salvaging terra cotta ornament from one of the last standing automobile showrooms on logan square's "motor row"

we have spent most of the week now carefully extracting ornamental terra cotta from the facade of the "mega mall," which was built between 1921-1923 as an automobile showroom or dealership for chevrolet.

the unusually colored exterior ornament with mottled finish was fabricated by the american terra cotta company, chicago, ills. despite the building being heavily modified, the neoclassical style cornice and five matching oversized urns are intact and in surprisingly great overall condition, considering the fact that the parapet wall has been crumbling apart as we drive our chipping hammers into the brick to access the steel rods anchoring the finial assemblages firmly against the roofline. since we are in the very early stages of this salvage, several updates will be posted in the near future.

logan square's "motor row" along milwaukee avenue.

the former "roaring twenties" chevrolet dealership and its heavily altered facade with pilaster and parapet wall ornamental terra cotta photographed shortly before demolition:

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in particular we are salvaging the american terra cotta urns from the roofline. each neoclassical style assemble (five in total), consists of four separate sections joined by mortared joints, a centrally located solid steel rod and anchored against the parapet wall with steel tie rods. the uniquely colored light blue-gray glaze contains a speckled finish.

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one of the salvaged roofline finials was reassembled and photographed in the studio only hours after being removed from the building.

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note: the well-being of my "crew" is always first and foremost on any given jobsite. i can provide instructions/guidance, chip away and pry some, and document and photograph, but living with 3 herniated discs makes some of the more physical duties incredibly challenging for me, and i realized this even more this week. i'm very thankful to have oso, john, sean, andrew, and everyone else involved in this deconstruction.