings were constructed using common brick on both the side and rear walls, with no facade at all until stone became available. in the case of this building, the builder used an "artificial stone" - an early precursor to cement that could be cast into various components quickly and cheaply. the material never really caught on, so buildings outfitted with this type of facade treatment are rare - especially in chicago.

to be continued...