bldg. 51 musuem acquires historically important terra cotta from three adler & sullivan buildings

Categories

Default Category
- Sale Items
- Products

Compare Products

Remove This Item

You have no items to compare.

My Wish List

Last Added Items

You have no items in your wish list.

This entry was posted on April 4 2018 by Eric

taking on more projects when already burned out beyond belief takes its toll - both physically and mentally. however, i've mastered the ability to ignore the warning signs (again and again) when situations arise where i know i need to act - whether its documenting the death of a building or in this case, purchasing a massive amount of louis h. sullivan-designed terra cotta from rosenfeld, scoville, and schiller buildings...

the levi rosenfeld building was designed by the architectural firm of adler and sullivan. the mixed-use masonry building was built in two phases, with the first being a three story section completed in 1881 at a cost of $42,850. the second phase, consisting of a five-story section with stores, flats, and a hotel, was built the following year, costing $ 92,091. nickel print and fragment courtesy of the bldg. 51 archive.

original adler & sullivan rosenfeld building exterior terra cotta lunette fragment fabricated by the northwestern terra cotta company. the building's ornament was salvaged by richard nickel in 1958 during its demolition.

adler and sullivan-designed factory building (demolished) commissioned by chicago banker, james w. scoville. the factory was completed in 1885. richard nickel documented and salvaged the building's ornament before its demolition.

original red slip terra cotta lunette from adler and sullivan's scoville factory building (619-631 west washington street). possibly taken by r. nickel. completed 1884-1885. adler & sullivan architects. the salvaged terra cotta ornament contains a red slip finish. demolished in 1973. the design is heavily influenced by sullivan's mentor, john edelmann. visually striking and gritty. one of my favorite early adler and sullivan commissions.

garrick theater's (1891) exterior ornament during the building's demolition. the ornament was designed by l.h. sullivan, sculpted by kristian schneider, and executed by the northwestern terra cotta company. the picture represents an emotionally charged record of senseless destruction. from the collection of john vinci.

detailed view of louis sullivan's leafy ornament from adler and sullivan's garrick theater (1891-1961). the terra cotta ornament was sculpted by kristian schneider for the northwestern terra cotta company.

by securing this collection i signed myself up to spend weeks, if not months to carefully document each and every fragment in great detail. i've already devoted the week lightly cleaning and photographing pieces of ornament, so there is no turning back.

the project keeps evolving... i'm now thinking of taking it a step further and publish a small book on the collection. perhaps divided into two sections - with the first focusing on the commissions and characteristics of the terra cotta ornament (e.g., surface plasticity and/or fluidity, etc.). the second section would be devoted to the circumstances surrounding the demolition/salvage of the three buildings.

the building's ornament was salvaged by richard nickel in 1958 during its demolition. the levi rosenfeld building was designed by the architectural firm of adler and sullivan. the mixed-use masonry building was built in two phases, with the first being a three story section completed in 1881 at a cost of $42,850. the second phase, consisting of a five-story section with stores, flats, and a hotel, was built the following year, costing $ 92,091. nickel print and fragment courtesy of the bldg. 51 archive.

adler and sullivan's scoville factory building (619-631 west washington street). possibly taken by r. nickel. completed 1884-1885. adler & sullivan architects. the salvaged terra cotta ornament contains a red slip finish. demolished in 1973. the design is heavily influenced by sullivan's mentor, john edelmann. visually striking and gritty. one of my favorite early adler and sullivan commissions.

schiller building (later garrick theater), adler & sullivan, architects. completed, 1891.

i'm espeically interested in the schiller building salvage (this comes as no surprise, given i've spent months archiving vinci's kodachrome slides of the garrick), where atlas wrecking worked with richard nickel, john vinci, and david norris in 1960 to extract exterior and interior ornament for distribution to institutions across the country. images of the ornament being transported and stored at navy pier are spellbinding - at least to me anyway.
i have a lot to think about...

demolition of the schiller building or garrick theater in 1960. color photo by john vinci. the remarkable two-story-deep truss system spanning the auditorium is fully exposed. i believe nickel is standing on the left. unidentified man on the right. note the car trunk filled with building materials. watching the wrecker's clam bucket ripping apart the auditorium must have been very emotional. i know this feeling all too well...

a rare look at the very beginning of adler & sullivan's garrick theater demolition. not a single piece of ornament has been extracted. the scaffolding is slowly being erected - with first floor loggia partially hidden behind bracing. the old neon "ham n' egger" sign has already sustained damage at this point. i'm sure the sign was scrapped. john vinci took this color photo in 1960 using a hasselblad 500 c.

richard nickel salvaging terra cotta ornament from garrick theater (1891). the enlarged and edited images were pulled from a contact print photo. date to 1960. john vinci, photographer. the photos are amazing. i've never seen him "in action." it's great to see he isn't wearing gloves. it's hard to explain, but you feel a greater sense of control and connection by handling ornament with bare hands.

examples from the large repository of louis h. sullivan designed exterior buff-colored terra cotta salvaged in 1960 from adler & sullivan's schiller building (later known as the dearborn building and garrick theater) is shown below. images ad ornament courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum architectural artifact archive.

the seventeen-story structure was the firm's second skyscraper - following the wainwright building (1891) in st. louis. the schiller building was the first structure to be built on bedrock caissons versus "floating" cassions, comprised of concrete and gridded railroad track sunken into the clay (photographer richard nickel documented the caissons long after the building disappeared - demolished by the atlas wrecking company.

the majority of the terra cotta fragments were salvaged from the facade's loggia and 14th floor cornice. sullivan's designs were executed by modeler kristian schneider of the northwestern terra cotta company in a buff-colored slip glaze. the ornament hasn't been altered much since it was removed from the building and stored at navy pier nearly 58 years ago.