Events & Announcements

the following images were taken from a years-long exhaustive photographic survey of exterior polychrome terra cotta ornament executed by terra cotta companies (e.g., northwestern, american, midland) found largely in the midwest. the images offer an in-depth analysis of ornament bedecked with a multitude of glazes and/or finishes. information including, but not limited to building identification, architect (if known), terra cotta...

a smal selection of original and faithfully recreated architectural building facade fragments (removed during prior exterior maintenance and/or restorations) joined the bldg. 51 musuem building fragment collection over the past few months. the ornament - comprised of both cast iron and aluminum - were salvaged from the five-story iron block building (1860) designed by architect george h. johnson in conjunction...

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 75,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 16 years). the newly acquired items for the month of APRIL, 2022, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories.  all images courtesy of...

detailed photographic study of barry byrne and alfonso iannelli’s gothic style st. patricks’s catholic church (1925), located in racine, wisc. the gothic style box-shaped church features a visually striking roofline comprised of cream-glazed and textured terra cotta lancets, buttresses, and pinnacles atop a wire-cut brick façade punctuated with tall, pointed window. based in chicago, barry byrne was one of the...

i had tim samuelson over to view the bldg. 51 museum collection, shortly before it was packed up and moved to its new location. it's currently being set up for display to a wider audience interested in historic chicago architectural artifacts. in the meantime, the collection catalog, containing the majority of the artifacts, can be purchased here. bldg. 51 museum's...

images of a single bedford limestone walker warehouse (adler and sullivan, 1888-1889) impost block on display in the graham foundation's building fragment garden are presented below.  the hand-carved block was one of six that supported the building's the enormous arches. there were two designs - the one in the graham garden faced wacker drive. the other - featuring interlocking circles...

photographic study of alfonso iannelli-designed exterior architectural ornament adorning the pickwick theater (1928) located in park ridge, ills. the pickwick theater (1928) is a mixed-use building with distinctive tapered limestone tower and ornamental marquee designed by roscoe harold zook, william f. mccaughey, and alfonso iannelli. the theater was named by the mayor of park ridge, william h. malone i, for the title...

two original early 20th century profusely illustrated architectural building trade catalogs printed for the chicago-based decorators supply company and friedley-voshardt were aquired by the bldg. 51 archive last week. the soft-bound product catalogs contain detailed descriptions and images of chicago-based showrooms, offices, and factories. in addition to an extensive collection of interior and exterior building "stock" fittings and fixtures, there...

the following images provide an extensive photographic survey of 19th century building hardware designed by louis h. sullivan during his time at the architectural firm of adler and sullivan. the majority of the hardware was fabricated by the yale & towne mfg. company of stamford, ct. nearly every design became a "stock pattern" mass-produced by yale & towne through product...

  granite and concrete: parts and pieces of chicago's demolished buildings landed at lake delton during depression. images of salvaged ornament from boyington's board of trade building (1885-1929) and wright's midway gardens (1914-1929) located at an old chicago wrecker's summer cottage (dawn manor) in the dells. during the late 19th and early 20th century, william j. newman's excavation and wrecking...

for weeks now, i've been shuttling back and forth through folders housing thousands of images pertaining to upcoming publications, including "unearthing chicago" and "deconstructing chicago." slowly but surely i've been finding homes for these photographs in various chapters, where they complement the text. while pouring over these images i could not help but feel an overwhelming desire to share some of the...

the bldg. 51 museum has aquired additional buff-colored terra cotta ornament from the otto strack-designed pabst beer pavilion built for the world's columbian exposition of 1893. the pavilion was located in central hall of the fair's agricultural building, designed by designed by charles mckim of mckim, mead & white. the historically important terra cotta corbels with egg & dart border...

an all original and amazingly intact louis sullivan-designed wrought iron box seat grille removed from adler and sullivan's auditorium theater (1889) joins bldg. 51 museum collection. the ornamental hand-forged grille is comprised of riveted joint wrought iron with original bower-barff plated finish largely intact. the auditorium theater's seat boxes and grillework was executed by snead and company ironworks, louisville, ky...

visual exploration of john wellborn's rookery building (1888) through light, shadow, and architectural ornament. the light creates resounding shadows that punctuate root's exuberant ornament comprised of painted iron, granite, terra cotta, and pressed brick. a work in preogress.  all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2002. 

  the following image gallery presents the landmark krause music store, well-known as louis sullivan’s final commission, a bookend on his iconic but tragically undervalued career. though technically sullivan was an “associate architect,” the façade thoroughly shows his hand, and hardly strays from the famous aesthetic vision embodied in the rest of his work. an official opinion, on record in...

given that i've compiled nearly 2000 blog posts over the past four years, i've decided to begin arranging them up by subject matter, which in turn, may lead to "chapters" for a book on the arcane and greatly overlooked facets of chicago history i find absolutely fascinating.  the posts below (click links below header banners) revolve around my exploration of...

a collection of recently digitized original 19th and early 20th century rare and seldom found chicago-based building trade catalogs housed on the bldg. 51 museum archive. in addition to catalogs, i've included a few salesman samples, post cards and other related ephemera. when time permits, i hope to have each and every book, catalog, letters, and images scanned and available...

the last installment of images documenting the final days of the former f. hyman & company commerical building (1884)  located at 1329 n. clybourn avenue. i was drawn to this building early on because of its unusual transistional facade comprised largely of lemont limestone (often referred to as "athens marble" in period building journals), accentuated with bedford limestone. the former...

detailed photographic study of the frederick pabst mansion's ornamental buff-colored exterior terra cotta designed by george bowman ferry and executed by the northerwestern terra cotta company in 1892.  the pabst mansion is a flemish renaissance revival-styled house built by the architectural firm of ferry and class in 1892 for captain frederick pabst, founder of the pabst brewing company. images courtesy...

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 75,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 16 years). the newly acquired items for the month of MARCH, 2022, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories.  all images courtesy...