historic palmolive building storefront "replacement" fails to recapture the spirit of its original ornament

i was informed earlier in the week that the art deco style palmolive building's new two-story storefront was nearing completion, with the west facade (facing michigan avenue) outfitted with cast aluminum ornament (mimicking a bronze finish) in place with light treatment added to accentuate the "details" of the pilasters, which were promoted as a highlight of the ongoing facade restoration.

aside from being grossly out of scale and incredibly diluted in detail, i wondered why they plated the aluminum in a bronze powder coat finish. the original storefront ornament was indeed comprised of bronze, but if you are going to great lengths to reproduce the pilasters, etc., you would apply a nickel-plated finish, no? chrome and nickel were very popular treatments applied to the interior and exterior metalwork used to accentuate the clean and sleek look of art deco buildings constructed during the "roaring twenties" and beyond.

i emailed the architectural firm awarded the commission a while back to inform them that i had an original pilaster that had been removed during the 1960's when playboy enterprises took over the building. i was shocked that they had no idea, despite doing their homework, that the original ornament was out there, available for purchase on the open market.

as you might suspect, they were taken aback, since the pilasters were recreated based on photographs and/or blueprints. they did capture "the spirit" of the design elements, or did they? the only known pilaster to exist was recently acquired by the bldg 51 museum earlier this year. the three-part pilaster is comprised of bronze, with the original nickel-plated finish largely intact. the exact fabricator is not known.

after i journeyed over to this historically important art deco streamlined style skyscraper to photograph the final installation, i was stricken with grief and frustration; it's really too bad that the dots were not connected prior to fabrication of the new pilasters. at the very least i'm on this architectural firm's radar going forward.

built for one of the world's leading soap manufacturers, the palmolive office building ("a monument to cleanliness") was the first commercial skyscraper built far from the loop (at the northern end of michigan avenue). it is considered one of the country's premier art deco-style "set-back" skyscrapers, the design of which were influenced by municipal zoning laws and the dramatic renderings of new york architect hugh ferris. the building was designed and built in 1927-29 by holabird & roche, one of chicago's oldest and most prestigious architectural firms, whose other significant buildings include the 333 north michigan building, the chicago board of trade, and the former chicago daily news building. a navigational beacon operated atop the building from 1930-1981. it was known as the playboy building from 1965 to 1989, when it served as headquarters for playboy magazine.