visually distinctive 19th century commercial building on clybourn quickly disappearing

after a week of wrecking, an 1880s five-story commerical building, located at 1329 n. clybourn avenue, has been reduced to a pile of rubble enclosed within a masonry shell. the building's transistional facade is rather unusual, in that its comprised largely of lemont limestone (often referred to as "athens marble" in period building journals), accentuated with bedford limestone. the former was used almost exclusively in the 1870s, while the latter gained widespread popularity in the early 1880s as a more durable, weather resistant alternative to lemont's vulnerability to chicago's harsh climate and prolonged freeze/thaw cycles. by closely examining the exterior, one can quickly deduce the differences in appearance and stability (or lack thereof) since the time of installation in 1884. 

during demolition, i managed to gain access to the interior and document existing conditions despite having very little light and wrong camera equipment. the images aren't great, but they offer a general sense of what was there (the upper floors had remained largely untouched since the early 20th century, with original doors, millwork, mantels, staircase, and other fixtures intact).

all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2022.