O’Brien Lecture Series – Richard Nickel: A Pioneering Legacy

The Library will host Richard Cahan in the Elm Room on May 5th to discuss the legacy of pioneering historic preservation advocate and photographer Richard Nickel.  This is through a grant from the O’Brien Lecture Series through Indiana University’s Committee on Historic Preservation.

Nickel, a Chicago native, fell in love with the city’s architectural beauty at a young age.  He inherited a love of photography from his father.  After a stint in the army, he began photographing the monumental building work of Louis Sullivan and others during Chicago’s urban renewal of the mid-twentieth century when many structures were being torn down.  His photos open a window to that time in Chicago’s history when the Prairie School dominated the skyline.

Richard Cahan is a journalist and author active in Chicago for the last four decades. He has written numerous books on Richard Nickel’s life and work.