non-extant albert w. sullivan house (1892) in images and ornament

albert w. sullivan house (1892-1970):

richard nickel images documenting the removal of the louis sullivan-designed carved bedford limestone entrance lunette from the albert sullivan house's façade in 1970. the lunette is one of only a few surviving links to sullivan's work on the 1893 chicago world's fair transportation building (designed around the time the house was built).
in addition to the stone lunette, sullivan incorporated extra cast plaster transportation building ornament throughout the interior (e.g., a lion head, cove molding, and frieze) of the residence. only a few fragments of the frieze from a bedroom and complete sections of cove molding from the vestibule survive from the interior. the lion head was either destroyed or stolen before nickel began dismantling the house.
the house was built for sullivan’s mother in 1891, but she died around the time of its completion. sullivan himself lived there from 1892-1896.
nickel arranged for siue to purchase the house to save the facade, which he then dismantled in the winter months of 1970. sadly, the carefully documented and numbered stones from the facade remain in storage (last image).

images and ornament courtesy of the john vinci collection, bldg. 51 archive, ryerson and burnham archives, art institute of chicago.

an early example of recycling ornament.
if you look closely at the ornament on adler and sullivan's 1893 chicago world's fair transportation building at least four sections of ornament reappeared in both plaster and bedford limestone (i.e., the exterior lunette) in the albert sullivan house (1892), where sullivan himself lived from 1892-1896.
richard nickel documented the interior and exterior beginning in the late 1950s - he even considered buying it for around 2500 in the mid-60s. the images shown here however, were taken as the house appeared in 1970, shortly before it was demolished. thankfully nickel and brother donald salvaged its ornament, including large sections of the facade for siue.
sullivan, who at the time was working on the world's fair transportation building, had sections of the building's exterior ornament recast and installed in his home, including the cove molding in his bedroom, a lion's face on the first floor, cove molding in the vestibule, and a bedford limestone lunette located on the exterior above the entrance.
i've included a sections of original plaster cove molding salvaged from his bedroom and inner-vestibule. the salvaged carved stone lunette resides at lovejoy, and the lionhead was either stolen or destroyed prior to demolition.

note: i discovered that the house first caught fire in 1954 when two old ladies living there were burning paper to stay warm since there was no heat or electrical. sadly, they died in the fire. siskind actually met the women during the a and s project. i also learned that daniel brenner lived in sullivan's room for a time!

courtesy of bldg. 51 museum collection and ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

undated image of young boys on stoop of adler ad sullivan's albert sullivan house (sullivan himself, lived there from 1892-1896).
the south side chicago two-story bedford limestone house, with exterior and interior ornament borrowed from the firm's world's fair transportation building, was built for sullivan's mother, but she died before it was completed.
several sections of the limestone facade, including the coveted lunette, was salvaged by richard nickel and his brother donald in 1970.
the photo may have been taken by bob furhhoff, who helped salvaged interior plaster ornament.

courtesy of the ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

adler and sullivan's albert sullivan residence (1892) as it appeared in 1890's, 1956, and 1969. sullivan himself lived there from 1892-1896, followed by his brother albert, who resided there with his family from 1896 to 1905.
the house was meticulously deconstructed in 1970 with the intention of rebuilding elsewhere. carefully labeled sections of the bedford limestone facade (e.g., lunette, columns and capitals, and stoop) were salvaged by richard nickel and his brother donald under grueling conditions.
the stone was later transported to edwardsville and stowed away with the rest of nickel's collection (he sold his early sullivan ornament to siue in 1966, but continued to acquire ornament for the university until his death in 1972).

seldom seen albumen photographic prints of adler & sullivan's transportation building (completed 1892), including a print showing building under construction. possibly photographed by charles d. arnold.
i've included images of a world's fair transportation building border fragment that was recast and installed as crown molding in louis sullivan's bedroom, when he lived in adler and sullivan's albert sullivan residence completed in 1892. additional plaster ornament and the exterior limestone lunette above door were also borrowed from the transportation building.

images are courtesy of the ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago. ornament courtesy of bldg. 51 museum collection.

