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a 1905 view of grant park from the room through recently discovered photos taken by auditorium hotel guest

aside from the usual collecting of historically important objects, i have been adding substantially to my collection of ephemera, in an effort to find primary sources that may bolster or enhance the narratives i've gathered around historically-significant architectural building elements or artifacts in the bldg. 51 museum.

for example, i recently purchased several profusely illustrated letterheads, business cards, and receipts tied to the northwestern terra cotta works, who fabricated a great deal of exterior terra cotta ornament displayed within the museum. many of these feature lithographed renderings of the northwestern terra cotta works' ever-expanding factory complex have since been demolished.

in my mind, it is glimpses like these that help create a nexus of information, linking a significant site of production of 19th century building material to the countless buildings throughout the city where their products ended up.

in the case of several "amateur" silver gelatin photographs acquired, there is a more elusive, abstruse connection between the building, artifact, and its fabricator. these images do not even record the building of interest, but instead provide a view from inside the building. it is a rare and valuable piece of evidence, defining a more experiential dimension of the architecture.

bldg. 51 museum collection.

bldg. 51 museum collection

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how often does one get to study a building from the vantage of a bygone inhabitant? luckily, the auditorium hotel, as an extant adler & sullivan commission, has been well-recorded from other angles. the photographs from a guest, then, allow the researcher to glean a more intimate experience of the building, and its surrounding area over a century ago.

courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum collection

original albumen photograph taken shortly after adler & sullivan's auditorium building was completed in 1889.

courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum collection

original art glass interior hotel lobby window executed by healy & millet. 

courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum collection

courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum collection

early 20th century hotel guestroom lightly incised letter key fob with black enameled inlay. the note the different set of numbers on the nickel-plated cast brass skeleton key. the original fobs (at the time the hotel first opened) where in the shape of stars.

 



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