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dmercer.bsky.social
dmercer.bsky.social
@dmercer.bsky.social
3.3K followers 650 following 23K posts
Look up and stay curious. Mostly architecture.
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dmercer.bsky.social
932 S. Leavitt, Chicago. Built ca. 1889. Who else thinks that front door looks old?
Two-story red brick multi-family building. Much of it is in need of restoration, but the half of the facade on the left side is glorious. The windows are bordered by rusticated limestone in a short-long-short pattern. There is beautiful stained glass above both the first and second floor windows. And above the second floor is an arched panel of red terra cotta foliage and possibly lilies. The front door, to the right, is partly in shadows, but it appears to be quite old. It is heavy wood with decorative wood trim.
November 17, 2025 at 11:53 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
32nd Place, Bridgeport, Chicago
Part of a wall covered in posters saying such things as: Immigrants Welcome, Eat the Rich, Melt Ice, Fuck Ice, and No Human is Illegal.
November 17, 2025 at 10:01 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
Demolishing the last section of the Damen Silos in Chicago
November 17, 2025 at 6:57 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
#ManholeCoverMonday Oak Park, Illinois. Is there a difference between sewage and sewerage?
Manhole cover with a rusty patina set into a round, concrete, flat-domed object. The manhole cover says "H. J. Mohr & Sons Co., Oak Park, Ill" and in the center the word "Sewerage." it has a sort of waffle-like pattern across the surface.
November 17, 2025 at 12:57 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
It's Sunday. Here's a church. 4300 block of West Walton, Chicago
Orange brick 2-flat building with the first floor converted into St. James Church of God in Christ. The brick on the church level is covered with tan and brown narrow horizontal stone. There is a cross in the window to the left of the entrance. The orange brick on the second floor has some nice brown brick trim and a couple of stone accents.
November 16, 2025 at 7:52 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
I sort of drew a bur oak acorn. Gave it a bit of a haircut, though.
Pencil sketch of a bur oak acorn, with shaggy cap, smooth body, and pointed tip Color photo of an actual bur oak acorn, light brown in color.
November 16, 2025 at 7:36 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
1000 and 1100 blocks of N. Hoyne, Chicago
Three-story stone front residence is a mansard roof (I think) that has a triangular pediment on the front. The front porch and the balcony above it are supported by stone columns. the balustrade on the balcony is solid stone decorated with swirls. Two second floor windows are topped with stone shell designs. On the left side of the house, the windows bay out on the first and second floors. Two-story yellow brick home with a stone foundation, stone columns on the porch, stone trim between the first and second floor windows, and a stone keystone on the arched second floor window. The most stunning feature is the triangular pediment, perhaps made of wood. It is painted dark gray, supported by brackets, and decorated with swirls, curlicues, dentils, circles, dots, and more. Two-story red brick residence with a flat roof adorned with another remarkable pediment, although I'm not sure I'm a fan of the dark gray paint. The main body of the house is rectangular with a small porch entrance jutting from the right side with a hipped roof and supported by brick and stone columns. The most striking features are the pediment and cornice, decorated with brackets, stylized foliage, and a thing on the top left that looks like a torch topped with a fancy lampshade. @ladytophamcatt, I need you here. Hulking two-story residence with a rusticated stone front. Chunky stone columns support the arch over the entryway and the arched first floor windows. There is a balcony on the second floor right, above the entrance, and above that is an arched dormer with a green patina and including a round and a rectangular window. On the left side above the second floor windows, is a small balcony below a stone pediment.
November 16, 2025 at 3:47 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
715-717 N. Paulina, Chicago, ca. 1890
Three-story red brick symmetrical 6-flat. The entrance is in the center trhough an arched brick opening with a stone keystone. Above the entrance are two narrow vertical windows and two arched windows with rough stone in between them At top center is a fantastic pressed metal arched pediment, decorated with a jolly face in the center, curlicues, garland, flowers, and pillars on each side with pointed finials. The right and lefts sides of the building are identical. The first floor sindows are arched with rough stone quoins bordering them. The second and third floors have rectangular oriel windows or pressed metal, painted white.
November 16, 2025 at 1:58 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
Beautiful afternoon in Columbus Park, Chicago. Close to 70 degrees!
Leaf-covered path through the woods
November 15, 2025 at 10:54 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
Section of the Ogilvie Transportation Center, Chicago
Long, light-colored brick railroad building with evenly spaced entrance openings across the bottom
November 15, 2025 at 7:42 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
The monk parakeets of Burbank, Illinois
November 15, 2025 at 5:23 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
1963 or 1964 (I think) Cadillac parked on Chicago Avenue in Chicago. If you look closely you can see a skeleton in the back seat.
Boat-sized white Cadillac with fins on the rear and pointy bits around the headlights. There is a skeleton in the back seat.
November 15, 2025 at 1:18 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
Possum in the yard this morning. I haven't seen one in a long time.
White-faced possum with a pink nose and dark eyes eating birdseed on the ground. Its fur is gray and brown.
November 15, 2025 at 12:38 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
How do you look at the top of this 1882 building and decide to do that to the bottom? 😡 1644 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago
Two-story red brick building from 1882 with scalloped stone window hoods on the second floor and on the window in the pediment. It has the most amazing cornice--wood with brackets, fleur-de-lis, and other gingerbread, painted white. The first floor brick has been painted black and a large set of windows and a glass door with black metal trim takes up most of the space.
November 14, 2025 at 10:59 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
Frequent mood. Wicker Park, Chicago
Brown door with a brown face painted on it. The blue eyes do not align and the mouth is partly opening, showing three pointy teeth. Black, red, and yellow lines radiate from the whole circumference of the face.
