bldg. 51 museum of chicago building artifacts continues its expansion in 2017 with several newly-added historically important pieces

the relentless search to aquire, identify, and document historically important remnants from chicago building demolished or altered has greatly assisted in driving the bldg. 51 museum collection and archive's sustained momentum and/or growth in the new year. while the museum's core mission remains sharply focused on chicago-related architectural artifacts bearing historical significance, the sizable collection of historic building materials (e.g., studs, sill plates, tree nails, sheathing, spikes, etc.), for use with the "deconstructing chicago project," along with the vast assemblage of 19th and early 20th century artifacts excavated across the city for the "unearthing chicago" book, remain equally important in telling the story of chicago's past through its architecture, ever-evolving construction materials and methods, and uncovering buried remnants that shed insight into the daily lives of chicagoans living in the 19th and early 20th century.

the latest acquisitions to join the bldg. 51 museum are shown below:

gallery of additional bldg. 51 museum objects:

architectural drawing depicting longitudinal section of detroit's mayan revival fisher theater. dated february 1, 1928. graven and mayger, architects, chicago, ills.

thoroughly documenting the multitude of artifacts stemming from the museum collection, coupled with assigning each and every one of these objects or fragments a narrative or story that gives them context, has been an ongoing process, beginning with the 2013 publication of the bldg. 51 museum catalog book. however, over the past two years i've revisited and built upon a massive photo archive revolving around documenting the death of buildings, unearthing artifacts from excavation sites and forgotten landfills, and as of late, embarking on an intensive photographic study of architectural elements (in great detail with the assistance of multiple zoom lenses) hiding in plain sight on 19th and early 20th century extant buildings, ranging from the vanishing workers cottage to downtown landmarks. this includes recent efforts directed at extensively documenting historic buildings undergoing "historically sensitive transformations," with the latest being the congress theater - a remarkable neighborhood movie palace that has witnessed very little change since it was constructed in 1926.

documenting congress theater's transformation has just begun...