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rookery building basement vault room safeguards remnants from its repairs and renovations

to this day, the rookery building (burnham & root, 1888) still houses the northern trust company's old central safety deposit vaults in its basement. while the vault room no longer houses the 1100 private safes (installed in 1901) used to protect chicagoan's securities and valuables, the heavily fortified room does contain an impressive collection of artifacts leftover from extensive renovations the building underwent beginning with the lobby spearheaded by frank lloyd wright in 1907.

the fully functional and elaborately designed 19th century hinged diebold safe & lock company vault room door and surrounding jamb, fully equipped with a three-movement yale & towne vault clock, polished and incised ornamental nickel-plated iron, brass and bronze cover plates, and locking bolts, still provides both access and security to the heavily fortified building fragment vault room since it was installed in 1889, with only minor alterations over the years.

upon entering, the dimly-lit room with concrete walls and ceiling supported by unornamented cast iron columns and bolted steel plate floors under foot, is a sprawling array of the building's own parts, including exterior terra cotta, luxfer prism tiles, elevator decor, lightly incised marble slabs, light fixture shades, staircase components, and so on.

i was taken aback at the sheer quantity of artifacts that have been retained over the building's lifespan. in most instances, these materials are typically scrapped and/or tossed out into dumpsters to preserve much-needed space. and, quite frankly, none of these "outdated" artifacts will ever be reincorporated into the building, so i was pleased that the building's caretakers are clearly protective of these historically important remnants. the broken marble lobby panels, replaced terra cotta, or antiquated plumbing may no longer serve a functional purpose but are nevertheless incredibly important in contributing to the building's rich narrative as it underwent renovations and restorations since its completion in 1889.

for those of you who have not had the great opportunity to view these artifacts in person, i photographed most of it, as it was displayed, when i made the journey there earlier this year. sadly, i did not bring the right camera equipment, nor was the lighting in there to my liking, so the images are greatly comprised (at least to my mind's eye).

i'm hoping to revisit the vault soon, and hope that in the future i might be able to offer my time to arrange a rookery building fragment exhibit, with information and imagery as well as objects, to provide a fuller understanding of what people are looking at. in addition, i would love to photograph the fragments in my studio with the intention to print a catalog, for distribution to architectural enthusiasts, historians, researchers, and the like. the rookery building fragment collection has so much potential to be displayed in accessible and interesting ways.

 



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