Customer Reviews

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

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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

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.

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.

The story of Richard Nickel, who loved buildings of Adler & Sullivan fame. A wonderfully well-written book. I saw it in the library, and to my own amazement, could not put it down when I got home. Even if you know little about archetecture, you will love this book for it's story, the life and love of Nickel. Who I call with slight tongue-in-cheek a nerd.

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.

I read this book when it first came out and his story has stuck with me ever since. The most telling line of the entire thing, one that summed up Nickles whole ethos about historic preservation, was this: "Great Architecture has only two natural enemies; water and stupid men". I've never forgotten that, nor do I think I ever will, and I still find the statement to be true. If you love old buildngs and are a preservationist at heart, read it if for no other reason than that one line alone.