New Acquisitions

original diminutive carved bedford limestone block - salvaged by timothy j. samuelson and tim barton - from pond and pond's home for self-supporting women was donated to the bldg. 51 museum collection over the past week. the building was completed in 1908 and located at 12 east grand avenue, chicago, ills.  images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, bldg. 51 archive...

an original custom-designed, black enameled ornamental cast iron interior staircase baluster and newel post bottom endcap salvaged from edebrooke and burnham's mecca hotel or flats (1892) during its untimely demolition in 1952, joined the bldg. 51 museum and eric j. nordstrom collection this past week. the exact fabricator or foundry is not known. the building's ironwork was finished with applied...

the following american architectural ornament joined the ever-expanding, chicago-based bldg. 51 museum in summer of 2023. captions will be provided when time permits.  any and all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, the eric j. nordstrom collection, and the bldg. 51 museum. all rights reserved. 2023. 

original museum quality 1902 ornamented painted cast plaster "sumac pattern" exterior frieze fragment removed from frank lloyd wright's susan lawrence dana house in 1979 shortly before restoration commenced. the replacement panels consist of a vinyl-coated plywood. the restoration involved the recasting of the original frieze in a more durable material and put back into place. a few sections (such as...

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 17 years). the newly acquired items for the month of JULY, 2023, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. any and...

the following american architectural ornament joined the ever-expanding, chicago-based bldg. 51 museum in the month of june 2023. captions will be provided when time permits.  images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2023.

most recent architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum collection and archive in late spring/early summer of 2023. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2023

another louis h. sullivan-designed polychromed lithographic steel stoveboard, executed by the american stove board company, was acquired in the first week of may, 2023. the stoveboard is nearly identical to the one shown directly below, with the only difference being size - the recent one measuring 33 x 33 inches (an unusual size), versus the board added in 2018, which...

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 17 years). the newly acquired items for the month of APRIL, 2023, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. any and all cataloged inventory...

the time finally arrived - and within a day of the senseless destruction of nearby 1870s italianate residence - for the humble bell avenue workers cottage, erected between 1884-1887, to fall to the wrecking ball the other day. after documenting the brick cottage before, during, and after its disappearance from the cityscape ever since it landed on the demolition delay...

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 17 years). the newly acquired items for the month of APRIL, 2023, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. any and all cataloged...

multiple glazed terra cotta fragments (including a largely intact border module) salvaged from the exterior of louis h. sullivan's home building association bank (1914) located in newark, oh., have joined the collections of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 museum. the ornament was designed by louis h. sullivan, modeled by kristian schneider, and executed by the american terra cotta...

a work in progress... images documenting the careful extraction of willoughby j. edbrooke-designed interior residential fireplaces, cabinets, and other design elements from a south side chicago three-flat bedford greystone built in the 1880s. the edbrooke and burnham-designed three-story greystone (one of three adjoining buildings) was built as a group around 1887-88 by james c. thomas, a real estate investment broker...

with a surprisingly large number of frequent acquisitions populating both museum and gallery these last three months, i have been deeply entrenched in documenting and displaying ephemera and artifacts in a satisfactory manner before another acquisition – big or small – arrives and leaves everything once again in disarray. the following images provides a glimpse at some of the latest...

well over a hundred original books, brochures, booklets, pamphlets, lithographic plates, and guides pertaining to any and all facets of the chicago world's fair of 1893 or "columbian exposition," have recently landed in the bldg. 51 archive. more information on this recent and sizable acquisition will be provided when the collection of fair material has been thoroughly documented and digitized...

the bldg. 51 chicago building artifact museum acquired yet another (and more complete)  john edelmann-designed hand carved walnut wood interior residential door surround block and plinth salvaged in 1959-60 from the levi strauss house (1860s, 1880 remodel). the house's interior ornament - all designed by john edelmann during the 1880 remodel - was documented and salvaged by richard nickel, david...

a historically important, well-preserved buff colored terra cotta fragment from adler and sullivan's chicago stock exchange building (1894) was added to the bldg. 51 museum collection this past week. the fragment represents george grant elmslie's (sullivan's chief draftsman) attempt at detailing ornament on his own while working for adler and sullivan. the spandrel panel was found - along with other...

a sizeable collection of exceptionally rare 19th and early 20th century architectural books, catalogs, monographs and guidebooks was purchased for the bldg. 51 archive in late january, 2023. a few acquisition highlights that have been digitized at the time of this post are listed below. original monograph of h.h. richardson’s austin hall, harvard law school, cambridge, mass., from the architectural...

an original louis h. sullivan-designed exterior residential carved wood fragment salvaged from adler and sullivan's morris selz house (1883) during its demolition in 1967 was recently acquired by the bldg. 51 museum collection. a total of four hand-carved painted pine wood framed floral panels were mounted flush on the underside of the house's gridded porch ceiling, extending or radiating  from...

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 JANUARY, 2023, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. any and all cataloged...