two matching hard to find 19th century building facade flanking mullion cast iron endcaps

we just salvaged two heavily ornamented cast iron flanking mullion or pilaster endcaps from a victorian era red brick and limestone three-flat combination commercial/residential building shortly before it was brought down by the wrecking ball.

the square-shaped single-sided endcaps or "plate guards" were the two most distinctive components of a completely intact and largely unaltered cast iron facade "system" that was likely fabricated and installed by the dearborn foundry company, based in chicago, il.

the configuration of the non-extant victorian-era three-flat (1887) facade was very similar to the black and white schematic shown above, which was drawn up and offered by the dearborn foundry. the two ornamented endcaps where positioned between the i-beam girder (accentuated with protruding rosettes) and the fluted or deeply grooved vertical mullions.

with the help of the wrecker, we managed to remove the panels with very little difficulty. unfortunately, one of the two panels contains an old crack running along the center. despite this, the panel is structurally sound and the crack contained.

each panel featured a raised and rolled edge border with a deep relief four-fold palmette of anthemion design motif surrounding a centrally located diamond with a raised button. both panels were originally painted black, but we have brushed them down to bare metal to heighten the visual appeal in each of the ornamental castings.