latest installment of digitized images from the bldg. 51 museum archive

the following collection of historically important photographic images - now digitized and added to the ever-growing bldg. 51 museum online archive - reflects ongoing efforts to completely digitize the archives of architect john vinci and historian tim samuelson - who together, hold a massive repository of images and artifacts from 19th and 20th century chicago buildings. when time permits, the images will be given captions.

the majority of the images in this post are digitized 8 x 10 silver gelatin prints by chicago architectural photographer and preservationist richard nickel (may 31, 1928 – april 13, 1972). he is best known for his efforts to preserve and document the buildings of architect louis sullivan, and the work of the architecture firm of adler & sullivan.

nickel encountered sullivan's work while photographing the architect's buildings for a school project at the iit institute of design in chicago under aaron siskind. 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 compendium. some were documentation projects for the federal habs—historic american buildings survey.

richard nickel came to believe that such buildings were an important part of chicago's architectural and cultural heritage. realizing that the pace of urban renewal and development seriously threatened many of these historic buildings, nickel campaigned and lobbied for their preservation. celebrated buildings such as the garrick theater and the chicago stock exchange 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 eventually 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 edwardsville (siue) and are still on display.

richard nickel was killed on april 13, 1972, while attempting to salvage more architectural ornament when a portion of the old chicago stock exchange building's floor collapsed on him. he is buried in chicago's graceland cemetery, not far from louis sullivan.