Urban Remains Chicago News and Events

Antique American Architectural Artifacts

  1. another historically important post-fire home within the "burnt district" threatened with demolition

    another historically important post-fire home within the "burnt district" threatened with demolition
    a multi-story masonry building at 1756 north cleveland avenue was placed on the demolition delay list just last month, meaning its death sentence is likely imminent. the white painted brick structure is a classic italianate style building, with bracketed cornice and ornate rounded window hoods surrounding unusual carved keystones. though real estate listings indicate the house was constructed in 1891, the facade...
  2. thousands of artifacts unearthed behind an 1860's-era building once housing a saloon

    thousands of artifacts unearthed behind an 1860's-era building once housing a saloon
    i recently detailed the partial demolition of a pre-fire, multi-story brick structure once occupied by nicholas eckhardt, whose family lived in the building while operating a saloon on the street level during the post-civil war era and on. after the wreckers had torn down the rear section, an excavation began which has proven to be overwhelmingly fruitful. the demolition effected a...
  3. urban remains launches new website - many more changes to follow in coming months

    urban remains launches new website - many more changes to follow in coming months
    as of this morning (june 1, 2016) urban remains finally launched its new website, a more elegantly designed and technologically advanced platform, utilizing the latest ecommerce software available today. if you have any questions, concerns, or comments please feel free to contact a sales associate by phone or email. we have come a long way in the past ten years, with...
  4. historically important pre-fire chicago saloon in west town partially demolished

    historically important pre-fire chicago saloon in west town partially demolished
    a pre-fire building that has stood on chicago avenue for 149 years is now undergoing a partial demolition and redevelopment, bringing changes which have already significantly altered the existing building. the 3-story red brick facade has been shuttered for some time and notably suffered the removal of an iconic neon sign earlier this year. now, without the lit up "rothschild...
  5. one of chicago's oldest cottages, replete with hewn beams, discovered through its untimely demise

    one of chicago's oldest cottages, replete with hewn beams, discovered through its untimely demise
    i've spent hours pouring over j.t. palmatary's illustrated "birdseye view" of chicago as it looked in 1857. in fact, i had the entire map blown up so large, i had to use a truck to deliver it to my downtown office. although it is remarkably detailed, especially in its geographical features and notable buildings, the artist appears to have distorted the many cottages...
  6. an extreme case of facedectomy: the complete removal of a joliet limestone facade adorning an 1875 chicago commerical building

    an extreme case of facedectomy: the complete removal of a joliet limestone facade adorning an 1875 chicago commerical building
    the following sequence of images - with the exception of lintel ornament, and a deeply incised keystone recovered from the dumpster - capture the long and painful facadectomy of a milwaukee avenue commercial building (1875). its face had been adorned with the distinctive yellow-hued joliet limestone that is becoming increasingly rare on extant chicago buildings dating to the 1870's. well over a...
  7. historically important mid-19th century chicago aberdeen street wood-framed cottage hidden under countless modifications

    historically important mid-19th century chicago aberdeen street wood-framed cottage hidden under countless modifications
      across the alley, jst a stone's throw from the john kent russell house (1855) stood two houses facing aberdeen street, or curtiss street at the time of their construction and/or move to the block. when these side-by-side houses landed in my daily demolition notifications, i quickly revisited an 1857 birdseye view of chicago that i'd once used to pinpoint the...
  8. impending death of a post-fire cottage could make for a pop up museum akin to the "relic house"

    impending death of a post-fire cottage could make for a pop up museum akin to the "relic house"
    approaching the probable demolition of the post-fire cottage at 1241 state street, it seems tragic not to commemorate the building, or make some effort toward appreciating its survival through the past century and a half. i have floated the idea of creating a pop up museum during the house's last days, using the site to display artifacts i have collected...
  9. 19th century brick workers cottage on pierce street struck down by wrecking machine

    19th century brick workers cottage on pierce street struck down by wrecking machine
    in a previous post i alerted my readers to the impending demolition of this finely-built workers cottage, constructed between 1875-1881. the first time i visited the house i documented the exterior as well as the interior. after stepping back and taking shots of the facade my eyes wandered toward neighboring houses, and i found myself walking up and down both sides...
  10. buried remnants offer greater insight into the daily lives of 19th century chicagoans

    buried remnants offer greater insight into the daily lives of 19th century chicagoans
    unearthing detritus from the lives of 19th century chicagoans often means coming across mundane fragments of glass, bone and broken bottles. sometimes, though, even a shard of glass or a broken object can prove to be an exceptional oddity- evidence of victorian customs or a clue to some small detail of daily life for the resident of a recently demolished...
  11. matching schlesinger & mayer white glazed terra cotta lintels acquired late last week

