bldg. 51 and glessner house join forces to present "remembering the garrick" talk by john vinci in fall of 2019

Remembering the Garrick: An Evening with John Vinci

Tuesday September 24, 2019 at 7:00pm

Glessner House

1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago

$10 per person

A partner program of the Chicago Architecture Biennial

The Garrick Theater (originally known as the Schiller Building) looms large in Chicago history – both as a masterpiece of Adler & Sullivan and as one of the earliest organized efforts to preserve an important part of our architectural heritage.

This exclusive event will provide attendees with an intimate view of the building as experienced by architect John Vinci, who was on the front line to fight for its preservation, which then shifted to a salvage mission when demolition became imminent.

Vinci will discuss the formation of the Chicago Heritage Commission specifically to save the Garrick, and how it brought together individuals who went on to become leaders in Chicago’s preservation movement.  He will analyze the structure of the building from its trusses to its phoenix columns and detail the effort that preserved significant sections of terra cotta, plaster ornamentation, and stencil designs.

The presentation will include powerful images by Vinci and his colleague, Richard Nickel, which demonstrate both Sullivan’s masterful design and the painstaking efforts to preserve that design through the salvaging of ornament.

Selected fragments and other items will be on display, courtesy of bldg. 51 museum.

Co-sponsored by Bldg. 51 Museum.

Images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, the bldg. 51 musuem, john vinci, tim samuelson, and the Richard Nickel Archive, Art Institute of Chicago.