Very nice - but much more striking against the Orange/Red back wall...

...let's hope the new owner paints.

Wow!!!!

Selling off chunks of Carson's? That's not right.

Selling off chunks of Carson's? That's not right.

Apparently- they were selling not only Fixtures and Display cases - but parts that were going to be demoed in the Remodeling Plan.....
http://chicagoist.com/2007/02/22/farewell_carsons.php

I actually wished I had hear of the Sale....but- was able to make something beautiful from it anyways!

My university's art gallery has a set of those hanging on a wall in the sculpture garden.

Not "Sullivan-esque"--attributed to Louis Sullivan, 1899.

Did Randall Kramer and his client poke around to get appraisals of the actual value of those pieces before pursuing this project? Original Adler & Sullivan architectural fragments can go for a mint.

The balusters were covered in brown paint? Did anyone bother to assess whether that paint could be removed in such a way as to leave the original bronzed finish intact? Or did someone brazenly, carelessly strip or sandblast them right down to the raw cast-iron, thereby destroying the historical integrity and market value of the pieces?

bruised -

as i applaud your appreciation for preservation, i also think your comment is a little harsh! perhaps the owners did not know what the market value of their pieces could go for ("a mint" as you put it) but they ARE appreciating it by encouraging it's incorporation into their home.

plus, alluding to their actions as "brazen" is a pretty huge assumption. your words perhaps could encourage people to research more, rather than criticizing their efforts.

r

via wikipedia:

"The Carson Pirie Scott name is strongly associated with the historic Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building designed by Louis Sullivan, built in 1899 for the retail firm Schlesinger & Meyer, and expanded and sold to Carson Pirie Scott in 1904. The building, located on State Street in Chicago's Loop, housed the chain's flagship store for more than a century before closing for good on February 21, 2007."

if these came from the state and madison store, they are sullivan originals. bruised, while harsh, is right. like on all those episodes of the antiques roadshow, don't refinish anything without doing your research.

my-Oh-My.....bruised and healthyhome, take a chill pill.....I've been doing this a while,so I know of what I speak.
Allow me to explain....
......As I was studying the Railing Section in my studio- I was looking for a means to detach the "goodies" from the rest of the Steel Railing (which looked very "modern" to me, not in a "MODERN" way- but- meaning, not from the 1890's )....I noticed the Ballustrudes were screwed on to the steel square bars.( not typical of Sullivans Railings I've observed at The Auditorium Theatre/Roosevelt University and other Sullivan Buildings) After unscrewing these screws, the Ballustrudes came detached, and I noticed something VERY strange. The Ballsutrudes were quite light, not what Cast Iron should weigh....in fact - they "felt" like Aluminum. Knowing that Aluminum wasn't the metal of choice in Mr. Sullivans day- AND knowing that Aluminum as an Architectural Metal wasn't popular till after the War- I started to do some Arch. research. After carefully using Paint Stripper to remove some of the layers of paint (sandblasting ,possibly would have removed some of the fine detail), it was clear- what I had- were made after the fact. Meaning- they were NOT "Holy Grail" ,& that possibly, Carsons' Store Planners had decided to add another Stair Case, or even alter the existing Traffic flow in the store- way before it was ever even Landmarked- and that the cheapest method of reproducing the Original Sullivan Ballustrades was by Sand Casting.
So - what I had- was indeed from The Carson Pirie Scott Store on State Steet and Madison- but was from a later date- I'm guessing somewhere between the late 40's and the 1980's. My client is wanting to research it further to determine when the store may have changed its stairs.

Plus- if "you" wish to own a copy- The Chicago Arch. Foundation is selling copies...http://www.architecture.org/shop/shop/item.asp?itemid=595&catid=8

FWIW- I've seen one of the "original" Louis Sullivan ballustrades, from Carsons sold by a Dealer in Chicago- for over $15K, (to a partner in a Chicago Architecture firm).
So, I know what they are worth.
And, I "know", that these were not cast in Iron,and later copper plated as were the originals.

Man-ofSteel:

That the found balusters were later reproductions might well have been mentioned in the original post--that detail changes the dynamic of the little narrative entirely.

BTW--placing words in quotation marks is not the same as using italics. As you've used them, the quotation marks above should indicate words used ironically, unusually, or with reservations or distaste.

lol@KTG because seriously, everyone needs to lighten up.

Sorry to comment so late, but great work as usual M.O.S.!

bke

I have two of these railings in my storage locker. I pulled them out of the Carson store myself 5 years ago. At the time, I was the only taker - there was only a handful - these folks must have taken the other ones I left - didn't have room in my borrowed minivan! They are long and HEAVY. I was told later they were cast iron from the 1940s. They aren't original Louis Sullivan works but CPS had them cast from a Louis Sullivan form. Cool. Don't know what I'll do with mine - a wall hanging was my first thought - headboard was a great idea!