pilsen's portals to the past: photo-documenting its well-maintained buildings and architectural ornament

during a recent visit to chicago's pilsen neighborhood to document and salvage ornament from two 19th century cottages undergoing demolition, i carved out time, including repeated visits to begin surveying and photographing 19th and early 20th century commercial and residential structures that remain amazingly well-maintained, with very little, if any, substantial and/or irreversible alterations that would have otherwise compromised their historic integrity. the project is ongoing, but for the time-being, i'm posting images i've taken of both residential and commercial structures, with an emphasis on recording original exterior "stock pattern" ornament that's can identified through my library of chicago-based period trade catalogs, which serves as my most invaluable asset pertaining to ornament fabrication and/or fabricators. 

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