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site of demolished eye and ear infirmary converted to public park littered with senseless assembalge of terra cotta ornament

i've finally made time to revisit a salvage i was involved in nearly 8 years ago- a move sparked in part by rediscovering several buried terra cotta fragments that were packed away. it all began after receiving a phone call from daniel "danny" lampa, owner of midwest wrecking, over the demolition of "an old hospital" located at 135 s. sangamon street. shortly after getting notice i made my way over to what turned out to be the eye and ear infirmary that had been endangered for some time. i was aware that preservation chicago fought to save this historically significant building, but by the time i arrived onsite work had already begun, effectively dashing any hope of the building's survival. throughout its demolition, the hammond and martin-designed illinois charitable eye and ear infirmary (a mayan revival art deco style building erected in 1929) became the "sacrificial lamb" offered up as the most feasible site for chicago's 2nd ward to receive its public park.

since it was very fast-paced and - as usual - i had several other projects on my plate, my output was unfortunately limited. i did manage to capture some interior photographs, along with exterior glimpses of the mayan revival terra cotta ornament. in addition, i discovered two strongly geometric ornamental cast bronze headers that were bolted above the infirmary's main entrance. hidden under boards added decades ago, they were completely forgotten.

i was fortunate to have the time to carefully document the main entrance, which lead to the removal of past remuddlings, thereby exposing the single-sided ornamental headers. since the majority of the terra cotta was to be saved for the city - to be incorporated into the park where the building once stood, salvage was limited and my role was to document.

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the infirmary was completed  in 1929, by architects charles herrick hammond and edgar martin. hammond was a partner in the famous firm of perkins, chatton, and hammond, working with the noted prairie school designer dwight perkins. martin was the third partner in the equally-famous and pioneering prairie school firm of schmidt, garden, and martin. martin left the firm and became state supervising architect for several years, during which time he worked on the eye and ear infirmary. the eye and ear infirmary building was a unique commission that featured combined creative input by both prairie school architects. the combination brick and terra cotta edifice was designed in a retrained and strongly geometric art deco mayan revival style. the basic form of the building can be described as art deco, exhibiting characteristics like low relief terra cotta ornament, pronounced or protruding piers, and setbacks. the terra cotta ornament is highly geometric with mayan sensibility, possibly inspired by frank lloyd wright’s textile block houses executed during the 1920s.

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shortly after rediscovering the terra cotta i salvaged years ago from the infirmary, i paid a visit to mary bartelme park, which according to the chicago park district's website was "formerly the site of an old infirmary" and  "embedded within the linear seat walls are architectural terracotta artifacts salvaged from the original building, referencing the history of the site." in other words, the eye and ear infirmary receives very little recognition, despite the large sum of money required to extract the terra cotta ornament during demolition, along with its installation or integration within the park's design. sadly, the building's existence lives on through its strewn about ornament left largely unnoticed. what a waste...

interior images:

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