New Acquisitions

the bldg. 51 museum just acquired three magnificent electric light fixtures removed from the extant historic uptown theater designed by rapp and rapp. the lot consists of two matching single light sconces and a ceiling-mount pendant light with original canopy. the fixtures are comprised of finely executed ornamental bronze metal with the original gilded ormolu (i.e.,metallic gold-plated finish) remaining largely...

beginning monday a demolition crew will begin deconstructing the historic division street bridge located near goose island. the city will be replacing the 111-year-old bascule type (commonly referred to as a drawbridge) with an interim span while building a permanent replacement. the bridge was originally built in 1904 and has served as an integral link across goose island for cars...

we just recently acquired two matching c. 1915-18 original and intact american industrial crouse-hinds "explosion proof" incandescent light fixtures with unusual riveted joint yellow brass flat bar or strap cages. both fixtures have been thoroughly cleaned and refinished to greatly enhance the visual contrast between the brass and iron. the "sun-purple" impact-resistant original glass globe provides additional color, resulting in...

this ornamented radiator grille, fabricated for the cyrus mccormick mansion remodel - where only two were actually installed - is considered to be the purest expression of a louis h. sullivan design executed in three-dimensional form by the winslow brothers foundry of chicago. interestingly, george grant elmslie (sullivan's chief draftsman) recalled that, upon presentation of the design or drawings to...

the c. 1901 ornamental cast iron cyrus hall mccormick house radiator grille is by far one of the most significant acquisitions (as of recent) to join the ever-growing collection of historically important chicago building artifacts and/or fragments housed in the bldg. 51 museum. the oversized grille or grate is so delicate and intricately designed that, according to an account by...

urban remains recently purchased several amazingly designed and finely cast neoclassical style oversized cast iron exterior facade corbels salvaged from the historically-important extant 14-story chicago and northwestern railroad office building located in downtown chicago. the prairie school style commercial building was designed by the architectural firm of frost and granger in 1904. the partnership, consisting of charles sumner frost (1856–1931...

over fifty american depression-era "new old stock" pressed and folded baked green enameled steel reflectors or shades were recently discovered in the storage room of an old chicago area twine factory. the diminutive pendant or task lamp shades were designed and fabricated by or for harvey hubbell inc., bridgeport, conn. urban remains has been salvaging this "frozen in time" factory...

urban remains just acquired a limited supply of original american depression era railroad freight car flooring, comprised of remarkably dense and durable solid oak wood constructed "butcher-block" style. the rock solid wood planks were mostly salvaged from decommissioned great northern railway double-door steel box and postal railcars that traveled across the country for several decades. nearly every resized section in...

i've decided to add more posts pertaining to "gardenesque" ornament, perhaps inspired by what i've discovered in the chicago athletic association building (a topic i've written about before) and more recently, my revisitation of the ornamental terra cotta elements i managed to salvage from the michael reese "main" hospital building during its demolition. there is a very dense and highly...

the photo gallery below offers a few hand-picked or "highlighted" artifacts from this week's listings (10 new items are added daily in their respective categories) on the urban remains website. as of this writing, we have surpassed the 20,000 item mark. the ultimate goal since day one, is to have each and every artifact (housed in the showroom and warehouses...

the urban remains warehouse shipping and receiving area is completely filled with a large acquisition of artifacts purchased earlier this week. as of this writing we continue to sort through stools, building ornament, aviation equipment, industrial furniture, light fixtures and so on. the new inventory contains a few historically important artifacts from the city of chicago, that will be documented...

last week the bldg. 51 museum acquired an exceptionally rare and historically important late 19th century ornamental cast iron guaranty (later prudential) building flush mount ceiling light fixture medallion. the all original fixture was removed from the commercial building's interior lobby during a senseless remuddling in the 1950's. several light fixtures (including this medallion) and elevator components were taken out...

three virtually identical (condition varies) chicago stock exchange staircase balusters or panels designed by notable architect louis h. sullivan were acquired earlier this week and later added to the urban remains website product catalog. the historically important and highly sought after angled balusters were salvaged from the 1894 stock exchange building shortly before demolition in 1972. the balusters are comprised...

milwaukee is my home away from home, especially when i really want to wander around aimlessly, photodocumenting architectural details that capture my attention across the urban landscape. don't get me wrong, there is a substantial amount of terrain for me to document here in chicago, but for some reason or another, milwaukee speaks to me differently - through my camera lens.

we just purchased a huge load of all original all-metal or pressed and folded steel furniture designed and fabricated by the simmons mfg. co., kenosha, wisc. coming across a few pieces here and there is good, but having the opportunity to purchase "simmons" furniture on a very large scale rarely ever happens. the wide variety of furniture items (e.g., chairs...

earlier this week we acquired several boxes of assorted laboratory glassware, scales, unusual scientific instruments, signage and other medical oddities once used in a chicago area pharmacy or drugstore. the majority of the articles gathered date between 1880-1930 and are in remarkably great shape, considering age. once fully unpacked, we immediately began researching and documenting the objects - one by...

we managed to secure a total of four matching historically important oversized exterior ornamental cast iron single electric light sconces salvaged from the original wrigley jr. company's chewing gum factory, located at 35th and ashland avenue. as of early 2014, the factory complex continues to fall to the wrecking ball. the exceptional sconces were likely executed by the winslow brothers...

rare to find a large quantity (over 200 available) of all original (not the reproductions) american industrial galvanized steel locker room storage baskets designed and fabricated by the lyon metallic mfg. co., aurora, il. the locker baskets acquired in recent weeks, are comprised largely of wire mesh with perforated sheet metal back and front panels. the school locker baskets retain...

the images below depict a rare, joseph f. l. uhl-designed chair patented in 1902 (considered a precursor to the slightly modified "perfection" chair) and manufactured by the uhl brothers company, toledo, oh. this early prototype was advertised as a new and useful improvement in the construction of metal furniture (at the time, twisted metal furniture was mostly predominant during the...