destruction of holabird and roche's illinois life building in 1966

as i work my way through richard nickel's vast photographic archive at ryerson and burnham, i'm continually amazed at the number of structures he recorded before, during, and after they were brought down and hauled off to landfills. the documentation of destruction spans three decades, beginning in the 1950s and ending abruptly with his untimely death in 1972 at the stock exchange. 

here nickel records the destruction of holabird and roche's illinois life building (1921) in 1966, which at the time was the united states court of appeals building. the three-story building was taken down by harvey wrecking - a demolition company nickel had a caustic relationship with, based in part on the way he was treated while salvaging adler and sullivan's 1892 meyer lofts bld. in 1968.

images courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.