Press

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 chicago-centric ephemera, photographs, and architectural 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...

the following image gallery offers a glimpse at the latest american architectural artifacts added to the ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 95,000 items digitized/cataloged over the past 18 years). the newly acquired items for the winter months of 2023-20 have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective website categories. any and...

note: the following links represent some of highlights accomplished in 2023. the posts are arranged chronologically, from beginning of 2023 to end.  BLDG. 51 ARCHIVE ACQUIRES SIZABLE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF IMPORTANT RICHARD NICKEL PHOTOGRAPHS ROOKERY BUILDING BLUEPRINTS, RARE BOOKS, ORNAMENTAL TERRA COTTA, BUILDERS' HARDWARE, AND PLYMOUTH BUILDING ARTIFACTS ADDED IN JANUARY 2023 LARGELY INTACT PAINTED PINE WOOD EXTERIOR ORNAMENT SALVAGED...

demolition permit issued for bell avenue chicago 19th century brick workers cottage with completely intact bracketed pine wood cornice, lemont limestone keystones, and double arch attic window accentuated with fret-sawn spandrel. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, bldg. 51 archive, and chicago workers cottage association. all rights reserved. 2022.  the latest soon-to-be cottage casualty has inspired me to create a...

note: the following links represent only a fraction of work accomplished in 2022.  HENRY J. SCHLACKS ABADONED ST. MARTIN OF TOURS CHURCH (1895) IN NEED OF MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR HIGHLIGHTS AND RECENT AQUSISTIONS FROM BLDG. 51 COLLECTION 1880S FIVE-STORY COMMERICAL BUILDING WITH COMBINATION LEMONT AND BEDFORD LIMESTONE FACADE FACES WRECKING BALL CAREFULLY CURATED COLLECTION OF EARLY CHICAGO RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL...

images of the alice award ceremony, held in the strand book store's rare book. authors john vinci and eric j. nordstrom were present.  iphone images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2022. 

grand opening of the urban remains showroom and bldg. 51 musuem is set for mid-november. details, including press release, to follow. latest photos of the gallery (a work in progress) posted below.  images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, bldg. 51 archive, and urban remains llc. all rights reserved. 2022. 

NEWS | SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 2022 Alice Award for Illustrated Books Winner Announced COURTESY OF FURTHERMORE GRANTS IN PUBLISHING    Hudson, NY — Furthermore grants in publishing, a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, is pleased to announce the 2022 Alice is awarded to Alphawood Foundation, Chicago, IL for its publication, Reconstructing the Garrick: Adler & Sullivan’s Lost Masterpiece (Alphawood Foundation, Chicago, 2021). The beautifully...

Chirag G. Badlani, Executive Director of Alphawood Foundation Chicago, is pleased to announce that the Foundation has won the 2022 Alice Award for its publication, Reconstructing the Garrick: Adler & Sullivan’s Lost Masterpiece (Alphawood Foundation Chicago, 2021). The lavishly illustrated, 352-page book was edited by John Vinci with Tim Samuelson, Eric Nordstrom, and Chris Ware, and designed by Chris Ware...

over the past six weeks, i painstakingly documented  the "reconstructing the garrick" exhibit, from the moment the walls in wrightwood's 2nd and 3rd floor gallery were erected to opening day on the 24th of september. i shot several thousand images of its construction/fabrication and installation of ornament, objects and ephemera. since this is a work in progress, i will post additional...

  This Popular House Style in Chicago is Going Extinct Workers cottages, once a staple of Chicago’s middle-class culture, came to define the character of its residential neighborhoods. Now they’re being demolished in the name of urban development. Can they be saved, or will they slip, one by one, into obscurity? By Nicole Shein     Workers Cottages: An Important Chapter in...

eric j. nordstrom's videotaped talk and/or interview on salvaging american architectural artifacts, their value and the industry at large, can be viewed by clicking the link below: https://player.vimeo.com/video/467122667 additional guest speakers listed below: ASA Spotlights Personal Property Sessions and Experts for 2020 ASA International Conference by Jessica Wilhelmy | Aug 24, 2020 The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) wishes to...

a chicago two-story 1880s masonry cottage or "boarding house" with completely intact fret-sawn pine wood bracketed cornice and diminutive lemont limestone window keystones accentuated with deeply incised simple scroll motifs will be destroyed in the next week or two. a demolition permit has been pulled and the power cut. it's only a matter of time before the wrecking machine arrives...

Across the country, these dedicated entrepreneurs breathe new life into old materials. Preserving Chicago’s Architectural History Four days a week, Eric Nordstrom, 43, visits buildings in the Chicago area that are about to be razed. From homes, theaters, offices and factories, he excavates what he thinks is valuable – vintage lighting, antique folk art, film reels, theater seating – and...

urban remains and bldg. 51 museum owner eric j. nordstrom featured in october 2019 issue of sophisticated living magazine. magazine link: https://lsc-pagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=619240&p=&pn=#{%22issue_id%22:619240,%22page%22:92}     further reading: THE URBAN ARCHAEOLOGIST URBAN REMAINS FEATURED IN PLAYBOY MAGAZINE IN 2011

Antique shop owner keeps meticulous records of demolished workers cottages Eric Nordstrom, owner of Urban Remains, tries to find a story in the homes’ artifacts By Paul Biasco  Aug 23, 2019, 12:59pm CDT Share this story Share this on Facebook (opens in new window) Share this on Twitter (opens in new window) SHAREAll sharing options A workers cottage in Chicago gets demolished. Photo provided by...

as 2018 draws to a close, i culled the urban remains/bldg. 51 blog post archive to create a carefully curated collection of information, images, and acquisitions capping a year of relentless, unforgiving, and exhaustive work. the creation of this ever-expanding american architectural history database - revolving around 19th and early 20th century chicago construction materials and methods - has slowly morphed...

inspired by spending the past several months organizing and digitizing images and artifacts belonging to chicago architect john vinci, i’ve now begun volunteering one day a week at the ryerson and burnham library archive, where i’m combing through and digitizing images from hundreds of contact sheets housed in the richard nickel archive. during my time there, i’ve been slowly weaving together a...

"Lost and Found" will be available for purchase by the end of December 2017. The 58 page, soft-bound booklet scours the depths of the Congress Theater, chronicling the building's history through depression-era artifacts and detritus found in hidden corners of the structure. A full-color catalog and historic photographs give texture to the found objects accompanying Eric J. Nordstrom's narrative of...

Boston Valley Terra Cotta’s Master Sculptors Restoring Chicago’s Gage Building June 22, 2017|Blog, Gage Building, News/Events Boston Valley Terra Cotta has been making progress on the very detailed, ornamental terra cotta facade restoration of the Gage Building in Chicago. Designed by architect Louis Sullivan in 1899, the Gage Building’s Art Nouveau façade is emphasized with intricate vine and ivy motifs that complement geometric patterns...