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Urban Remains, 1818 w grand Avenue, Chicago, IL (2026)

09/06/2026

henry fuermann photographic images (scanned from original glass plate negatives) of louis h. sullivan's henry b. babson house (1907-08), located at 230 n. longcommon rd., riverside, il.
the interior and exterior images were likely taken in 1912.
the loggia, terra cotta, leaded glass, windows, etc., were salvaged by richard nickel, john vinci and david norris during demolition in 1960.
courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

09/05/2026

schoenhofen brewing company administration building (1886, adolph cudell, architect) and powerhouse (1902, schmidt, garden, and martin).
the schoenhofen brewery historic district is located at 18th and canalport avenue.
courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

09/05/2026

a group of aerial photographic images, scanned from original 4 x 5 negatives, showing michael reese hospital as it appeared in august 1960.

the former michael reese hospital, at 2929 s. ellis avenue on chicago’s near south side, is architecturally significant for linking sullivanesque prairie school design with international style bauhaus modernism.

its campus developed in two major phases. the early 1907 hospital building was designed by hugh m. g. garden of schmidt, garden & martin and featured brickwork and stylized terra cotta ornament typical of the prairie school era.

in the 1940s and 1950s, bauhaus founder walter gropius served as a planning consultant for the campus expansion. working with reginald isaacs and firms including loebl, schlossman & bennett, gropius helped shape a modern functionalist complex, including the psychosomatic institute, a rare large-scale example of bauhaus-influenced urban planning in chicago.

despite intense preservation battles led by activists and historians attempting to protect gropius's legacy, the city of chicago moved forward with a sweeping demolition of the campus starting around 2009 to clear land for a failed 2016 olympic village bid.

during demolition by heneghan wrecking, historic elements were documented and salvaged. eric nordstrom, founder of the chicago architectural salvage company urban remains, extensively recorded the destruction, and his team rescued remnants such as prairie-style terra cotta fragments and masonry from hugh garden’s original building before the campus was cleared.

courtesy of bld. 51 archive.

09/05/2026

sobering reminder of the botched "block 37" development that resulted in several historically important buildings being decimated.

casualties included van osdel's post-fire mccarthy building (1872), stop and shop (1928) by schmidt, garden, and martin, wheelock's western methodist book concern (1899), p.b. wight's springer block (1872) - later remodeled by adler and sullivan), and warren's only commercial building, the unity building, completed in 1892.

kodachromes courtesy of john vinci collection.

09/04/2026

“big jim” o’leary’s 1901 house, built by zachary taylor davis, is in big trouble as its case moves through chicago’s demolition court, as dennis rodkin of crain’s has reported earlier this week.
the house now sits wide open, inviting squatters and scrappers to strip it before it is turned over to demolition crews.
the situation is especially frustrating because no organization appears willing to intervene or speak up for “big jim.”
i’m sharing additional detailed photographs of the façade, including the hand-carved monogrammed panels flanking the entrance; the woman’s face, which likely does not depict big jim’s mother, catherine o’leary of great chicago fire lore; a 1986 view of the house and its deteriorated neighbors; and, most notably, a detailed description from the inter ocean, published november 3, 1901, on page 33 under the headline “bookmaker o’leary invests gambling profits in a mansion.”
and the story about a dedicated private fire hydrant is simply false.

When O’Leary gets his new house at 824 Garfield boulevard completed it will be one of the most notable residences in Chicago. The ground represents an investment of $40,000, and $60,000 is being spent on the building. Zachary T. Davis the architect says with justifiable pride in his work, that the house, when completed, will be the finest of the new residences in Chicago,
Palatial Type of Residence
The dimensions of the house are forty-five feet frontage, and by sixty-five feet depth. It is three stories high and constructed of brown Port Wing sandstone, one of the most impressive materials known to the building trade. The style of architecture is modern French renaissance, a particularly ornate and elaborate style, which can only be effective in residences of the palatial type. A number of bow and dormer windows and balconies distinguish the façade. The hall door is reached by a broad flight of stone steps and opens through a large porch supported on pillars. The balustrades and window frames are elaborately carved and ornamented. The roof, which includes a number of peaks and gables, will be of tile.

