New Acquisitions

i am thrilled to have finally located and authenticated two heavily carved oak wood staircase railings salvaged from the potter palmer mansion or "castle," designed and built by architects henry ives cobb and charles sumner frost between 1883-1885. the railings were acquired by the bldg. 51 museum collection after confirming their existence "in situ" through images of the palmer mansion...

the st. louis-based winkle terra cotta co., with offices in the century bldg. at 9th and olive sts., and works at 5739 manchester ave., was established as the joseph winkle terra cotta works in 1883, located in cheltenham, a suburb of st. louis. in 1889 business was incorporated under the title of the winkle terra cotta company. the company, named...

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of DECEMBER, 2021, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. ...

historically important art deco style architectural artifacts salvaged from notable chicago buildings erected during the 1920s-1930s. the original ornament - all identified, meticulously documented and photographed is housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection. when time permits, i will provide additional information, identifying the building ornament and the circumstances surrounding its removal (e.g., demolition, renovations, etc). all images courtesy of...

descriptive text from the palmolive building (1928) dedication booklet and rental brochure: as it has done in new york, so in chicago, business is moving north, out of the loop, too long the imaginary compass of commerce. northward to quieter streets, clearer skies, more pleasant surroundings. seeking the ideal site for its own general offices, the colgate-palmolive-peet company deliberately and...

the chicago tribune tower collection, comprised of newly added and existing books, images, and ephemera, is housed in the bldg. 51 museum archive. the following images offer a glimpse at some of the earliest material, dating to the time the tribune tower (howells and hood) opened in 1925. signed limited edition dedication book (from william bryce mundie's personal library): rare...

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of NOVEMBER, 2021, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. ...

richard nickel images (pulled from contact sheets i must have previously overlooked) of s.s. beman's grand central station (1890). the images were taken shortly before and during its demolition in 1971. the images of the iconic tower with oversized illuminated lettering and clock faces are espeically impressive, and equally sad to see, knowing of its destruction. in one of nickel's...

the metallic compression casting company manufactured "house trimmings," such as knobs, hinges, escutcheons, bell pulls, along with dies for printing wall paper, and for bookbinders. the highly successful inventions of charles and michael smith during the 1860's, were used extensively at their foundry in bomerville, near boston, mass. the two founders (j.j. c. smith, president and jesse a. locke, treasurer...

the first city directory– which compiles the names, addresses, occupations, and other important demographic information about a given city– is believed to have been commissioned in london by the office of the exchequer in 1588. it enabled the mayor of london to better gauge the size of his city, the wealth of its inhabitants, and the likelihood of crises like...

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 65,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 15 years). the newly acquired items for the month of OCTOBER, 2021, have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. ...

the bldg. 51 museum archive recently acquired an exceptionally rare 1st edition of william h. birkmire's "skeleton construction in steel buildings," published by john wiley & sons, new york, ny., 1893. the profusely illustrated hardcover book with red cloth and gilt-stamped lettering contains information on the planning and construction of high office buildings including, but not limited to, column connections...

chicago fire relics housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection: fused china tea cups from the great chicago fire of 1871. i have several other artifacts from the fire that were sold as "souvenirs" to tourists by young merchants (see period lithograph) that set up shop in and around the "burnt district." courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.   original pocket-sized...

fragments of chicago's past from the collections of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive.  objects of interest: -granite paver unearthed near the site of the 1886 haymarket riot. the massive pavers were used to support the weight of crane company carts loaded with brass, bronze, and iron fittings. -brown brothers cast iron sidewalk vault light fragment with glass...

by the time i arrived in the summer of 2007, the nortown theater was already dead. stripped of its utilities, burnt by fire, and extensively damaged by prolonged neglect. note: salvaging/documenting the nortown theater's facade and its ornamental terra cotta was addressed in a previous blog entry, so the majority of the images in this entry are devoted to the theater's...

urban remains and bldg. 51 recently acquired several sections of historically important egyptian revival style spray-glazed terra cotta ornament from the non-extant walter bailey-designed knights of pythias building (1928), also referred to as the "skyscraper" of bronzeville.  the building's architect, walter thomas bailey, was an american architect from kewanee, illinois. he was the first african american graduate with a bachelor...

the bldg. 51 museum recently acquired two unusual chicago fire books (published, 1872) featuring a collection of gruesome accounts collected by writer and publisher george l. barclay. graphic lithographs including children being burned alive, criminals hung and "brained," and buildings being purposely detonated (often still occupied by families) in a desperate attempt to contain the fire. the booklets are some...

the following images represent a well rounded cross section of historically important architectural materials added to the bldg. 51 archive in 2019. a more focused and in-depth blog post, will touch upon some of the more notable and historically important architectural artifacts acquired for the bldg. 51 museum collection.  all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51...

the st. louis-based winkle terra cotta co., with offices in the century bldg. at 9th and olive sts., and works at 5739 manchester ave., was established as the joseph winkle terra cotta works in 1883, located in cheltenham, a suburb of st. louis. in 1889 business was incorporated under the title of the winkle terra cotta company. the company, named...

a virtual gallery consisting of hundreds of architectural artifacts (several being historically important) and miscellaneous objects discovered and documented by eric j. nordstrom during the past 15 years salvaging residential and commercial structures faced with demolition or senseless disfigurement. when time permits, i will be assigning narratives to each and every item for identification and importance. any and all artifacts...