photographic survey of 19th and early 20th century residential and commercial bedford limestone architectural ornament

the use of indiana limestone — also known as bedford limestone — has been instrumental as a building material for both residential and commercial building since the late 19th century. indiana limestone was primarily quarried in south central indiana, between the cities of bloomington and bedford. 

notable 19th and early 20th century buildings built using bedford limestone:

many prominent public buildings in the united states — such as the national cathedral, biltmore estate, empire state building, the pentagon, the crescent in dallas, and the hotel pennsylvania — feature indiana limestone in their exteriors. some 35 of the 50 state capitol buildings in the united states are made of indiana limestone. it was used extensively in rebuilding chicago after the great chicago fire of 1871. the sculptural group atop the main façade of new york city's grand central terminal — known as glory of commerce — is made of indiana limestone. (a work by jules-félix coutan, it includes representations of minerva, hercules, and mercury and, at its unveiling in 1914, was considered the largest sculptural group in the world.)

indiana limestone has been particularly popular for the construction of university buildings. the neo-gothic campus of the university of chicago is almost entirely constructed out of bedford limestone; in keeping with the trend of post-fire buildings using the material. the campus of washington university in st. louis – both for new construction and original buildings – makes use of indiana limestone (along with missouri red granite) in its collegiate gothic architecture. many buildings on the north side of michigan state university use indiana limestone. the cathedral of learning, a 42-story neo-gothic skyscraper that is the largest educational building in the western hemisphere, along with other nearby buildings of the university of pittsburgh, are clad in indiana limestone. the st. anthony society chapter house at yale university also is built of indiana limestone. both structures of the kenosha county courthouse and jail in kenosha, wisconsin, were built out of the limestone. this stone was used as far north as the hotel macdonald in edmonton. several buildings on the campus of washington university in st. louis incorporate indiana limestone and many of the academic buildings are listed on the national register of historic places. the nebraska state capitol is clad in indiana limestone, after native limestone was deemed too prone to weathering.

the following images provides an extensive visual survey of carved ornamental bedford limestone applied to both residential and commercial building across chicago. well over 5,000 images of exterior limestone ornament - recorded in great detail - are housed in the bldg. 51 archive's vast collection of both old and contemporary architectural images, with an emphasis tied to chicago and cities throughout the midwest.   

chicago commercial:

chicago residential:

all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive.