Richard Nickel (1928 – April 13, 1972) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer and historian best known for his efforts to preserve and document the buildings of architect
Louis SullivanLouis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of modernism." He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an inspiration to the Chicago...
.
During the urban regeneration of the 1960s and 1970s, many 19th century buildings in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
were demolished. Among these were the works of Louis Sullivan and members of the
Prairie SchoolPrairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
. By this time many of the buildings were neglected and unloved, and there was little public interest in their retention.
Richard Nickel (1928 – April 13, 1972) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer and historian best known for his efforts to preserve and document the buildings of architect
Louis SullivanLouis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of modernism." He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an inspiration to the Chicago...
.
During the urban regeneration of the 1960s and 1970s, many 19th century buildings in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
were demolished. Among these were the works of Louis Sullivan and members of the
Prairie SchoolPrairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
. By this time many of the buildings were neglected and unloved, and there was little public interest in their retention. Richard Nickel was a rare individual who believed such buildings were an important part of the city's architectural and cultural heritage. Nickel encountered Sullivan's work while photographing the architect's buildings for a school project at the
IIT Institute of DesignInstitute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology , originally founded as the New Bauhaus, is a graduate school teaching systemic, human-centered design.- History :...
in Chicago. Studying and photographing Sullivan's buildings quickly became an obsession for him. Ultimately, he devoted much of his life to photographing them, hoping to produce a comprehensive photographic
compendiumA compendium is a concise, yet comprehensive compilation of a body of knowledge. A compendium may summarize a larger work. In most cases the body of knowledge will concern some delimited field of human interest or endeavour , while a "universal" encyclopedia can be referred to as a compendium of...
.
Realizing that the pace of renewal and development seriously threatened many of these historic buildings, Nickel campaigned and lobbied for their preservation. Sullivan buildings such as the Garrick Theater and
Chicago Stock ExchangeThe Chicago Stock Exchange is a Chicago-based stock exchange. The Exchange is a national securities exchange and self-regulated organization, which operates under the oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . The Chicago Stock Exchange is the third most active stock exchange in...
were torn down despite the best efforts of Nickel and others to preserve them. However, after Nickel's death, his crusade gained momentum and was responsible for many of Sullivan's buildings being spared. Of the ongoing threat to Chicago's buildings Nickel said "Great architecture has only two natural enemies: water and stupid men."
In the cases where he was unable to protect a building, Nickel extensively photographed both its interior and exterior to archive the craftsmanship and attempt to preserve the buildings' character in his images. He also stripped some of the doomed buildings of their distinctive ornamentation before their destruction. Dozens of such items were sold to
Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville, formally Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville began as an outgrowth of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is located in Edwardsville, Illinois about 20 miles from St. Louis, Missouri and is the...
(SIUE) and are on display.
Nickel was killed on April 13, 1972, while attempting to obtain more items for SIUE, when a stairwell in the
Chicago Stock ExchangeThe Chicago Stock Exchange is a Chicago-based stock exchange. The Exchange is a national securities exchange and self-regulated organization, which operates under the oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . The Chicago Stock Exchange is the third most active stock exchange in...
building collapsed on him. He is buried in Chicago's
Graceland CemeteryGraceland Cemetery is a large Victorian-era cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at Clark and Irving Park...
, not very far from where Sullivan is buried. He died without completing his great collection of photographs of Sullivan's work, but Nickel's black and white photos have been displayed at the
Art Institute of ChicagoThe School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, The Art Institute of Chicago. Providing degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels, SAIC...
and elsewhere. The Richard Nickel Committee and Photographic Archive is a non-profit organization devoted preserving the photographer's work, and holds the copyrights for most of his pictures.
The 1994 book
They All Fall Down by Richard Cahan is about Nickel's lifelong effort to preserve Chicago's architectural heritage along with friend and architect John Vinci. Cahan and Michael Williams co-edited
Richard Nickel's Chicago: Photographs of a Lost City, a collection of Nickel's photography.
External links