They All Fall Down: Richard Nickel's Struggle to Save America's Architecture [Hardcover]

Richard Cahan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1995

"Richard Nickel, whom I had the delight of knowing during his all too brief life, is one of the unsung heroes of Chicago architecture. He was not an architect himself, nor a designer. He simply took pictures, but what pictures! He was, for want of a better description, one of the most sensitive of architectural photographers. More than that, his life--and ironically, tragically and poetically, his death--were fused to Chicago architecture. How he died tells us how he lived: for the beauty in the works of Sullivan, Wright and the others. His story is one that must be told." --Studs Terkel, author "He was completely understanding of architecture and genius and of the quality of the work he was dealing with. He was single-minded in his pursuit and dedication to quality in history, art and architecture. That is an increasingly rare quality." --Ada Louise Huxtable, former New York Times architecture critic "Richard was an excellent photographer--sensitive and intelligent, and a very good craftsman". --John Szarkowski, former Director, Photography, Museum of Modern Art, New York "Richard Nickel was one of those who saw architecture, and who passionately and skillfully pursued its portrayal. He was one of a very small number, and to make his work known would be a fundamental service to architects, students, and teachers as well as to the art of architecture." --Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., architectural historian

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If Chicago is an architecture lover's paradise today, it is largely due to the efforts of a single individual. Richard Nickel (1928-1972) was not "just a photographer who happens to take pictures of buildings," as he modestly called himself. He was a soft-spoken missionary whose passionate one-man campaign to preserve Chicago's ornate 19th century architectural masterpieces--earmarked for destruction by Mayor Richard J. Daley in the name of progress--inspired a nationwide movement. Richard Cahan's superb biography of Nickel depicts the photographer's heroic and ultimately tragic struggle to salvage everything he could get his hands on, first with his trusty view camera and then with a hacksaw and chisel. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

You wouldn't expect to read about a photographer when you research American architecture, but Richard Nickel is an integral part of the story. A shy yet passionate man, Nickel developed a deep love for architecture and great skill as an architectural photographer. He also became one of the first to publicly demand the preservation of landmark buildings in Chicago, his hometown. Nickels would, undoubtedly, have been remembered for his stunning photographs and preservationist zeal, but his tragic, martyr-like death in the rubble of the once magnificent Stock Exchange Building in 1972 ensured his immortality. Cahan tells Nickel's story with tremendous empathy, setting it within a history of Chicago architecture, especially the work of Nickel's idol, Louis Sullivan. Nickel set himself the task of finding and documenting all of Sullivan's creations but soon discovered that many of those glorious structures were suffering from neglect or, worse, were about to become victims of urban renewal. The master photographer became a witness to those thoughtless demolitions, meticulously documenting the demise of buildings he loved. Not content with pictures, Nickel also became a devoted salvager of Sullivan ornament, enabling museums to preserve fragments of Sullivan's art. Now Cahan has preserved Nickel's memory in this handsome volume illustrated by more than 70 of Nickel's photographs. Donna Seaman --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471144266
• ISBN-13: 978-0471144267
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure for Architectural Preservationists, January 16, 2002

By 

Timothy J. Mccarthy "Mongo" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: They All Fall Down: Richard Nickel's Struggle to Save America's Architecture (Hardcover)

Richard Nickels was a strange fellow, and I don't know if most people would be comfortable in his company. He desperately wanted to save what he considered to be Chicago's architectural landmarks, but in the end grew terribly disconsolate, finding few allies in Mayor Daley or others within the city's power structure. He managed to save many bits and pieces before the wrecker's ball arrived, some of which went to Southern Illinois University, but tons of which ended up in landfills after his death. Do you need this book? If it sickens you to see a beautiful old building torn down, then yes. If you read "Lost Chicago" and were amazed at the priceless treasures we've squandered, then yes. If you think the now burgeoning architectural salvage industry is a good thing, then yes. Nickels fought to save buildings, but when that failed, he saved everything he could. The book doesn't claim he was a pioneer or innovator in that regard, but then I haven't heard of anyone else who dedicated their life to the field. The Trading Room from the Stock Exchange Building - where Nickel's died - survives in the Art Institute of Chicago today only because of his efforts. We almost certainly owe him a far greater debt than the book has claimed, since he helped to publicize the threat to our architectural heritage and started building a consensus towards preservation and salvage. The book will amaze and annoy you. You'll learn much more about Nickels' personal life than you would want to know. You'll wish he had finished some of the writing projects he started. And you'll wonder how much more he might have accomplished if he had lived a bit longer. It's a book that makes you think, and one you won't soon forget. - tjm

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, April 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: They All Fall Down: Richard Nickel's Struggle to Save America's Architecture (Hardcover)

I ate this book up! Nickel's photgraphs are outstanding, and his dedication to salvaging historical buildings is heroic. The historic preservation movement owes an enormous debt to this man.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping read- couldn't put it down, March 9, 2008

By 

hdrider_chgo "[e-mail]" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: They All Fall Down: Richard Nickel's Struggle to Save America's Architecture (Hardcover)

This book works on so many levels. Despite the rather dry-sounding title, it tells the story like a thriller novel. I found myself constantly trying to get to the next page to find out what happens next?? The book starts off with the frantic 2 week search for Nickel's body in the rubble of the old Stock Exchange building in 1972. Demolition is stopped while the building teeters on the verge of collapse in the heart of Chicago's business district. The book then flashes back and traces Nickel's career and his odyssey to save what he could of Sullivan's masterpieces as building after building after building was intentionally destroyed in the name of "progress". Along the way, the author weaves in tales of the history of some of the buildings, paints us pictures of the city and the politics of the time, and includes key characters such as Richard J. Daley, Frank Lloyd Wright, Leon Despres, Tim Samuelson, and others. There are tales of payoffs, double-dealing, and night time raids on old buildings. The book is meticulously researched, provides numerous quotes from Nickel's letters, other personal interviews, documents, and photos, none of which are extra baggage, but instead bring the story to life in a most touching way. The real heartbreaker of the book is that so little has changed since Nickel's death. Today, over 30 years later, nearly every week in Chicago, buildings designated as Chicago landmarks are torn down, or irreversibly altered, as Chicago continues to have exceptionally weak preservation ordinances. A building that would be considered the pride of a community in any other town, is ripped to shreds here without a second thought, if there is money to be made on the deal. If you are interested in Chicago architecture, the history of the preservation movement, Louis Sullivan, or Richard Nickel, this book is an essential.