final moments of chicago stock exchange building captured by john vinci

john vinci kodachrome images capturing the final moments of adler and sullivan's chicago stock exchange building (1894) in late april of 1972. note the gargantuan main steel trusses (fully exposed) that spanned the elaborately stenciled trading room.

the stock exchange was completed in 1894 by the architectural firm of dankmar adler and louis sullivan. the general contractor and/or builder george a. fuller, who's company erected several chicago skyscrapers during the late 19th and early 20th century. 

the image galley begins with a richard nickel black and white image of the chicago stock exchange trading room after it was thoroughly salvaged of any and all ornament (later used in the room's reconstruction in 1976). around the time the image was taken, the building had become a disaster zone from three-oaks wrecking reckless and relentless pounding of the structure (they had fallen behind schedule due to their inexperience in large-scale demolition and time devoted to extracting ornament to sell in a "makeshift" store on the first floor). 

with a collapsed trading room wall spilled onto the floor - not to mention the accumulation of water used to keep dust confined to the site during months of wrecking - the load was simply too great and gave way. sadly, at the time, richard nickel happened to be on the first floor when it came crashing down. he likely had no idea what hit him. from that point on, the beautiful black and white images of the building's dying days came to an abrupt and tragic end. thankfully, vinci stepped in to continue documenting the building's death, despite knowing that his long-time friend was buried deep within the rubble. the following images - post-nickel - are presented below. 

chicago stock exchange terra cotta arched window facade (facing lasalle street) as it looked in april of 1972. note the two projecting bays located above the spandrels.

two men watch while the crane's from three oaks wrecking take down what's left of the chicago stock exchange in april of 1972.

note the massive riveted joint steel trusses (the one in the foreground is fully exposed) once concealed behind fireproof terra cotta, plaster, and elaborate stencil work within the trading room (rebuilt in 1977). i cannot help but wonder if sections were extracted and stored for future study.

this kodachrome slide shows what remains of the south wall, taken from the alley (facing northeast) between the stock exchange and the lasalle hotel. note the exposed truss located above the trading room. the buff-colored terra cotta had darkened considerably since the building was completed in 1895. air pollutants (i.e., coal soot) had turned much of the terra cotta black, effectively masking the richly ornamented facade.