New Acquisitions

  1. latest chicago-centric architectural books, photogrpahy and other ephemera added to bldg. 51 archive in early spring of 2024

    latest chicago-centric architectural books, photogrpahy and other ephemera added to bldg. 51 archive in early spring of 2024
    the following american architectural ephermera joined the ever-expanding, chicago-based bldg. 51 museum in the early spring of 2024. captions will be provided when time permits.  images and ephemera courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2024.
  2. photographic images, ephemera and artifacts from ongoing 2024 chicago-centric private archival collections

    photographic images, ephemera and artifacts from ongoing 2024 chicago-centric private archival collections
    eric j. nordstrom, through his bldg. 51 archive and museum, has been consumed with a project attempting to bridge various local archives in a unified manner, that for the time-being, is translated in the following images accompanied with brief descriptions or narratives identifying the historical importance of the objects and artifacts, along with the identification of the various participants. this...
  3. previously unknown historically important chicago-based beardslee lighting company collection joins the bldg. 51 archive

    previously unknown historically important chicago-based beardslee lighting company collection joins the bldg. 51 archive
    late last week the bldg. 51 archive secured what likely is the largest collection of 2d ephemera pertaining to the chicago-based beardslee chandelier manufacturing company, established in 1901 by frank s. beardslee. we begun digitizing some of the collection while attempting to make sense of it all. the number of archival boxes is seemingly endless and each filled with drawings...
  4. bldg. 51 museum acquires exceptionally rare 1930 american stoveboard catalog with louis h. sullivan-designed board

    bldg. 51 museum acquires exceptionally rare 1930 american stoveboard catalog with louis h. sullivan-designed board
    original 1930 american stoveboard company catalog (i've been searching for one for at least 10 years). so now i know without doubt that by 1930, they carried only one louis h. sullivan-designed board in their product catalog. it's a rather unusual one and the size displayed, does not surface often. sullivan likely secured the two hundred dollar commission through his...
  5. digitization of newly acquired massive kodachrome collection - spanning decades - devoted to chicago architecture in progress

    digitization of newly acquired massive kodachrome collection - spanning decades - devoted to chicago architecture in progress
    digitization of a massive mixed bag of chicago architecture images spanning four decades in currently underway. the other night i finally made time to begin scanning what i call the "shoebox collection," which is comprised of thousands of koda and ektachrome slides of chicago dating from the 1960s-1990s. the slides, boxes, etc., are marked "city" in pencil. i have no...
  6. bell building and other historically important chicago building brochures join bldg. 51 archive

    bell building and other historically important chicago building brochures join bldg. 51 archive
    original 1924 saddle-stitched bell building booklet distributed to prospective building tenants. the profusely illustrated tri-fold booklet contains detailed images and information on the building. the 23-story classical style cream-colored terra cotta office building was designed by the architectural firm of vitzthum, karl, and company in 1924. it was commissioned by businessman herbert bell as the headquarters for the bell and...
  7. pretty in pink: 1892 schiller building or garrick theater auditorium plaster "starpod" with early 1950s painted finish added to bldg. 51 museum

    pretty in pink: 1892 schiller building or garrick theater auditorium plaster "starpod" with early 1950s painted finish added to bldg. 51 museum
    the louis h. sullivan and frank l. wright-designed ornamental plaster within the auditorium of adler and sullivan's garrick theater (1892) was painted hideous colors around the time it was converted into a television studio in 1951. one such example - a star-pod panel - from the proscenium vault was recently acquired by the bldg. 51 museum collection this week.  filllllllllllllllll...
  8. several original important museum-quality stanley tigerman cased architectural presentation models join bldg. 51 collection

    several original important museum-quality stanley tigerman cased architectural presentation models join bldg. 51 collection
    stanley tigerman studied at massachusetts institute of technology, but flunked out after one year. after, the dean of architecture at mit helped tigerman get an apprenticeship with chicago architect george fred keck. after a year with keck, he left to start his own practice, which failed. he then joined the u.s. navy for four years, serving in the korean war...
  9. bldg. 51 and urban remains secure large selection of emblematic and monogrammed hardware from historically important american buildings

    bldg. 51 and urban remains secure large selection of emblematic and monogrammed hardware from historically important american buildings
    a sizable collection of custom-designed commerical door hardware was recently purchased by both the bldg. 51 museum and urbna remains earlier this month. the emblematic and monogrammed cast brass, bronze, and bower-barff iron doorknobs and backplates are from numerous historically important american buildings (many demolished) across the country. a sampling of the hardware photographed in the studio is provided below...
  10. eric j. nordstrom's memoir entitled afterlife: stories of salvaging ornament from historically important demolished 19th and early 20th century chicago-based buildings coming in 2025

    eric j. nordstrom's memoir entitled afterlife: stories of salvaging ornament from historically important demolished 19th and early 20th century chicago-based buildings coming in 2025
    eric j. nordstrom's new book on his unrelenting efforts in researching, recording, and ulimately rescuing architectural ornament from historically important 19th and early 20th century residential and commerical buildings will be published in the early months of 2025. updates to follow. 
  11. a pictorial survey of john edelmann-designed architectural ornament housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection

