Urban Remains Chicago News and Events

Antique American Architectural Artifacts

  1. the lewis g. langstaff-designed pressed glass orb liquid dispenser in high demand long after invented

    the lewis g. langstaff-designed pressed glass orb liquid dispenser in high demand long after invented
    more so than ever it seems, we have several clients aggressively seeking out and purchasing any and all of the "beau brummel" liquid soap dispensers made available on the urban remains website. long ago, we acquired a sizable quantity from one of our sources (outside the realm of local demolition contractors) who managed to secure a variety of artifacts salvaged...
  2. incredibly rare and very important patinated copper frank lloyd wright-designed weed holders go to auction

    incredibly rare and very important patinated copper frank lloyd wright-designed weed holders go to auction
    FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AN IMPORTANT AND RARE PAIR OF "WEED" VASES Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 USD IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY DESIGN 17 DECEMBER 2014 | 2:00 PM EST NEW YORK FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AN IMPORTANT AND RARE PAIR OF "WEED" VASES patinated copper 29 1/8  in. (74 cm) high circa 1895-1900 executed by James A. Miller and Brother, Chicago PROVENANCE Cathers & Dembrosky, New York Edgar...
  3. a closer look at a rare bergmann-edison 19th century incandescent electric lamp "moving tongue" socket

    a closer look at a rare bergmann-edison 19th century incandescent electric lamp "moving tongue" socket
    the bergmann socket was designed to be compact and simply constructed with as few parts as possible, including the amount of insulation used and possess a very simple form of "circuit-controller." the stout copper-plated two-part shell or casing, containing several lightly incised patents, conceals the socket, consisting of the threaded sleeve that receives the light bulb that screws into place...
  4. a weekend afternoon visit to the "burnham, sullivan & wright" exhibit at architech's gallery

    a weekend afternoon visit to the "burnham, sullivan & wright" exhibit at architech's gallery
    i feel very fortunate that we had the opportunity last saturday afternoon to attend the last day of architech gallery owner david jameson's "burnham, sullivan & wright" exhibit. almost immediately upon our entry we received a warm greeting and quick overview from david. i happened to notice my friend lynn becker there, admiring the framed drawings and blueprints hung on...
  5. a rare glimpse of early odin j. oyen's drawings before establishing his decorating firm in la crosse, wisc.

    a rare glimpse of early odin j. oyen's drawings before establishing his decorating firm in la crosse, wisc.
    as i continue to systematically document an overwhelming amount of drawings, photographs, artifacts and correspondences revolving around notable artisan odin j. oyen, i felt it was important to share multiple drawings i've gathered thus far that not only shed new light on oyen's work during his time in chicago at the art institute, but also document the evolution of oyen's...
  6. a day of salvage and urban archaeological excavation at a 19th century chicago two-flat residence

    a day of salvage and urban archaeological excavation at a 19th century chicago two-flat residence
    early in the afternoon we arrived at the job site during a momentary pause as the wreckers were refueling their backhoe. we took advantage of that time to quickly assess the unusually large, double lot, containing a single victorian era red brick two-flat residence constructed in the 1880's. i must admit, from the very beginning, it was incredibly hard to...
  7. newly acquired industrial, medical and architectural artifacts will bolster our existing inventory well into the new year

    newly acquired industrial, medical and architectural artifacts will bolster our existing inventory well into the new year
    the photo gallery below offers numerous hand-picked or "highlighted" artifacts from this week's listings (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 21,200 item mark. the ultimate goal since day one, is to have each and every artifact (housed in the showroom and warehouses), available...
  8. bldg. 51 ebook (with preview pages) available for purchase now; hard copy version available soon

    bldg. 51 ebook (with preview pages) available for purchase now; hard copy version available soon
    download bldg. 51 ebook - here!
  9. faithfully reproduced chicago athletic assoication building cast plaster "drooping tip" panel installation well underway

    faithfully reproduced chicago athletic assoication building cast plaster "drooping tip" panel installation well underway
    i finally got the chance to devote a few hours to document any and all changes made to the chicago athletic association building as it continues to move closer to become one of chicago's more distinctive and historic "boutique" hotels (strictly my opinion). changes in the lobby entrance, grand staircase, swimming pool room, 2nd floor reading room, the famous "cherry...
  10. early industrial furniture salvaged from a recently shuttered chicago area factory

