Geology & Botany of the Sullivan Jewel Boxes, Part 20: Building Blocks | Farmers & Merchants Union Bank, Columbus, Wisconsin, USA (1919)
A composite of two photos taken on the mezzanine.
This pair of American Terra Cotta cladding units was set out as part of the bank’s fascinating historical exhibit. Whether these blocks were originally on the building’s exterior and later replaced, or are just extras, I do not know. But the lower specimen seems to have a broken side suggesting prior use.
The fragment to the right of that bottom piece beautifully displays the color of the bisque, or underlying base clay. You can also see how remarkably thin the glaze layer on top of it is.
The bisque is the fired version of clay taken from late-Pleistocene Lemont Formation glacial till. The latter was excavated on the grounds of the American works, in what was then Terra Cotta, Illinois. Now it’s part of the town of Crystal Lake. The glaze, on the other hand, was made in part from so-called ball clays imported from England.
This exhibit gives visitors a chance to see at very close range how this attractively spotted terra-cotta was manufactured in easily manipulated sections. Each unit, which had to fit exactly in place with those around it, was meticulously modeled from Louis Sullivan’s two-dimensional plans by the Norwegian-American master craftsman Kristian Schneider. Both architect and sculptor had to take into account the fact that each unit had to be purposefully oversized to compensate for shrinkage when it was cooked in the kiln.
In the last decades of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, terra-cotta was a highly favored building material. As is evident here, it can be molded into the most fanciful and intricate designs, and it can be tinted in complex patterns that mimic real rock types. Its lighter weight reduces shipping charges, and generally it’s as durable on exteriors as stone. On top of all that, it can be cleaned much more easily. This last virtue was an extremely potent selling point in the days when communities large and small were powered by bituminous coal that generated soot in industrial quantities.
The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Geology & Botany of the Sullivan Jewel Boxes album.
Geology & Botany of the Sullivan Jewel Boxes, Part 20: Building Blocks | Farmers & Merchants Union Bank, Columbus, Wisconsin, USA (1919)
A composite of two photos taken on the mezzanine.
This pair of American Terra Cotta cladding units was set out as part of the bank’s fascinating historical exhibit. Whether these blocks were originally on the building’s exterior and later replaced, or are just extras, I do not know. But the lower specimen seems to have a broken side suggesting prior use.
The fragment to the right of that bottom piece beautifully displays the color of the bisque, or underlying base clay. You can also see how remarkably thin the glaze layer on top of it is.
The bisque is the fired version of clay taken from late-Pleistocene Lemont Formation glacial till. The latter was excavated on the grounds of the American works, in what was then Terra Cotta, Illinois. Now it’s part of the town of Crystal Lake. The glaze, on the other hand, was made in part from so-called ball clays imported from England.
This exhibit gives visitors a chance to see at very close range how this attractively spotted terra-cotta was manufactured in easily manipulated sections. Each unit, which had to fit exactly in place with those around it, was meticulously modeled from Louis Sullivan’s two-dimensional plans by the Norwegian-American master craftsman Kristian Schneider. Both architect and sculptor had to take into account the fact that each unit had to be purposefully oversized to compensate for shrinkage when it was cooked in the kiln.
In the last decades of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, terra-cotta was a highly favored building material. As is evident here, it can be molded into the most fanciful and intricate designs, and it can be tinted in complex patterns that mimic real rock types. Its lighter weight reduces shipping charges, and generally it’s as durable on exteriors as stone. On top of all that, it can be cleaned much more easily. This last virtue was an extremely potent selling point in the days when communities large and small were powered by bituminous coal that generated soot in industrial quantities.
The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Geology & Botany of the Sullivan Jewel Boxes album.