19th century adler and sullivan buildings ornamented with frank lloyd wright's distinctive gothic tracery

Wainwright Building (1891):

original copper-plated ornamental cast iron newel post salvaged from adler and sullivan's wainwright building (1891) during extensive interior renovations that virtually gutted the building of its original sullivan-designed ornament - including staircases, elevators, woodwork, door hardware, etc.

the newel was likely executed by the winslow brothers, chicago, ills. it's possible wright did some of the detailing with the gothic tracery and dentil molding as primary example.

James Carnley Residence (1891):

the oak wood staircase newel posts for adler and sullivan's loeb apartments featured a similar fret-sawn gothic treatment applied below the cap.

wood frieze panel removed from the charnley house exterior, during extensive restoration of the building completed in 1986. fabricator unknown. striking incised pattern comprised of abstract geometric formation and gothic style elements. the panel was originally located beneath the inset balcony on the 2nd level of the facade. panel measures 27 x 6 1/2 x 1. the house was built in 1891 by adler & sullivan, with frank lloyd wright. designated a chicago landmark august 20, 1972. the gothic tracery, geometry, and detailing of louis sullivan with the earliest hint of frank lloyd wright's prairie-style planning and design makes this historic residence a true masterpiece. a compact urban townhouse that takes maximum advantage of its small city lot, it was built for james charnley, a chicago lumber dealer. wright later proclaimed it as "the first modern house." the building was later owned by members of the waller family, who invested in real estate. the house was purchased by the architectural firm of skidmore, owings and merrill in 1986 and subsequently restored. the intact decorative panel contains an older brown paint finish with surface crazing.

Meyer Building or Commercial Lofts (1892):

the heavily fortified masonry and terra cotta m.a. meyer lofts or commercial building was designed by the firm of adler & sullivan in 1892. located in the heart of chicago's garment district at 301-311 w. van buren st. and 400-412 S. franklin st., the seven-story structure was built for the estate of m.a. meyer and originally occupied by wholesale clothiers, kuh, nathan, & fischer.

the timber-framed masonry building featured several bands of strongly geometric ornament and massive corner medallions comprised of buff-colored glazed ornamental terra cotta fabricated by the northwestern terra cotta company. the ornament was designed in part by frank lloyd wright.

still debating whether this adler and sullivan meyer building (1892) fire escape panel is "stock" pattern or designed/detailed by frank lloyd wright. he was definitely dabbling in gothic motifs during this time, including the use of nearly identical tracery found on the copper-plated cast iron newel posts in adler and sullivan's wainwright building (1891) and oak wood staircases in loeb apartments (1891-1892).

richard nickel clearly thought these panels were important and worthy of further investigation. thankfully, he documented them "in situ" and also salvaged several during the meyer building's demolition in 1968.

Loeb Apartments (1891-2):

the adolph and william store and flats building was built for dankmar adler's friends adolph and william loeb in 1891-1892. adler and sullivan, frank lloyd wright, architects. the southern half of the building was demolished in 1923 when randolph street was widened, and was then replaced by the currently standing building. the northern half was demolished in 1974 and remains a parking lot.

we can thank richard nickel for having discovered this overlooked building, and for introducing it to the record of neglected adler & sullivan commissions.

an account of richard nickel's visit to frank lloyd wright at taliesin in the late 1950's, is that upon showing wright the image of the mostly-forgotten elizabeth street apartment, he responded "so... you found that one did you?"

note:

images and ornament from adler and sullivan's Schiller Building and Union Trust, which both feature Wright's gothic tracery similar to the examples above, will be included when time permits.

This entry was posted in , Miscellaneous, Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts & Bldg. 51 Feed on September 2 2022 by Eric