    early industrial furniture salvaged from a recently shuttered chicago area factory
    between residential salvages we digressed somewhat by spending two days in a recently shuttered chicago area factory, where most of the industrial equipment and/or furniture no longer in use (i.e., lying dormant) dates to 1915-23. the great majority of the factory lockers, stools and miscellaneous machinery was relegated to a section of this largely abandoned sprawling complex that likely had...
  11. a chicago brick two-flat (1897) and 1880's wood-frame worker cottage salvage completed

    a chicago brick two-flat (1897) and 1880's wood-frame worker cottage salvage completed
    from the very beginning of this salvage, the so-called "coach house" (more often referred to as a carriage house), located on the back lot of the property, was the structure that peeked my interest more than the two flat (1897) facing the street. i felt convinced from the beginning that the classic gabled roof two-story wood frame chicago workers cottage (1883-87...
  12. some highlighted artifacts from this week's daily additions culled from the urban remains website

    some highlighted artifacts from this week's daily additions culled from the urban remains website
    the photo gallery below offers numerous hand-picked or "highlighted" artifacts from this week's listings (10 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 21,000 item mark. the ultimate goal since day one, is to have each and every artifact (housed in the showroom and warehouses), available...
  13. montgomery ward & co. "spirit of progress" building weathervane fragment joins the bldg. 51 museum collection

    montgomery ward & co. "spirit of progress" building weathervane fragment joins the bldg. 51 museum collection
    it's no secret that this gargantuan, riveted joint, wrought bronze metal john massey rhind-designed statue or figural weathervane head fragment was brought to auction by the david v. nelson family, based on all of its recent recognition in local media. however, i was truly surprised and remarkably fortunate to secure the weathervane artifact (for the bldg. 51 museum), that once was apart of...
  14. final chapter ends with complete removal of an increasingly rare joliet limestone chicago commercial building facade

    final chapter ends with complete removal of an increasingly rare joliet limestone chicago commercial building facade
    throughout most of the 19th century joliet's numerous quarries were supplying chicago (and other midwestern cities) with great stone slabs used in the paving of city sidewalks, along with several churches, hotels, banks, warehouses and other types of public buildings. the stone was found just below surface level and quarried to remove the covering from the horizontal layers. slabs were...
  15. a sampling of newly acquired inventory added to the urban remains website over the past few days

    a sampling of newly acquired inventory added to the urban remains website over the past few days
    the photo gallery below offers numerous hand-picked or "highlighted" artifacts from this week's listings (10 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 21,000 item mark. the ultimate goal since day one, is to have each and every artifact (housed in the showroom and warehouses), available...
  16. a chicago-based residential and commercial 19th century historic building materials database to become website

    a chicago-based residential and commercial 19th century historic building materials database to become website
    acquiring louis sullivan and frank lloyd architectural artifacts to bolster the bldg. 51 museum collection is very important to me, and will continue on (likely with the addition of another artifact catalog in the coming years), but as i'm nearing the ten year anniversary of urban remains, i realize the need to continually evolve and diversify in other directions in...
  17. bottom of the john kent russell wood-lined privy reached: yields hundreds of artifacts

    bottom of the john kent russell wood-lined privy reached: yields hundreds of artifacts
    we arrived early in the morning to begin where we left off a few days before. it was hard not to ruminate intensely about the implications of what we would soon discover in the circular-shaped oversized wood-lined privy during that time away. however, with tools in hand, we began to carefully dig after developing a documenting strategy to keep detailed...
  18. Raising Chicago: An Illustrated History

    Raising Chicago: An Illustrated History
    In 1855, the city embarked on a far-fetched scheme to hoist itself out of the mud and gunk. On the 155th anniversary of the project’s launch, we take a lively illustrated look back. BY LILLI CARRÉ This article appears in the August 2010 issue of Chicago magazine. Subscribe to Chicago magazine.
  19. ongoing excavation efforts at the john kent russell site yields a newly discovered artifact-laden privy

    ongoing excavation efforts at the john kent russell site yields a newly discovered artifact-laden privy
    while i patiently wait for the city to issue an excavation permit that will uncover any undiscovered buried remnants from the john kent russell house site before the new foundation is poured, which not only effectively ends my frequent visits to the site, but in addition, draws the fieldwork to a close. with this facet of the project completed, i...
  20. rapp and rapp's oriental theater was one of two focal points during open house chicago

    rapp and rapp's oriental theater was one of two focal points during open house chicago
    judging from numerous channels of feedback, it's rather obvious that "open house chicago" this year was a smashing success. i'm very pleased that so many residential and commercial structures opened their doors to the public for observation, appreciation and an endless stream of photographic images populating blogs, flickr, facebook and so on. although i have visited most of the listed...

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