Urban Remains Chicago News and Events

when i got wind that a late 19th century two-story brick commercial building was set to be demolished, i modified my schedule immediately to allow for a visit to the building. sadly, the structure waiting to be wiped away from van buren street sat abandoned, exhibiting a high degree of neglect. still, it was adorned with its decorative tin cornice and exposed load-bearing i-beam. at some...

an incredible find was made earlier this week during demolition in lincoln park, as heneghan wrecking company tore back the walls of a c. 1927 grocery store. while the structure was turned to rubble, a long hidden "ghost sign" was unveiled on the neighboring building, having likely been covered over during the grocery store's construction. the hand-painted advertisement on the ambassador...

with research ongoing, it is nevertheless clear that only a few single-story brick workers cottages built within the great chicago fire's "burnt district" still remain. the rare survivor, built shortly after the city began its unimaginable rise from the ruins, is now, 144 years later, being placed in the path of destruction. instead of a blameless natural disaster like fire this...

when i arrived at the partially demolished house, i felt relaxed and more than prepared to get lost in "the zone" of traveling back in time, carefully analyzing and deconstructing - at least in my head - the fully exposed 19th century wood-framed cottage. since i was the only one present on the site, i proceeded with little distraction, grabbing my camera...

the great majority of extant 19th century chicago commercial building facades have succumbed to those 20th century remuddlings that greatly disfigure or altogether destroy the integrity of a building's original architectural character. the replacement of windows to make them more energy efficient is one thing, but more often than not the cornice and street level storefront are heavily targeted, with the latter catering to...

  when salvaging a house slated for demolition, i first and foremost size up both the interior and exterior elements that need to be removed, documenting the "before and after" as a critical facet of the narrative which i set out to capture on each site. and yet, often the most interesting finds may not reflect the architectural merit of...

sadly, i missed salvaging and/or documenting the death of this steeply-pitched gabled roof masonry chicago cottage constructed around 1890-1895. when i did make it to the site, all that remained were partially intact brick foundation walls, with the heavily notched interlocking pine wood sill plates resting on top, and plenty of "insulation" (in this case, a mixture of mortar, wood...

shortly before the last wave of demolition left the original 1865 foundry building standing alone, as the only reminder of crane's bustling fabrication of steam and valve fitters, urban remains was able to salvage and document the event. the crane manufacturing company lasted well into the 20th century before moving the central manufacturing district on the south side of chicago...

i had plenty of time to research the history of charleston, south carolina, before flying there. a few weeks after booking the trip, however, i had chosen to avoid that approach altogether and just visit blindly, in hopes of getting lost in its rich and well-preserved history in person. this way, i didn't feel any pressure or sense of overwhelm with...

with so many demolished chicago wood-framed worker's cottages, there are a slew of recently documented buildings that await an assigned narrative around their histories, as well as documentation of the accompanying destruction and loss. the "old world" craftsmanship used to erect these simple, yet elegant cottages is fully exposed for a small window, only to quickly disappear into the landfill. having...

in the aftermath of a partial demolition of chicago's oldest factory building (the c. 1870 addition to the crane manufacturing company), several items have already been unearthed during excavation, with some pre-dating the factory itself. aside from ephemera related to the business (see prior post here), artifacts include a heavily carved sandstone building facade capital (1870's), double-sheave elevator gear (from demolished crane addition facing desplaines...

the following photo gallery offers a glimpse of the most recent artifacts salvaged and/or acquired and posted in the urban remains massive website catalog (15 new items are added daily in their respective categories). this year marks the ten year anniversary of urban remains, and from day one, one of the primary goals -- now and since 2006 -- has been to have...

Time Capsule From 1889 Discovered In Demolished Humboldt Park Church By Paul Biasco | May 18, 2016 5:51am | Updated on May 18, 2016 12:43pm @Paul_Biasco TwitterFacebookEmailMore Humboldt Park Time Capsule HUMBOLDT PARK — Eric Nordstrom has discovered two time capsules in the past two months, each dating back more than 100 years. Both times he has been left with a feeling of...

having recently witnessed the charles sumner frost-designed public life insurance building being unceremoniously toppled, with no effort toward its salvage, my mind wandered to other sites in the city, both remaining and lost, that were touched by the architects. frost had a fruitful partnership with alfred granger around the turn of the century, and the pair designed dozens of colossal structures...

on a calm afternoon, only myself and the wreckers were present as the humongous carved limestone columns proudly gracing the facade of the charles sumner frost-designed public life insurance building (1921) were quickly turned to a crumbling heap. the clunky, menacing clam bucket attached to the boom of a crane did the wrecking-- the sound of the bucket's teeth as it tore into the...

  following the recent announcement that the old cook county hospital will finally be rehabbed and put to new use, i took the time to visit the 100+ year old beaux arts-style main building, to photograph the facade and capture up-close detailing in the exquisite terra cotta ornamentation. the entire monumental structure of the old cook county hospital takes up 2...

the 11-story "moorish gothic" office building was completed in 1899 by architect harry bergen wheelock, originally serving as the offices of the western methodist book exchange, later as the stop and shop warehouse. this week's acquisitions include an additional "sullivanesque" spandrel panel (four sections creates a single spandrel), salvaged from a non-extant turn of the century building at 12-14 w. washington...

this week the bldg. 51 collection acquired a pair of historically important bronze and pressed two-piece frosted glass elevator indicator light fixtures dating to william drummond's renovation of the rookery building in the 1930's. the super super streamlined elevator fixtures feature centrally located rings flanked on the top and bottom by thick pressed glass half-globes concealing early (possibly original) painted or...

it's friday afternoon and i find it hard to get anything done. there is so much to edit, research and write about. when i'm overwhelmed and anxious it's hard to gain traction and build momentum enough to feel in control again. as of this writing, i'm exhausted by trying to keep up with so many "portals to the past" opening up...

following the revelation of a time capsule, or foundation deposit, in the cornerstone of humboldt park's former st. paul's ev. lutheran church, it seems appropriate to elaborate the twentieth century history of the building. as dnainfo covered, the most recent iteration of the building was as a d.i.y. venue and residence, a purpose quite in line with its historical use as a gathering place for...