unusually large "pocket" of packed late 19th century rubbish discovered on the near north side

i was called to examine a desolate triangular-shaped parcel of land being excavated on the near north side shortly after i completed documenting the soon-to-be demolished art deco style 1930's ornamental limestone facade concealing "buddy's parking garage" on clark street (images highlighting the exterior decorative elements will be added in an upcoming blog post).

when i arrived the excavator had made significant progress, with several truckloads of dirt and debris hauled from the site since early morning. at first glance all i could see were piles of brick and twisted iron leftover from the demolition of the building(s) that once resided there. according to an 1886 sanborn insurance map, the buried building materials were likely from existing structures that were located on the opposite end of the small, oddly-shaped parcel of land. there, a collection of unidentified structures facing both oak and crosby street were bunched together, with only one constructed with brick. the black arrow indicates where the piles of late 19th century rubbish were found and documented.

at the south end of the lot i came across a huge pocket of 19th century trash strewn about - both on the ground and deeply embedded in the exposed walls within the pit. with the exception of a few utility and/or soda bottles, the bulk of the buried trash was hundreds, if not thousands of glass shards. the late 19th century rare lime-green quart-sized andrew carpenter mineral and/or soda water "blob top" bottle was an exceptional find, despite the broken top.

the following images provide a glimpse of some of the rubbish discovered at the site. since the excavation is far from complete, there will likely be a follow-up to this entry.