Urban Remains Chicago News and Events

exterior images of frank lloyd wright's edward e. boynton house (1908), located at 16 east blvd., rochester, ny. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2023. 

multiple frank lloyd wright-designed red painted cast iron mullion fragments removed from the ground level windows on adler and sullivan's wainwright building (1891) were recently acquired by the bldg. 51 archive collection. the diminutive cast iron sections (fabricator not known) were salvaged from the building in 1974-75 while undergoing extensive alterations including demolition of the interior. the strongly geometric and...

when adler and sullivan's schiller building (1892) - later known as the garrick theater - was undergoing demolition in 1961 (a multitude of preservation groups and notable figures around the world vigorously protested and fought to save it from destruction months prior), a small number of forward-thinking organizations generously provided financial assistance towards saving the building's interior and exterior ornament...

photographic survey of frank lloyd wright's william winslow's residence (1894), located at 515 auvergne pl, river forest, ills. i've included my original foldout page of wright's winlow house, from architectural review, bates & guild company, 1900. the winslow brothers were chicago’s leading architectural manufacturers, producing wrought and cast iron, and complex decorative metalwork for countless chicago landmarks, including the auditorium...

original diminutive carved bedford limestone block - salvaged by timothy j. samuelson and tim barton - from pond and pond's home for self-supporting women was donated to the bldg. 51 museum collection over the past week. the building was completed in 1908 and located at 12 east grand avenue, chicago, ills.  images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, bldg. 51 archive...

images of fritz albert-designed polychromed terra cotta along the cavetto cornice and surrounding entrance of the egyptian lacquer mfg. company building (1926). the single-story egyptian-revival style factory - located at 3052 west carroll avenue, chicago, ills. – was built by the architectural firm of lockwood, greene and company in 1926. the spray-glazed exterior terra cotta ornament was sculpted by fritz...

photographic survey of purcell and elmslie's first state bank of leroy (1914), located at 102 w. main street, leroy, mn. the building is devoid of the characteristic elmslie-designed terra cotta ornament, given the fact that one of the bank director's would veto any proposal for a design exceeding ten thousand dollars. still, the richly colored art glass lunette buried deep...

  exterior photographic survey of purcell and elmslie’s first national bank (1920), located at 322 west main street, adams, mn. first national was not only the last of three mower county (southern minnesota) bank buildings – the other two being the exchange bank (1910) in grand meadows, and the first state bank of leroy (1914), located just west of adams...

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...

interior and exterior images of louis h. sullivan's national famer's bank (1908), located at 101 n. cedar avenue, owatonna, mn. the richly colored stencils, plaster, art glass, etc., were designed by l.h. sullivan, l. millet and g.g. elmslie. the oversized ornamental cast iron electroliers (four in total) were modeled by kristian schneider for the winslow brothers foundry. the murals were...

an original custom-designed, black enameled ornamental cast iron interior staircase baluster and newel post bottom endcap salvaged from edebrooke and burnham's mecca hotel or flats (1892) during its untimely demolition in 1952, joined the bldg. 51 museum and eric j. nordstrom collection this past week. the exact fabricator or foundry is not known. the building's ironwork was finished with applied...

a detailed photographic survey of american terra cotta founder william d. gates's terra cotta house (jenney and mundie, 1893), located at 134 n. lincoln street, hinsdale, ills. conflicting accounts suggest the house was erected at the 1893 world's columbian exposition to showcase the company's terra cotta, then deconstructed at the fair's end, and transported to hinsdale where it was rebuilt...

it's been a little over three years since i last had a chance to carefully document in the interior of adler and sullivan's james charnley house (1891). when the staff at the society architectural historians (the society operates from the house), welcomed me back last week, i eagerly jumped at the opportunity to spend a long afternoon there photographing the...

recent images of abner pratt's italianate style honolulu house (1860), located at 107 n. kalamazoo avenue, marshall, michigan. not sure how the 1890s cast bronze "kelp" pattern doorbell (fabricated by yale & towne) landed there, but obviously not original. the entrance doorknob and backplate - made by russell & erwin - dates to the 1880s. images courtesy of eric j...

exterior images of the former chicago historical society building (1892) designed by chicago architect h.i. cobb. the historical society moved to the georgian-style facility (designed by graham, anderson, probst & white) in 1932. images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2023. 

exterior images of edward c. van leyen’s beax-arts style three-story brick and bedford limestone third precinct station (1896), located at 2200 hunt street, detroit, mich. the carved limestone portico is quite unique, featuring the heads of policemen surrounded by leafage, badges or shields with cuffs and batons, and menacing lionheads. completed in may of 1897, the station served as the...

please don’t rip me out. recent photographic survey of the original, custom-designed copper-plated ornamental cast iron interior elevator doors, surrounds, cabs, up/down illuminated lanterns, and oversized push-button call boxes installed during the transformation of solon s. beman’s studebaker carriage depository building (1885) into the fine arts building in 1898 (the subsequent floor additions and extensive alterations were also carried out...

detroit's " cathedral of finance." interior and exterior images of wirt c. rowland’s 36-story mayan revival style guardian building (originally called the union trust building), located at 500 griswold street detroit, michigan. further reading from wikipedia: Architecture Tall Spire Shorter Spire The main frame of the skyscraper rises 36 stories, capped by two asymmetric spires, one extending for four additional stories...

the following american architectural ornament joined the ever-expanding, chicago-based bldg. 51 museum in summer of 2023. captions will be provided when time permits.  any and all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom, the eric j. nordstrom collection, and the bldg. 51 museum. all rights reserved. 2023. 

stanford white in light and shadow. exterior photographs of sanford white's joseph medill residence (1891-93), located at 20 east burton place, chicago, ills. medill, who was a former mayor of chicago and founder of the chicago tribune, gifted the palatial house to his daughter elinor and her husband, robert wilson patterson, jr. in 1914, the house was sold to cyrus...