Salvages

images documenting removal of iconic 1950s-era signage from the used ok'd cars dealership located at 846 n. western ave. on the west side of chicago. sadly, the building and surrounding lot will be demolished, but the signs will live on elsewhere.  images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and bldg. 51 archive. 

whether being plagued with perpetual burnout or battling time constraints - or both, i was only able to capture a small fraction of 19th and early 20th century chicago cottages destroyed in 2019. i'm posting whatever's easily accessible before i feel the urge to toss my laptop into the lake. i'm toying with the idea of amassing all of my...

the following collection on posts revolve around architectural salvage operations (big and small) across the city of chicago over the past decade. in time, i hope to revisit dormant images and information waiting to be transformed into posts to shed light on buildings demolished long ago, but live on through ornament and images.  A LOOK BACK AT SALVAGING AN EARLY...

four chicago buildings from the 19th and early 20th century will be wiped off the map in the coming weeks. the four links to past posts provide additional information and images. ANOTHER EARLY 20TH CENTURY SOUTH SIDE CHICAGO VON HOLST-DESIGNED SUBSTATION FACED WITH DEMOLITION HERMAN V. VON HOLST'S SOUTHSIDE CHICAGO PRAIRIE STYLE GAITAN BUILDING (1924) THREATENED WITH DEMOLITION FREDERICK B...

i took a few hundred images of howells and hood's tribune tower building (1925) when i was given access to the interior (including ground floor lobby, office tower, and printing plant) to inspect the original dull green enameled commercial grade steel muntin plate glass windows (there are several configurations/sizes) that were being systemically replaced with code-compliant windows at the time...

my latest photographic documentation of alder and sullivan's 1881 s.a. maxwell timber loft building offer a detailed survey of ongoing modifications to the upper floors. alterations and/or additions include the installation of wood stud wall framing on floors 3-5, sections of floor cut out in preparation for installation of stairways and light wells, and installation of new plumbing. while documenting...

richard nickel's extensive visual record of building demolitions and/or salvages in and around chicago during the height of urban renewal is truly remarkable. every time i take on another "project" within his archive, i'm taken aback by his dedication to thoroughly document a building before, during, and after its death, along with salvaging any and all ornament extracted from it...

several original and highly desirable early 1920's antique american craftsman style interior residential leaded art glass windows were recently salvaged from a chicago bungalow last week. the all original and amazingly intact strongly geometric windows were designed and fabricated by the notable chicago-based h. eberhardt & company. the matching chicago bungalow leaded glass windows exhibit a strongly geometric overall design...

the following collection of blog posts reflect my contributions to any and all facets of 19th and early 20th century chicago workers cottages. i've devoted several years researching, photographing, dissecting, and amassing a sizable collection of building fragments for my "deconstructing chicago" book. while the book continues to evolve based on the complexity of data i've gathered thus far, i...

with limited time, i haven't been able to thoroughly document ongoing alterations made to adler and sullivan's 1881 s.a. maxwell building as it slowly transitions from empty loft space to boutique hotel. this of course is unfortunate, since my hastily made images fail to truly capture the more visually striking characteristics of the upper floors, which haven't been altered much...

latest images documenting interior (floors 3-5) and exterior (including rooftop) of adler and sullivan's s.a. maxwell loft building (commonly known as the jewelers' building) during transformation into a boutique hotel. thankfully i captured the interior prior to restoration work during my last visit in november of 2018 (see link below). the first post includes several images taken by richard nickel...

a collection of blog posts (links listed below) on the destruction of 19th century erie street worker cottages on chicago's rapidly changing  near west side.  AN INTENSIVE STUDY ON MATERIALS AND METHODS USED IN BUILDING THE CHICAGO WORKERS COTTAGE PRIVY VAULT WITH SCATTERED REMNANTS UNEARTHED BEHIND A PRE-FIRE CHICAGO RESIDENCE ON ERIE STREET WEALTH OF ARTIFACTS DISCOVERED IN THE WALLS OF A...

the first story facade is all that remains of the huron street cottage built around 1887 (as discussed in a previous post below). TWO-STORY 1880'S HURON STREET BRICK CHICAGO WORKERS COTTAGE WITH JOLIET LIMESTONE WINDOW HOODS SET TO BE DEMOLISHED IN COMING DAYS from a previous post on may 2, 2019: yet another 1880s two-story residential brick cottage located in...

one of two 19th century single-story brick workers cottages on race street (formerly known as emerson street) is set to be destroyed in the coming weeks. the boarded cottage with unornamented joliet limestone block headers, oculus window, and turned wood porch columns is located just west of the first, and will likely be next on the chopping block this summer...

with the surrounding neighborhoods virtually unrecognizable, post-fire chicago two-story cottages have been on chicago’s “threatened” historic buildings list for years now. the “for sale” sign on this particular cottage quickly came and went in recent months, the green fence erected quickly thereafter. thankfully, i repeatedly documented this cottage and now gone neighboring post-fire buildings before the neighborhood was completely decimated...

the last pocket of 19th century residential buildings spanning three decades (i.e., 1870s, 1880s, 1890s) on a downtown chicago city block are undergoing demolition, beginning with the heavily modified three-story 1870s italianate to the far left.  the house in the middle features a painted brownstone (michigan sandstone) facade with projecting bay, decorative window hoods, and mansard roof punctuated with pedimented...

i recently got wind that this 19th century chicago brick residence with intact bracketed cornice, double arch top window accentuated with fret-sawn panel, and single incised keystone was targeted for demolition. by the time i arrived late yesterday afternoon, it was wrapped in green fence and half-demolished. that was quick. dangerously quick.   sadly, the joliet limestone window hoods were...

an amazingly intact and well-maintained post-fire brick workers cottage with original fret-sawn bracketed pine wood cornice, oculus, and frear or ransom's artificial stone incised window hoods with centrally located ornamental keystones, will be destroyed in the next week. the address is 1938 n. mohawk street. the generously proportioned arch top two-over-two painted pine wood windows appear to be original. the...

an early 20th century two-story chicago fire house (vacated in 1964) with bedford limestone incised plaque and municipal device just below the roofline, is currently undergoing demolition. the long-abandoned fire house is located in the old union stockyards, near a dumpster distribution center.  heneghan wrecking was kind enough to allow me to document both the inside and outside shortly before...

back-to-back demolition of 1880’s victorian era commercial building and adjoining residential boarding house comprised of brick accentuated with joilet limestone ornament ornament. the commercial building was especially difficult to see destroyed since it retained the original dearborn foundry “no. 2” cast iron and steel front configuration, with three-sided ornamental cast iron columns supporting a long horizontal beam with simple radial...