milwaukee avenue motor sales company exterior "wheel motif" oculus and arched surround saved

the gargantuan painted pine wood arch top surround containing a centrally located "wheel" motif oculus window was successfully extracted from the milwaukee avenue motor sales company prior to the building's demolition last week. i was truly amazed that the entire segmented surround, divided by wood muntins, was not just intact, but free from any damaging alterations when it was completely bricked in. the only visual indication that any sort of opening existed within the arch way above the terra cotta frieze was a square-shaped glass block "window."

the circular spoked muntin window with center hub was first discovered during demolition of the building's interior. andrew schneider (president of logan square preservation) and i did not know whether the surrounding arch would be there, patiently waiting to be discovered behind the mega mall-era remuddling. the fact that the oculus window was indeed the original and in good condition was a good indication that the interior casing and surrounding jamb would be found intact once more of the facade was removed.

sure enough, once the facade was peeled back the next day, the entire arch revealed itself, and nearly every single pane of diamond-textured prismatic pittsburgh plate glass free from damage. the red paint finish is no doubt old if not original to the first finish/color scheme, with allover crazing evident. altogether the built-up trimwork, spoked muntins, rails, sill and jamb were found to be amazingly intact and structurally sound. the surround was carefully removed as an artifact and made its way to my studio where i carefully documented its details.

with such a commanding presence, both in scale and craftsmanship, the surround will make for a great "portal" in the forthcoming exhibit revolving around logan square's forgotten motor row district, full of automotive showrooms lining milwaukee avenue. the 1921 motor sales building, designed by the architectural firm of loewenberg and loewenberg, resided right in the epicenter of that district. a former buick showroom constructed in 1923 neighbors to the south and also faces demolition. preparations to extract terra cotta from that building are in the works and will likely be paramount to creating the aforementioned exhibition, which will be co-created by bldg. 51 and logan square preservation.