The new house will be adapted for accommodations for a large establishment. Indeed, it must be, for the O’Leary menage, exclusive of servants, consists of fifteen. There will be twenty-two rooms, including billiard hall, and music rooms. A fixture not quite usual in residences but one which exemplifies Mr. O’Leary’s views as to the carnal necessities of man, is a cold storage room in the basement, ten by sixteen feet, where supplies can be stored for months ahead, if necessary.

Particular attention is paid to the lighting of the mansion, and a most elaborate system of electric lights will be installed, especially noticeable in the system of illumination of the dining room. This will be managed by a scheme of concealed electric lamps, the rays from which will be reflected from gold shells placed on the sideboard. These shells have the effect of diffusing and softening the light, so that all parts of the room shall be equally bright, and there shall be no dazzling points to interfere with free vision. The dining room . which is to be the handsomest of its kind in the city, will be fitted up in Dutch renaissance.

The ballroom is commodious enough for the largest entertainments, measuring 38 by 40 feet. It will be finished in enamel and gold, as also the music rooms. The finishing of the parlor will be mahogany, and that of the upstairs rooms , bedrooms, drawing rooms, and the like , enamel and birdseye maple. There will be three bathrooms and three toilet rooms fitted up in marble mosaic and tile. The newest arrangements in the way of hot and cold water supply will prevail throughout. An imposing feature of the house will be the staircase in Flemish oak, richly carved. The windows of the Dining room and hall will be fitted with art glass of the finest quality and design.

The grounds on which the house stands have frontage of 125 feet, and are laid out in shrubberies and flower gardens. They are separated from the boulevard by a heavy ornate iron fence, entrance within which is obtained by an elaborately designed iron gate. The cost of the gate alone is in the neighborhood of $400. Behind the house will stand a large barn, with accommodations for five horses, and the requisite number of of attendants and coachmen. The total cost of the barn will be about $10,000.

It is expected that the house will be completed and ready for occupation in about three months.

courtesy of bld. 51 archive.

09/04/2026

Posted in 2016:

With the likely demolition of the post-fire cottage at 1241 State Street approaching, it feels important to commemorate the building and acknowledge its survival over the past century and a half. I have considered creating a temporary pop-up museum during the house’s final days, using the site to display artifacts I have collected related to the Great Chicago Fire. Although the logistics would still need to be worked out, the idea feels fitting and has precedent in nineteenth-century commemorations of the fire.
It is well known that Chicago responded to the disaster with astonishing speed. Men such as William Kerfoot, profiled in a recent blog post, were already trying to restart their businesses on the hot bricks, while other Chicagoans began collecting material to remember the event before the ashes had settled. People were seen chipping pieces from the courthouse bell as souvenirs, “in an effort to remember the disaster as a history-making spectacle,” as scholar Adam Mack writes. Although the fire was widely treated as an opportunity for recovery, some lamented the sudden appearance of improvised storefronts among the ruins, romanticizing the razed landscape for its quiet drama and epoch-making destruction. That scene disappeared quickly, but efforts to memorialize the fire continued, helping cast it as Chicago’s near-mythical beginning.
One lesser-known post-fire project was the “Relic House,” a kind of pop-up museum built in 1872. Made from melted masses of glass, iron, pottery, stone, and other materials salvaged from the rubble, it became both a curiosity and a tourist attraction. A man named Rettig created the cottage when fire mementoes were plentiful and inexpensive, first raising it at North Park Avenue and Center Street. It was later moved to Clark and North Park Avenue. Philip Vinter became its next proprietor and added a restaurant, hall, and saloon; in 1884, William Lindemann took over and added a refreshment parlor.
Nearly twenty years after the fire, a December 1890 issue of the Chicago Tribune suggested the Relic House as an exhibit for the World’s Fair. Lindemann, then the owner, responded candidly: “Yes, I will move it to the World’s Fair grounds if I am paid enough.” The Tribune writer argued for the exhibit’s value, noting that excavation for the Masonic Temple had uncovered a large mass of molten iron at State and Randolph Streets. He concluded that “many interesting relics of the fire lie buried beneath the earth’s surface” and would emerge as deeper foundations and larger buildings reshaped the business district. He also predicted that notable relics would be found in Lake-Front Park during World’s Fair construction, since the area had served as a dumping ground for fire debris. During the Masonic Temple excavation, workers struggled to break apart and remove the metal mass, which had been buried for two decades; the company offered it to anyone able to haul it away, suggesting how Rettig may have gathered such material in the first place. Workers also found melted steel scissors and a solid silver watch whose moving parts had fused together. The scissors were later displayed in the company president’s office.
However popular or curious the Relic House may have been, it was demolished in 1929 to make way for a large apartment complex. After nearly sixty years, it had become a renting library for books and magazines, with a popular beer garden still operating behind it. One publication described the building as “decorative” rather than historical.
Now surviving only in stories, the Relic House seems to affirm many of my own projects. Built from scrap and burned fragments, it showed how much interesting and informative material lies just beneath the city, waiting to be shaped into a narrative compelling enough to hold public attention. The house reflected the quick, inventive response that followed the fire, yet it ultimately succumbed to Chicago’s recurring willingness to raze its own monuments and historic structures. Perhaps another idiosyncratic, even temporary, pop-up museum is needed to help fill the void left by demolition.
images courtesy of bld. 51 archive.

