Salvages

an early 20th century factory with white glazed terra cotta (possibly fabricated by the midland terra cotta company) located at 825-855 w. adams is undergoing demolition. thanks to moshe tamssot for bringing this to my attention. i photographed the exterior a few weeks ago, but looking at the latest images provided by True West Loop, the wreckers have arrived to take down...

a demolition permit has been issued for a 19th century 3-story masonry residential building with joliet limestone window hoods. the well-maintained structure is located at 530 w. dickens ave. any and all tenants have moved out. i didn't have a great deal of time to make an extensive visual record of the structure, but at least i captured the facade...

the following gallery offers a glimpse at the most recent american architectural, medical, and industrial artifacts and/or miscellaneous objects added to our ever-expanding urban remains virtual catalog (over 35,500 catalog listings to date). the newly acquired items have been documented, cleaned/refinished (if need be) and photographed prior to being added to their respective urban remains website categories.  

two early 20th century chicago apartment buildings adorned with bedford limestone are set to be demolished this week or possibly next. the power has been cut and the interior salvaged to some degree. the two buildings are located at 450-454 w. belmont avenue.  

according to 19th century chicago public health reports, periodicals (e.g., the sanitarian), and city ordinances, it was rather common for licensed "night scavengers" to dump refuse collected from residential privy pits or "vaults" into vacant lots. i've discovered several of these dumps over the past 3 years while gathering data for my "unearthing chicago" project. However, i haven't been actively...

the 1870's post-fire italianate style rowhouse with original bracketed wood cornice and artificial stone window hoods with centrally located keystones, has been reduced to rubble. as of this writing, the concrete foundation for its replacement has been poured. by spring's end, the new structure will likely by finished - occupied by a family that never knew what stood there. the...

by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago the five story concrete flat slab constructed 1958 building designed by graham, anderson, probst & white at 110 n wacker has been undergoing demolition for the past several weeks. thousands of loop office workers have been able to witness this large scale operation unfold as the former headquarters of one of chicago’s oldest...

two early 20th century chicago two-flats were issued demolition permits on march 6th. the buildings are located at 1346 and 1350 north claremont avenue respectively. the green fence has not been erected, nor has the wrecker delivered their excavators, but within the next week or two both structures will be reduced to rubble.   1346 n. claremont avenue:   1350 n...

  i finally had a chance to leave my shop and shoot architectural ornament this afternoon. while driving around old town i recalled a demo permit issued for a structure on orchard. i had to triple-check the address (2252 n. orchard) when i pulled up... how many times have i said the same things and shared the same photos?  again...

by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago the last series of images chronicling the demolition of clarence hatzfeld's south side masonic temple (1921). south entrance partially covered in snow. machines at rest after chicago snowstorm. wide angle (distorted) view looking southwest. massive riveted-joint steel truss, severed with a torch left standing between the arms of a machine that will crush...

i have tens of thousands of images taken from dig sites across the city of chicago. sadly, only a few hundred have been edited and added to blog posts over the years. the "unearthing chicago" book will remain in suspended animation until the day i sit down and begin pulling all of the data together. revisiting the documentation of digs...

by eric j. nordstrom & ornament chicago very little remains of south side masonic temple (1921). a few riveted joint steel trusses and columns, partially covered with chunks of dangling concrete, will be pulled apart with the wrecker's long reach excavator this week.  remnants of a grand hall bedecked with ornamental plaster (e.g., fluted pilasters) cling to life on the...

by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago built as the bethel norwegian danish methodist episcopal church in 1905, the ingleside community church of the nazarene was demolished this week by heneghan wrecking. through a collective effort yesterday afternoon, the dated bedford limestone cornerstone and diminutive lithographed tin time capsule were carefully extracted and handed over to the existing owners –...

  the following images are part of my ongoing efforts to digitize what i've dubbed "the john vinci artifact and photographic archive." given my limited bandwidth, i'm posting images now with the hopes of returning to fill in badly needed contextual information to offer greater insight and/or interpretation of people, events, and buildings.  richard nickel salvaging terra cotta ornament from garrick theater...

by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago images of the south side masonic temple building (1921) taken this morning. a single bedford limestone fluted column with ionic capital remains standing.  the majority of clarence hatzfeld's ornament is on the ground in ruin or buried in a landfill.  i'm beginning to seriously doubt whether i will live to see (i'm 40...

the former humboldt garage & auto service company building (1911) had a walk-in vault. shortly before that section of the building was demolished, the wreckers managed to open the door, where they discovered several ledgers, signs, salesman samples, blueprints, and other odds and ends left behind by the carbit paint company - the earliest checks date to 1938. courtesy of...

by eric j. nordstrom & ornament chicago with all the wrecking machines working in unison now, the south side masonic temple's east and north facades are fading fast. thankfully, some ornament has been carefully removed and awaits a new home - wherever that may be. sadly, the gargantuan columns and capitals wrapping around the building are being pulverized as they fall...

by eric j. nordstrom & ornament chicago ongoing destruction of the south side masonic temple (1921) has greatly disfigured the building.  it's mesmerizing to watch the wrecking ball repeatedly being dropped on the indiana limestone along the north facade, while at the same, bearing witness to the highreach twisting and turning of the building's steel skeleton.  with the exception of...

by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago here are the latest images from clarence hatzfeld's south side masonic temple demolition. the high reach hasn't been brought to life yet, but the ball has been swinging against the northeast corner of the building. not sure if the three-sided fluted limestone columns and capitals are going to be saved. the face brick...

by eric j. nordstrom and ornament chicago i finally made time to edit more images of chicago's south side masonic temple (1921) demolition. the six-story structural steel and reinforced concrete frame structure with red face brick and carved bedford limestone facade was designed by chicago architect clarence hatzfeld at a cost of $300,000.  New York Stadler Photo Co. Chicago  ...