    a pictorial survey of john edelmann-designed architectural ornament housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection
    john h. edelmann (1852–1900) was a socialist-anarchist who worked as an architect in the office of alfred zucker, a successful commercial architect of the 1880s and 1890s in new york city. as an architect, edelmann's sole surviving monument is the former headquarters of the decker brothers piano company, the decker building (1893), at 33 union square west, new york. louis...
  12. urban remains showroom and bldg. 51 museum: weekly arrivals ramping up in winter of 2024

    urban remains showroom and bldg. 51 museum: weekly arrivals ramping up in winter of 2024
    with a surprisingly large number of frequent acquisitions populating both museum and gallery these last three months, i have been deeply entrenched in documenting and displaying chicago-centric ephemera, photographs, and architectural artifacts in a satisfactory manner before another acquisition – big or small – arrives and leaves everything once again in disarray. the following images provides a glimpse at some...
  13. latest urban remains acquisitions for winter of 2023-2024

    latest urban remains acquisitions for winter of 2023-2024
    the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 95,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 18 years). the newly acquired items for the winter months of 2023-20 have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. any and...
  14. visual record of weese reconstructing wright's francisco terrace (1895) in 1978

    visual record of weese reconstructing wright's francisco terrace (1895) in 1978
    contact sheet images of frank lloyd wright’s francisco terrace (1895) taken shortly after it was rebuilt in oak park in 1978. realtor john baird, attorney, historian devereux bowly, and architect ben weese were instrumental in salvaging frank lloyd wright-designed ornament (e.g., bedford limestone columns, lintels and sills, buff-colored terra cotta, face brick, etc.) during its demolition in 1974 for use...
  15. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WORK OF ERIC J. NORDSTROM, URBAN REMAINS AND THE BLDG. 51 ARCHIVE IN 2023

    HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WORK OF ERIC J. NORDSTROM, URBAN REMAINS AND THE BLDG. 51 ARCHIVE IN 2023
    note: the following links represent some of highlights accomplished in 2023. the posts are arranged chronologically, from beginning of 2023 to end.  BLDG. 51 ARCHIVE ACQUIRES SIZABLE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF IMPORTANT RICHARD NICKEL PHOTOGRAPHS ROOKERY BUILDING BLUEPRINTS, RARE BOOKS, ORNAMENTAL TERRA COTTA, BUILDERS' HARDWARE, AND PLYMOUTH BUILDING ARTIFACTS ADDED IN JANUARY 2023 LARGELY INTACT PAINTED PINE WOOD EXTERIOR ORNAMENT SALVAGED...
  16. latest museum-quality american architectural artifacts and ephemera added to the bldg. 51 archive and eric j. nordstrom permanent collection

    latest museum-quality american architectural artifacts and ephemera added to the bldg. 51 archive and eric j. nordstrom permanent collection
    the following american architectural ornament joined the ever-expanding, chicago-based bldg. 51 museum in the fall-winter of 2023. captions will be provided when time permits.  images and ornament courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2023. 
  17. tunnel vision: a closer look at recently digitized early glass negatives of chicago's old underground tunnel system

    tunnel vision: a closer look at recently digitized early glass negatives of chicago's old underground tunnel system
    the bldg. 51 archive acquired some glass negatives taken by or for the chicago tunnel and/or illinois tunnel company (the latter took over construction and operations beginning in 1905). the work was subcontracted out to the illinois telephone construction company with george w. jackson acting as head engineer. the photos were likely taken by the chicago architectural photographing company. note...
  18. historically important gothic style exterior henry rohkam residence terra cotta fence segments join bldg. 51 museum archive

    historically important gothic style exterior henry rohkam residence terra cotta fence segments join bldg. 51 museum archive
      four original red slip-glazed gothic style exterior terra cotta fence segments salvaged from northwestern terra cotta executive henry rokham's house (1887) in the 1980s, joined the bldg. 51 museum collection of historically important terra cotta earlier this month. rokham's victorian-era home was designed by architect theodore karls to showcase the use of ornamental terra cotta on a residential building...
  19. group of historically important frank lloyd wright-designed wainwright building (1891) painted cast iron ground floor mullion fragments join bldg. 51 archive

    group of historically important frank lloyd wright-designed wainwright building (1891) painted cast iron ground floor mullion fragments join bldg. 51 archive
    multiple frank lloyd wright-designed red painted cast iron mullion fragments removed from the ground level windows on adler and sullivan's wainwright building (1891) were recently acquired by the bldg. 51 archive collection. the diminutive cast iron sections (fabricator not known) were salvaged from the building in 1974-75 while undergoing extensive alterations including demolition of the interior. the strongly geometric and...
  20. bldg. 51 museum acquires rare and historically important world book encyclopedia garrick theater "star and pod" shadow box

    bldg. 51 museum acquires rare and historically important world book encyclopedia garrick theater "star and pod" shadow box
    when adler and sullivan's schiller building (1892) - later known as the garrick theater - was undergoing demolition in 1961 (a multitude of preservation groups and notable figures around the world vigorously protested and fought to save it from destruction months prior), a small number of forward-thinking organizations generously provided financial assistance towards saving the building's interior and exterior ornament...

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