adler and sullivan's 1889 walker warehouse from construction to destruction

a collection of images chronicling adler and sullivan's walker warehouse from the time it was completed in 1889 to its eventual destruction in 1953.

the images were taken by a number of photographers beginning with taylor in 1889 and ending with id students in 1953. i've included images by photographers james taylor, william g. purcell, harold allen, ralph marlow line, aaron siskind, lvin loginsky, and richard nickel. the photographers of the real photo post card (rppc) and small silver gelatin prints are not known.

note: a bedford limestone cornice segment survived demolition in 1953 but was later pulled down and destroyed in 1985. additional ornament was discarded along lake michigan at the time of demolition.
in addition to photographing walker in the 1950's, ralphh marlow line orchestrated the careful removal of two hand-carved limestone blocks (there were a total of six with alternating patterns used to support the arches) during demolition of walker in 1953.
line caught a lot of flak for arranging extraction of the bedford limestone ornament, but thanks to his persistence, the blocks have now been on display at the graham foundation and u of i for all of us to see and appreciate.

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