john vinci kodachromes chronicling restoration of of louis h. sullivan's schlesinger and meyer department store

john vinci personal kodachrome slides (digitized by the bldg. 51 archive) chronicling his restoration work on louis h. sullivan's schlesinger and meyer department store (1899) from the late 1970's, shortly after vinci and partner larry kenny rebuilt adler and sullivan's chicago stock exchange trading room in new wing of the art institute of chicago in 1977. comments and notes by eric j. nordstrom. images courtesy of john vinci collection and bldg. 51 archive. 

john vinci kodachrome slides taken at the time he was restoring louis sullivan's schlesinger and mayer building in 1978-79, which included exterior terra cotta, ornamental ironwork, and restoration of the two-story interior rotunda.
in this group of images, vinci, tim samuelson, and kathy roy are documenting the original sullivan-designed largely intact cast plaster capital, along with cove molding and sections of the original mahogany wainscoting above a drop ceiling likely added in the 1950's. interestingly, this scenario played once before - nearly a decade earlier with a different cast of characters - when nickel and vinci discovered and documented the sullivan-designed plaster capitals, stencils, art glass, and monogrammed plaster above the drop ceiling in adler and sullivan's chicago stock exchange trading room.
the schlesinger and mayer plaster capital originally contained a mahogany faux grain finish that was restored by vinci. sadly, pieces of ornament (a few surviving tassel-like pieces can be seen in photos) were never replicated and reinstalled since cpc did not want to spend additional money to put them back, so the plasterers ended up tossing them out.

images courtesy of john vinci collection.

"perfection takes time." 1979 john vinci kodachrome slide of schlesinger and meyer building restoration. in addition to the rotunda and terra cotta repair work, louis h. sullivan's ornamental ironwork - executed by the winslow bothers - was stripped and refinished. the sign posted on the scaffolding is rather amusing.

courtesy of john vinci collection.

john vinci kodachrome slides of 1978 exterior restoration of louis sullivan's 1899 schlesinger and meyer building. damaged and/or missing ornamental white glazed terra cotta - originally executed by northwestern terra cotta company - was replicated by gladding, mcbean.

courtesy of john vinci collection.

john vinci kodachrome slides of sullivan's schlesinger and mayer building (1899) during its restoration in 1978-79. the ornamental exterior ironwork was designed by louis sullivan, modeled by kristian schneider, and executed by the winslow brothers company. the patterns made from schneider's clay models were made by special arrangement at northwestern terra cotta company.
i included a great image of gladding mcbean from vinci's visit there to oversee/document replication of sullivan-designed white glazed terra cotta ornament originally executed by the northwestern terra cotta company.
the exterior iron had a weathered and worn gray paint (from the 1950s?) before it was stripped and refinished.

images courtesy of john vinci collection.

john vinci kodachrome slides taken during his 1978 visit to gladding mcbean to oversee/document replication of sullivan-designed schlesinger and mayer white glazed terra cotta ornament originally executed by the northwestern terra cotta company. the building's facade and areas of interior (e.g., rotunda) were restored in the late 1970's.

images courtesy of john vinci collection.

john vinci kodachrome slides of sullivan's schlesinger and meyer building (1899) restoration. the ornamental exterior ironwork was designed by louis sullivan, modeled by kristian schneider, and executed by the winslow brothers company. the patterns made from schneider's clay models were made by special arrangement at northwestern terra cotta company. vinci's restoration of the building's exterior and interior rotunda was completed in 1978-79.

1978 restoration of sullivan's schlesinger & mayer building ironwork. photographs were taken by john vinci.
through exhaustive paint analysis, vinci et al. managed to nail down the original treatment, consisting of an orange-red base combined with a dark olive green (applied days later), to achieve a dark antiqued bronze finish. the metal ornament was originally executed by winslow brothers.

rare look at the 1978 restoration (lead by john vinci) of schlesinger and mayer building (1899). louis h. sullivan, architect. courtesy of john vinci collection.