New Acquisitions

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 MAY, 2022, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. any and all...

the chicago balloon frame: beyond "boards and nails." over the past three years, i've collected a considerable amount of photographic images and historic building materials housed in a storage facility in preparation for my "deconstructing chicago" project, which aims to address an increasing number of anomalies in construction methods and materials seen in wood-frame cottages erected across chicago neighborhoods during the...

the following collection of lithographs (some rarely seen) offer a comprehensive look at adler & sullivan's chicago stock exchange building (1894), including its ornament, entrances, and interior spaces.  the images are featured in winslow brother's 1894 issue of "ornamental iron" (volume two, number one) with text written in part by louis h. sullivan.  winslow fabricated ornamental ironwork for most of...

detroit's extant iconic art deco towering fisher building (1928) is one of the most notable works by architect albert kahn (joseph fathaniel french served as architect). the 30-story building - faced with a combination of limestone, granite, and several types of marble - was financed by the fisher family, using proceeds from the sale of fisher body to general motors. the...

several original and amazingly intact louis sulllvian-designed eli b. felsenthal store and flats (1906) terra cotta cornice blocks were acquired by the bldg. 51 musuem collection last week.  while working for landmarks, tim samuelson spent a great deal of time both documenting and rescuing terra cotta ornament and "tapestry" brick during its demolition. thanks to his efforts, sullivan-designed ornament lives...

i've had trouble tracking down exterior images of the mccormick mansion undergoing demolition for quite some time now. i finally found a few taken by richard nickel in 1954 last week. the more widely known interior images with graffiti on the walls were taken by nickel shortly before demolition. located at 875 rush street, the 35-room french second empire mansion...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

images of louis sullivan's farmers' and merchants' bank building (1919) located in columbus, wisc. i spent most of my time photo-documenting the lavishly ornamented pale green terra cotta modeled by schneider and executed by american terra cotta. the farmers and merchants union bank (1919) was the last small bank building or "jewel box" designed by architect louis h. sullivan. the...

while compiling a list of the most frequently found artifacts and/or bottles i have dug in the backyards of hundreds of chicago residences and commercial blocks, including the "e-z" stove polish bottle, i quickly made the connection between this seemingly inconspicuous bottle and the amazingly rich narrative behind the manufacturer, which holds a surprising connection to one of the city's greatest architects...

the 1918 ring-bound national x-ray reflector and light fixture catalog (comprised of three distinct product lines and several typed pages listing buildings across the country where their lighting systems were installed) has been fully digitized. catalog description: completely intact early 20th century three ring binder bound national x-ray company of chicago illustrated lighting catalog. the catalogs include the eye comfort...

the following images feature important architectural ornament, artifacts, objects and ephemera recently added and/or digitized to the bldg. 51 museum collection and archive.  highlights include a benjamin lindauer house terra cotta chimney panel, elmslie and purcell letterhead, and interior la salle hotel rookwood faience winged cherub. all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights...