Travel

the second empire style mitchell building (1876) is a five-story commercial building designed by architect e. townsend mix for alexander mitchell, a milwaukee-based businessman who was president of the wisconsin marine and fire insurance company bank, the chicago, milwaukee & st. paul railroad, and the northwestern national insurance company. he had also served two terms in the u.s. house of representatives, representing wisconsin's 4th district. around...

images documenting 19th and early 20th century architectural buildings and ornament during second trip (november, 2021) to milwaukee in over a year. i spent the majority of my time revisiting familiar haunts along my "circuit" that arose from several previous trips aimlessly exploring the city's houses and buildings featuring distinctive ornament i felt needed to be carefully documented. while the...

one of several posts documenting 19th and early 20th century architecture located in kalamazoo, mich. additional images and supplemental information will be provided when time permits.  images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2021.  further reading: strange ornament (not sullivan): a photographic study of adler and sullivan's dessenberg building (1885)  

all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2021.  ruination (e.g., 1850s "pioneer-era" houses and late 19th century brick worker cottages): restoration (discovery and repair of luxfer prism glass transom panels espeically interesting): unearthing la crosse (note the shards of old glass bottles, street pavers, and fired clay utility pipes):   further reading...

photographic study of adler and sullivan’s dessenberg & company building (1885) located in kalamazoo, mich. the three-story commercial brick building with basement, was erected for grocer bernhard dessenberg by bush and patterson (76 north burdick street), a local construction firm. the exterior features unglazed reddish-orange terra cotta (executed by the northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, ills.), a stamped or pressed...

exterior sullivanesque style terra cotta detail adorning lincoln school (1915) located at 728 e. gorham st. in madison, wisc. the prairie style yellow brick building bedecked with ornamental white glazed terra cotta was designed by claude and starck – a madison-based firm that designed several building in and around madison and midwest using sullivanesque ornament. the school operated until 1963...

intensive photographic survey of sullivanesque ornament on claude and starck's baraboo high school (later converted to a civic center in 1979) completed in 1928. the unusually colored mottled glaze or “pulsichrome” terra cotta draws heavily from design elements used on louis sullivan’s peoples savings and loan bank building (1918) located in sydney, ohio. in fact, the full-figured, rearing winged-lions are...

images from an exhaustive photographic study (conducted in may of 2021) of merchants national bank building (1912) located in winona, mn. the early 20th century structure is widely considered the largest and most impressive bank buildings designed by purcell, feick, and elmslie. the exterior and interior design elements reflect the agricultural importance of the community, with terra cotta depicting grain...

the exchange state bank (1910) was the first of three mower county (southern minnesota) bank buildings designed by the architectural firm of purcell, feick & elmslie (later purcell and elmslie). located on the corner of main street and grand avenue in the small town of grand meadow, minnesota, the two-story cubic building was built for a bank and vault on...

the following images were carefully selected from the voluminous archive of prominent chicago photographer and teacher, harold allen (1922-1999) housed at the ryerson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago. his photographs of adler and sullivan buildings taken in the 1940's are especially important, perhaps highlighted by his work documenting the walker warehouse, taken several years before it was demolished in 1953. more about...

images documenting 19th and early 20th century architectural buildings and ornament during first trip (april, 2021) to milwaukee in over a year. i spent the majority of my time revisiting familiar haunts along my "circuit" that arose from several previous trips aimlessly exploring the city's houses and buildings featuring distinctive ornament i felt needed to be carefully documented. while the...

the following images were taken during a brief visit to la crosse, wisconsin (march, 2021), a small historic city founded in 1848 on the mississippi river, where several surviving 19th century workers cottages, italianate commercial buildings, and chicago prairie school structures contribute to cityscape rich in heritage, history, and visual character.  note: the first set of images were taken in...

the following blog post links arranged in chronological order below offer highlights of the work of eric j. nordstrom, urban remains, and the bldg. 51 museum archive in 2019. over the past few years my work towards creating and/or collaborating with people and organizations deeply entrenched in architectural preservation has greatly intensified, which is clearly reflected in the posts i...

sullivanesque in clinton, iowa. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. further reading:  VAN ALLEN BUILDING: A PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF LOUIS SULLIVAN'S POLYCHROMED TERRA COTTA ORNAMENT

last weekend i spent the afternoon with tim samuelson, which included a visit to his frank lloyd wright exhibit located at the elmhurst museum of art to drop off garrick theater terra cotta ornament for one of the architectural artifact installations. i took advantage of additional time to shoot the show, albeit in a hurried fashion, with none of the...

a photographic study of george grant elmslie-designed terra cotta ornament for thornton township high school (1934-35). the mottled reddish-orange slip glaze terra cotta was modeled by architectural sculptor fritz albert, who was assigned the job after head modeler kristian schneider died in 1935. the terra cotta ornament was fabricated by the midland terra cotta company, chicago, ills. emil zettler modeled...

latest images taken of louis sullivan's farmers' and merchants' bank building (1919) located in columbus, wisc. i spent most of my time photo-documenting the side of the building, facing south dickason, where the five-window arcade comprised of lavishly ornamented pale green terra cotta is located. the farmers and merchants union bank was the last small bank building or "jewel box...

latest images (taken two weeks ago ((july, 2020) systemically documenting the long-overlooked a.d. german warehouse, designed in 1914 by frank lloyd wright. located in richland center, wisc., the warehouse was the only building wright ever designed in the town he was born. the warehouse was built between 1917-1920 for local businessman albert dell german of richaland center, wisc. the four-story...

a selection of exterior detail photographic images of sullivan-designed ornament for adler and sullivan's guaranty building (1896) taken during a trip to buffalo in 2017. the ornamental ironwork was executed by the winslow brothers, chicago, ills. the exterior terra cotta was fabricated by northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, ills. kristian schneider modeled the majority of the ornament. the 13-story steel...

photographic study of louis h. sullivan-designed polychromed terra cotta ornament adorning the van allen building or department store located in clinton, ia. the four-story commercial building was commissioned by john van allen and constructed between 1912-14 as louis h. sullivan as architect. to achieve a rhythmic balance, sullivan designed false dividers on the main facade to make the width of...