sullivan slept here.
richard nickel image of architect louis sullivan's bedroom, where he slept from 1892-1896. the albert sullivan house, built for his mother in 1892, was occupied by the architect during the peak of his career with dankmar adler - the adler and sullivan firm operated from the top two stories of the auditorium building's tower, which they designed in 1889.
nickel's image shows the room as it appeared in 1970, shortly before the house was demolished. thankfully nickel and brother donald salvaged its ornament, including large sections of the facade for siue.
the heavily painted ornament below the ceiling is comprised of cast plaster originally painted a mint green. sullivan, who at the time was working on adler and sullivan's world's fair transportation building, had sections of the building's exterior ornament recast and installed in his home, including the border in his bedroom, a lion's face on the first floor, cove molding in the vestibule, and a bedford limestone lunette located on the exterior above the entrance (the latter used design elements from the building as opposed to being a recast.
i've included a section of original plaster ornament salvaged from his bedroom, consisting repeating beaded border, thistle, and scrolls.

courtesy of bldg. 51 museum collection and ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

since there is a great deal of cross-pollination between richard nickel's work and the architectural firm of adler and sullivan and/or louis sullivan alone, i'm slowly getting acquainted with ryerson and burnham's remarkable sullivan archive.

going forward, i plan on posting more sullivan-related materials in addition to the nickel's images i've spent the past few several months digitizing, editing, and writing about.

this rarely seen mounted albumen print of the albert sullivan house (completed in 1892 by adler and sullivan) was photographed at the time louis sullivan's brother albert occupied the house ( sometime between 1896-1915).
it's hard to make out the chicago-based photographer's name, but his address is listed as "710 - 61st st."

despite the house being demolished in 1970, nickel and brother donald, john vinci, and bob furhoff saved interior and exterior ornament (e.g., leaded glass window, plaster cove molding, mosaic tile, light fixtures, entrance door, etc.). in fact, a sizable portion of the limestone facade resides at southern illinois university edwardsville.

image courtesy of the ryerson and burnham archive, institute of chicago.

louis h. sullivan once lived here... richard nickel photos of interior taken in 1970, shortly before it was deconstructed. albert sullivan house (1891). adler & sullivan, architects.
images courtesy of the richard nickel archive, ryerson and burnham archives, art institute of chicago.

late 19th century exterior bronze-plated cast brass "kelp" pattern entrance door hardware. fabricated by the yale and towne mfg. company, stamford, ct. this exact pattern adorned the albert sullivan house (1891-92) where louis sullivan lived from 1892-1896. adler and sullivan, architects. hardware courtesy of bldg. 51 museum collection.

original plaster fragment (will be restored in the very near future) from the albert sullivan house (1892). the cove molding was located in the vestibule closest to the stairs.
the partially exposed red paint is original - what sullivan saw during the time he lived there (1892-1895). the panel was likely modeled by kristian schneider. fabricator not known.
a variation of this design first appeared on the facade of the transportation building (1893 chicago world's fair). only three sections are known to exist. images of house interior shot by nickel.

images and ornament courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

only three sections of cove molding from albert sullivan's residence (1891) were salvaged before the house was deconstructed/demolished in 1970. the ornament was salvaged by nickel, vinci, and furhoff.
the house was built during the time the transportation building was being erected for the chicago world's fair. the molds used for ornament in adler and sullivan's transportation building were also used throughout his home (originally built for his mother).
the cove molding was used in both the vestibule and hallway. the red paint is original... since red was used in the transportation building's color scheme, it's possible he chose to use it again in the house.
l.h. sullivan lived there between 1892-1896 - he was kicked out when he brother's family moved in. i'm just in awe when thinking about sullivan coming home everyday, walking past the red-painted plaster ornament. what a connection!
i'm so thankful that this piece has joined the bldg. 51 museum. it needs a good deal of restoration, but it's well worth it. i want it to look the way it did during sullivan's time, so the original red paint finish will need to be cleaned and repaired.

original cast plaster cove molding segment from the lobby or vestibule of the albert sullivan house (1891-1892). louis sullivan lived in the house between 1892-1896.
the concave plaster coving has been stripped of most of its paint. i shot the panel where it's currently displayed. the fragment was salvaged by robert furhoff around the time the house was demolished in 1970.
i must have spent a good 30 minutes watching the ornament burst with energy as light and shadows crawled across it.

enlarged images from an original richard nickel contact print. two of the three images show ornament (e.g., leaded glass window and plaster cove molding) salvaged from the albert sullivan residence in 1970. i believe the two images were taken at nickel's cortland street building.
the third image features the plaster ceiling medallion salvaged by john vinci and bob furhoff from adler & sullivan's samuel stern residence. i believe this is where nickel and vinci first met. the ceiling medallion has since been stripped and resides with john to this day.
i find the inclusion of nickel's famous photo of burnham and root's rookery building staircase on this contact print rather interesting. not sure why it's there, but i like it.