    matching schlesinger & mayer white glazed terra cotta lintels acquired late last week
    an unexpected acquisition was made this week, in the form of two historically important and all original sullivan-designed, white glazed ornamental terra cotta lintels from the facade of the sullivan center (formerly known as the carson pirie scott building company). the landmark commercial building was designed by louis sullivan for the retail firm schlesinger & mayer in 1899, and expanded by...
  12. salvaging 19th century cast iron facade "front" ornament from a former chicago saloon

    salvaging 19th century cast iron facade "front" ornament from a former chicago saloon
    when i got wind that a late 19th century two-story brick commercial building was set to be demolished, i modified my schedule immediately to allow for a visit to the building. sadly, the structure waiting to be wiped away from van buren street sat abandoned, exhibiting a high degree of neglect. still, it was adorned with its decorative tin cornice and exposed load-bearing i-beam. at some...
  13. 1920's ambassador hotel "ghost sign" emerges as the dust clears from the demolished building that concealed it

    1920's ambassador hotel "ghost sign" emerges as the dust clears from the demolished building that concealed it
    an incredible find was made earlier this week during demolition in lincoln park, as heneghan wrecking company tore back the walls of a c. 1927 grocery store. while the structure was turned to rubble, a long hidden "ghost sign" was unveiled on the neighboring building, having likely been covered over during the grocery store's construction. the hand-painted advertisement on the ambassador...
  14. largely unaltered richard maurice birdsall post-fire downtown chicago cottages faced with demolition

    largely unaltered richard maurice birdsall post-fire downtown chicago cottages faced with demolition
    with research ongoing, it is nevertheless clear that only a few single-story brick workers cottages built within the great chicago fire's "burnt district" still remain. the rare survivor, built shortly after the city began its unimaginable rise from the ruins, is now, 144 years later, being placed in the path of destruction. instead of a blameless natural disaster like fire this...
  15. hidden ephemera in a partially demolished 19th chicago cottage's ridge board assists in dating structure

    hidden ephemera in a partially demolished 19th chicago cottage's ridge board assists in dating structure
    when i arrived at the partially demolished house, i felt relaxed and more than prepared to get lost in "the zone" of traveling back in time, carefully analyzing and deconstructing - at least in my head - the fully exposed 19th century wood-framed cottage. since i was the only one present on the site, i proceeded with little distraction, grabbing my camera...
  16. 19th century building facade "remuddled" with 1920's art deco polychromatic terra cotta cornice

    19th century building facade "remuddled" with 1920's art deco polychromatic terra cotta cornice
    the great majority of extant 19th century chicago commercial building facades have succumbed to those 20th century remuddlings that greatly disfigure or altogether destroy the integrity of a building's original architectural character. the replacement of windows to make them more energy efficient is one thing, but more often than not the cornice and street level storefront are heavily targeted, with the latter catering to...
  17. a 19th century chicago alderman's scrapbook discovered under the floorboards of a house slated for demolition

    a 19th century chicago alderman's scrapbook discovered under the floorboards of a house slated for demolition
      when salvaging a house slated for demolition, i first and foremost size up both the interior and exterior elements that need to be removed, documenting the "before and after" as a critical facet of the narrative which i set out to capture on each site. and yet, often the most interesting finds may not reflect the architectural merit of...
  18. documenting 19th century timbers and trash pits shortly after demolition of a chicago cottage

    documenting 19th century timbers and trash pits shortly after demolition of a chicago cottage
    sadly, i missed salvaging and/or documenting the death of this steeply-pitched gabled roof masonry chicago cottage constructed around 1890-1895. when i did make it to the site, all that remained were partially intact brick foundation walls, with the heavily notched interlocking pine wood sill plates resting on top, and plenty of "insulation" (in this case, a mixture of mortar, wood...
  19. pre-fire crane brothers factory building riveted joint hand-forged iron vault door saved from demolition

    pre-fire crane brothers factory building riveted joint hand-forged iron vault door saved from demolition
    shortly before the last wave of demolition left the original 1865 foundry building standing alone, as the only reminder of crane's bustling fabrication of steam and valve fitters, urban remains was able to salvage and document the event. the crane manufacturing company lasted well into the 20th century before moving the central manufacturing district on the south side of chicago...
  20. capturing charleston's rich and deeply layered architectural history through its structures

    capturing charleston's rich and deeply layered architectural history through its structures
    i had plenty of time to research the history of charleston, south carolina, before flying there. a few weeks after booking the trip, however, i had chosen to avoid that approach altogether and just visit blindly, in hopes of getting lost in its rich and well-preserved history in person. this way, i didn't feel any pressure or sense of overwhelm with...

Items 1321 to 1340 of 1838 total



Some Of Our Clientele

WORDLWIDE SHIPPING

If required, please contact an Urban Remains sales associate.

NEW PRODUCTS DAILY

Check back daily as we are constantly adding new products.

PREMIUM SUPPORT

We're here to help answer any question. Contact us anytime!

SALES & PROMOTIONS

Join our newsletter to get the latest information