November 14, 2025 at 10:39 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
Former J. Barabas Mens Wear, 1725 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. The building was built in 1925, Worthmann & Steinbach, architects.
Mostly glass storefront with black vitrolite (I think) across the top and cool Art Deco lettering that says "CHICAGO MENS WEAR" "J. BARABAS." Above the sign some of the beige terra cotta that covers the entire facade of the building is visible, including wreaths, flowers, and egg and dart decoration. The outstanding terrazzo entrance to the store in black, white, and red stripes and checkerboard pattern. In the center is a circle containing a white shirt and black bow tie, white gloves, black top hat, and black cane. The address, 1725, is inside a black shield at the front of the entrance and below that, in red, it says BARABAS.
November 14, 2025 at 2:27 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
#FormerTavernFriday 834 (formerly 333) N. Wood, Chicago.
Four-story red brick corner building with a fancy corner turret, maybe of pressed metal, supported by one pillar. The turret is decorated with geometric shapes and vines, painted sage green against a beige background. Clipping from the Chicago Tribune in 1901 with the headline, "Mix Politics and Gambling." The part relevant to the building in the previous picture states: "William Gollnow, who has a saloon at 333 North Wood street, was fined $100 and costs and given ten days in jail for selling liquor to a drunkard."
November 14, 2025 at 12:58 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
Former SS Cyril and Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Walton and Kildare, Chicago. 1915 (in spite of what the vintage photo says), Joseph Molitor, architect. It used to have towers. I'm not sure what is going on there now.
Brown brick 2-3 story church with a symmetrical facade. The entrance is in the center, in an arched opening. There are small arched windows on each side of the doors and round windows in square openings above the doors. The windows across the top have been filled in with glass block. There is decorative cream brick across the top of the building, as well as an arched pediment containing a niche holding a statue. Vintage photo of the church showing that there were two belltowers? on top, on either side of the arched pediment. A picture of the church's first priest, Rev. Blahunka, is also shown.
November 13, 2025 at 10:10 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
1733 W. Chicago Ave, Chicago. The building is from 1929, B. A. Comm, architect. That angry bats are so random.
Terra cotta decoration at the top of a one-story commercial building. Most of the terra cotta is white with brown speckles. This particular section has an arch on top and some square pillars on the side. In the center is a face mask from a suite of armor in the same speckled terra cotta; a shield with blue and white checks, all surrounded by green foliage with yellow berries. At the base of the two pillars are two angry bat-like creatures with wings spread.
November 13, 2025 at 6:35 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
1719 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Building is from 1925; not sure about the terrazzo.
Terrazzo on a store entryway. The background is red with a wide green stripe running vertically up the middle. Two narrower yellow stripes are on either side of the green one. Across the bottom is a horizonal yellow stripe with the address, "1719", in green terrazzo.
November 13, 2025 at 6:02 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
1500 block of S. Spaulding, Chicago. I can't tell which parts are original.
Two-story (although part of the first story is below the sidewalk) brick and stone residence. It's a bit of a hodgepodge with brown brick visible across the top and down both sides and a rough stone section that projects out from the left side on both levels. There are brick corbels across the top. The stone section is arched above the top window and there are smaller stones making a sort of quilt pattern above and below the second floor window. Corrugated metal awnings are shading the window and the front door, which is at the right. Wooden steps painted brick red lead up to the entrance.
November 13, 2025 at 1:53 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
3229 (left) and 3231 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, built in 1897 and 1894 respectively. The interiors of both are pretty good. www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3... www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
Two 19th century homes built right next to each other. The one on the left is brick with a rusticated brown stone facade that includes a two-story tower on the left side. The home at right has smooth stone on the front, painted gray and an angular tower on the right side.
November 13, 2025 at 1:33 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
Are these the same structure? Garfield Park, Chicago.
Photo of an outdoor passageway with concrete floor, square concrete posts supporting a partially collapsed wood roof. Trees in various shades of green and gold are in the background. ca 1910 postcard of the same structure (I think), filled with flower boxes and bordered by concrete urns filled with plants and flower beds. https://chicagopc.info/ Photo ca 1910 of the interior of a similar structure with benches lining both sides. The caption says "A Shady Place in the good old Summer Time" at Garfield Park, Chicago. Area of Park 188 Acres." https://chicagopc.info/
November 12, 2025 at 6:16 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
Parallel lines
Grouping of twelves color photographs illustrating parallel lines. From the top left, going L to R: elevated train supports; horizontal metal fence; vertical stripes on the Aon Building; power lines; decorated wood ceiling beams; bricks in a sort of chevron pattern; vertical blinds in a window; grain silos; boat docks; vertical mullions on a skyscraper; horizontal arrangement of red, orange, gold, and white tile; red tiles on a roof with snow between each row.
November 12, 2025 at 1:59 PM
dmercer.bsky.social
So annoying that this fence obscures half of the elegant substation by Hermann von Holst. It's on Eastern Avenue in Bellwood, Illinois. Built in 1926. The photo with the less ugly fence is from 2014.
Seriously ugly fence made of fake yellow stones topped with black metal partially obscures a one-story brick substation with a flat roof. There is a horizontal panel in the center that I think once contained the name of the station and used to be surrounded by light bulbs. On either side of the panel are green, yellow, orange, and blue square tiles arranged in a vertical pattern. Earlier photo of the same building without the ugly fence. In this photo, the fence is chain link so it's possible to see the bottom half of the building, including the entrance in the center, which has a border of colorful tile.
November 11, 2025 at 11:49 PM