Urban Remains Chicago News and Events

the bldg. 51 virtual museum website overhaul was completed late last week. the overall design of the new website and its treatment of artifacts was guided by the final layout of the softbound catalog that will be available for purchase in the coming weeks (we are currently taking pre-orders at the moment). the 51 website will provide supplemental material (e.g...

i spent hours pouring over thousands of stunning city of chicago images taken by charles cushman spanning the late 1930's to the late 1950's. i selected several images that impacted me in one form or another and compiled them together in the gallery below. i strongly recommend setting aside an afternoon to freely explore cushman's remarkable photography (see link below...

shortly before the historic division street riveted plate steel bascule bridge (constructed in 1902-03) was fenced off in preparation for demolition, i spent an afternoon photodocumenting it from what felt like every conceivable angle to satisfy my mind's eye. accessing the hydraulic machinery below or underside of the bridge was rather challenging, but accomplished nonetheless. the north branch chicago river canal bridge...

years after the boylston factory salvage was completed, we are still actively incorporating boylston industrial objects into a variety of repurposed furniture and furnishings that can be used in a multitude of design settings or spaces. when we first arrived, the two "hidden" floors where a complete and utter mess. it was truly a challenge to develop a system where...

By Tanveer Ali on July 1, 2014 5:22am CHICAGO — In 1962, doctors at Grant Hospital at Webster and Lincoln avenues left a letter for those who would work in their place 50 years later. "In this day of possible nuclear destruction and biological suicide we doctors of 1962 are only assuming that there will be a succeeding generation to read this...

beginning monday a demolition crew will begin deconstructing the historic division street bridge located near goose island. the city will be replacing the 111-year-old bascule type (commonly referred to as a drawbridge) with an interim span while building a permanent replacement. the bridge was originally built in 1904 and has served as an integral link across goose island for cars...

the gallery below contains a small collection of images taken of ganz hall (originally the banquet hall) at the auditorium building while i attended the lecture given by the architecture firm booth hansen. i must admit, i was much more consumed with processing sullivan's design elements than focusing my attention on the lecture itself. i'm not going to step onto...

we just recently acquired two matching c. 1915-18 original and intact american industrial crouse-hinds "explosion proof" incandescent light fixtures with unusual riveted joint yellow brass flat bar or strap cages. both fixtures have been thoroughly cleaned and refinished to greatly enhance the visual contrast between the brass and iron. the "sun-purple" impact-resistant original glass globe provides additional color, resulting in...

this ornamented radiator grille, fabricated for the cyrus mccormick mansion remodel - where only two were actually installed - is considered to be the purest expression of a louis h. sullivan design executed in three-dimensional form by the winslow brothers foundry of chicago. interestingly, george grant elmslie (sullivan's chief draftsman) recalled that, upon presentation of the design or drawings to...

By Lizzie Schiffman on June 19, 2014 5:25am SOUTH LOOP — Ganz Hall in the Auditorium Building looks great for 125 — and that's no accident. Just as aging humans might step up their maintenance routines as their youth begins to fade, the 4,000-square-foot recital hall built in 1890 had a facelift of its own. That renovation is the subject of a...

the c. 1901 ornamental cast iron cyrus hall mccormick house radiator grille is by far one of the most significant acquisitions (as of recent) to join the ever-growing collection of historically important chicago building artifacts and/or fragments housed in the bldg. 51 museum. the oversized grille or grate is so delicate and intricately designed that, according to an account by...

 

urban remains recently purchased several amazingly designed and finely cast neoclassical style oversized cast iron exterior facade corbels salvaged from the historically-important extant 14-story chicago and northwestern railroad office building located in downtown chicago. the prairie school style commercial building was designed by the architectural firm of frost and granger in 1904. the partnership, consisting of charles sumner frost (1856–1931...

interior elements from the historically significant gethsemane missionary baptist church were salvaged earlier this week. during the process, i experienced a bit of a freak accident, when i fell off a ladder, bruising ribs and spraining my left arm. having been in the dark and intensely hot crawl space high above the hanging cross (preparing it for removal) for over an...

i revisited the chicago athletic association building this afternoon. i spent several hours moving up, down, and all around the scaffolding covering the building's facade.  i've made a point to include images of tradesman signatures and the adjoining building, originally known as the gage brothers and company building, with a terra cotta facade designed by louis h. sullivan in 1898. in...

i recently acquired a very unusual, folded and pressed galvanized steel factory machinist tool chest with distinctive riveted joints and customized drop handles and hasps. after thoroughly cleaning it, i added it to my ever-growing subcollection of industrial artifacts that i find to be unusual, one-of-a-kind pieces that were never intended to be viewed as "art," despite the remarkable craftsmanship...

the late 19th century historic fisher building designed by architects charles atwood and daniel h. burnham is bedecked with distinctive ornament on the inside and out. the terra cotta-clad neo-gothic style skyscraper was commissioned by paper magnate lucius fisher. the images here, show a distinctive figural (i.e., mythical aquatic creature) design motif found throughout the building. on the macro level...

on sunday afternoon of the memorial day weekend, i managed to make time to visit frank lloyd wright's winter home and school known as taliesin west, which is located on a southern slope of the mcdowell range overlooking paradise valley outside scottsdale, arizona.  wright would spend his winters there, beginning in 1937, until the time of his death in 1959, at the age...

over fifty american depression-era "new old stock" pressed and folded baked green enameled steel reflectors or shades were recently discovered in the storage room of an old chicago area twine factory. the diminutive pendant or task lamp shades were designed and fabricated by or for harvey hubbell inc., bridgeport, conn. urban remains has been salvaging this "frozen in time" factory...