23 Jun seldom seen richard nickel images of holabird and roche’s 1899 cable building interior
seldom seen richard nickel images of holabird and roche’s cable building interior, shortly before it was demolished in 1962 and replaced with c.f. murphy’s continental center.
nickel salvaged some of the street level terra cotta ornament, but i believe all of it was later tossed when sections of navy pier housing it were demolished. i haven’t seen or heard of any surviving pieces on display or in storage at institution, private collections, etc.
sadly, the same goes with ornament from holabird and roche’s republic building – with the exception of a few interior office door “unit locks.” the bldg. 51 museum has one on display. it can be found in previous posts or the bldg. 51 website.
i was hoping there were more images taken of the cable’s interior, but like the republic, it came down quickly and within the same year. perhaps we are fortunate to have these few images nickel managed to capture when he was there salvaging ornament.
images courtesy of burnham and ryerson, art institute of chicago.
the cable building’s demolition was set in motion as early as 1954,when a chicago tribune article announced the sale of the ten-story building to the american glass company. plans were made to remodel the building into various shops, which effectively lengthened the building’s lifespan for a few years. by 1962 however, the introduction of a mid-century skyscraper designed by c.f. murphy sealed the building’s fate and it was demolished soon after.
the cable piano company was one of the largest piano manufacturers in chicago. the company was established in 1880 by h.d. cable, who had originally been with the western cottage organ company (later changed to chicago cottage organ company). in 1890, cable consolidated with the conover brothers, as well as his two brothers, fayette s. cable and hobart m. cable. shortly after their first consolidation, the cable company acquired the schiller piano company, where they showcased schiller’s instruments as their finest line of models. this earned cable considerable recognition as both a notable fabricator of fine instruments and major contributor to the american piano industry at large during the early 20th century. the cable company’s brand names included kingsbury, wellington, schiller, conover, and euphona player pianos.
like many companies, businesses, and banking institutions across any and all industries, the 1929 stock market crash and ensuing great depression, crippled the cable company, leading to mass lay-offs beginning on thanksgiving in 1929. by 1936, only a few employees remained. the company’s downtown building housing their general offices and showrooms was demolished in 1961. architectural photographer richard nickel documented the building’s demolition for the historic american building survey (habs). chicago offices factory in st. charles illinois was demolished in 2000.
further reading:
RICHARD NICKEL IMAGES DOCUMENTING THE DEATH OF HOLABIRD AND ROCHE’S 1899 CABLE BUILDING NOW DIGITIZED