09/04/2026

“big jim” o’leary’s well-known saloon and gambling resort at 4183 s. halsted street stood near 41st street in canaryville, across from the old union stock yards. the lavish gambling destination was destroyed in 1934 when a major fire swept through the union stock yards area and burned eight city blocks. james “big jim” o’leary, son of catherine o’leary of great chicago fire lore, later became a powerful gambling boss and political figure in chicago.

09/04/2026

rare james w. taylor albumen image of solomon s. beman's charles w. brega house, completed in 1885. brega was a prominent member of the chicago board of trade at the time his house was being built at 2816 s. michigan ave., chicago, il.

the three-story bedford limestone house was built at a cost of 40,000. as the sign on the front door indicates, the interior furnishing were done by carsley & east mfg. co., known for outfitting several prominent homes with millwork, mantels, etc.

brega's mansion was later sold to otto c. lightner, publisher of hobbies magazine in 1933. the house became his own personal museum, stuffed with architectural artifacts from buildings and mansions as they were being demolished over the years.
the house was demolished in 1967 during urban renewal.

image courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

09/04/2026

after mecca, before crown.
great collection of images (possibly taken by nickel) of excavation work for mies's crown hall (1956) at iit. the images offer a great visual record of the surrounding area, including long-gone buildings along state street.
i see lindahl did the excavation, but if i recall correctly speedway demolished edbrooke and burnham's mecca flats (1892).
the intricately designed and finely executed cast iron baluster was salvaged from mecca flats (1891) during its demolition for iit's crown hall.
mecca flats was designed as a hotel by architects willoughby j. edbrooke and franklin pierce burnham for world's fair visitors. possibly fabricated by winslow brothers. the ornament's original finish was either bower-barff or black enamel.
courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago. mecca baluster courtesy of bldg. 51 collection

09/04/2026

the chicago herald building, also known as the andrews building, stood at 161–165 west washington street in chicago, il. designed by the burnham & root, it opened as a state-of-the-art, six-story newspaper printing plant and drew significant public attention. demolition began on april 1, 1936, by the w. j. newman wrecking company, after the building became obsolete and property taxes rose.
its front facade featured the chicago herald, a cast-bronze statue sculpted by johannes gelert in 1890 and nicknamed the “bugle boy.” the statue survived demolition, was acquired by the chicago historical society—now the chicago history museum—and was later donated to st. ignatius college prep, where it remains in the school’s architectural ornament graveyard.
the building is also important to structural engineering history because of its connection to the neighboring chicago stock exchange building, designed by adler & sullivan and built in 1893–1894. in 1894, the herald building’s owners feared that pile-driving for the stock exchange would damage their walls and shared property lines, so they obtained an injunction blocking nearby pile work. engineer general william sooy smith responded by pioneering the first use of “chicago caissons”—deep, hand-dug cylindrical concrete shafts sunk to hardpan—to support the stock exchange wall without harming the herald building.
although preservationists such as richard nickel salvaged the chicago stock exchange’s terra-cotta exterior and trading room in 1972, the herald building was lost in 1936. before its demolition, its interiors were extensively documented, including its ornate counting rooms and basement printing presses, which were visible from the sidewalk.
courtesy of bld. 51 archive.

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