02 May photographic study of adler and sullivan’s dooly block by richard nickel during 1959 western states road trip
carefully studying richard nickel images (digitized from numerous contact sheets last week) of adler and sullivan’s dooly block (1890-92) not only offered additional insight and appreciation for the firm’s only commission built in the western states, but intensified my admiration for nickel’s efforts to thoroughly record the building – both inside and out – after driving straight to salt lake from chicago in 1959 – often sleeping in his car along the way.
shortly after, i revisited several letters he wrote to mentor a. siskind about the grueling trip, satisfaction with his work on dooly, and exhaustion after arriving in ocean springs to document sullivan’s summer cottage. his dedication and unremitting devotion to document adler and sullivan’s work still makes my head spin.
the dooly block was adler and sullivan’s last bearing-wall building. the exterior was faced with ashlar blocks of native red sandstone. the cornice was wrapped in copper with strongly geometric design. dooly shared design elements with wainwright (e.g., vertical piers rising to arches and projecting cornice), which was designed around same time.
thankfully, nickel documented the building in great detail, including the lobby’s delicate fret-sawn trimwork, office corridors, stepped stone foundations, and cornice detail from the rooftop. unfortunately, the building was demolished in 1964 due to operational loses.
images courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institution of chicago.
further reading:
the dooly block was a speculative venture of j.e. dooly, a salt lake city businessman with extensive banking, real-estate, and livestock interests. the major tenants of the space were the u.s. post office and federal courts, but the building also housed clubrooms of the salt lake city’s exclusive atla club, as well as other offices and stores. but that’s not why the dooly building, often called dooly block, is noteworthy today.
the dooly building remains one of the most significant architectural buildings built in salt lake as the last of adler & sullivan’s bearing-wall buildings and the firm’s final romanesque design. it contained elements that could later be seen in epical st. louis design, including vertical piers rising to arches and definitive cornice. the load-bearing walls of the building were notably faced with ashlar blocks of native red-brown sandstone and topped by an ornamental copper cornice. ultimately, the building was demolished in 1964 but is well documented through the photographic preservation efforts of richard nickel.
originally, the dooly building was designed in beautiful context with the ontario hotel, but while the ontario hotel never materialized past the foundations, the dooly fortunately was completed in 1892. the book louis sullivan: his life and work compares the dooly building design to that of the landmark wainwright building of st. louis: “wainwright is an almost exact contemporary of the dooly block in salt lake city, in many ways a similar edifice, which adler & sullivan completed in december” (p 286). adler & sullivan used this building’s design in their process of the development of their first design for the skyscraper: “and in the extruded arches of the 1890 dooly block, sullivan recessed the spandrels, taking the piers almost straight from top to bottom. from here to the skyscraper was not a giant step” (louis sullivan: his life and work, p292). located on 200 south and west temple, the dooly met an early and unfortunate demolition in 1965.
upon learning of the buildings intended demolition, richard nickel, a chicago preservationist and photographer with well documented interest in preserving the alder & sullivan legacy, immediately jumped in a car and drove all the way out west to document the dooly; often, sleeping in the car on his ceaseless pursuit to preserve the adler & sullivan legacy.
upon arrival in salt lake city, he was met with disheartening apathy of mayor j. bracken lee. in a letter to mayor lee, nickel wrote, “how many buildings of equal architectural merit do you have in salt lake city? instead of being proud of this building, you ignore it. instead of offering tax relief to the owner, or cleaning the neighborhood up, the city government is silent” (they all fall down, p 134). although nickel fought valiantly to save the dooly, he was ultimately unsuccessful in stopping the building’s destruction.
he was, however, successful in documenting both this building and the ontario hotel foundations in photographs which are in possession of the richard nickel committee and archive (they all fall down, p85). as of today, the photos remain hard to access, but what can be found about the dooly’s construction comes from a timeline constructed from various issues of the salt lake tribune presented below. this timeline lays out chronology the history of the building’s birth, beginning with mr. dooly and the utah architect, richard kletting. kletting, who also designed the state capitol, drew the construction documents for the building after it was designed by adler & sullivan. this is where we also learn that the building will be home to a bank, post office, the alta club and the club’s restaurant and fireplace, two elevators, and many offices. thankfully, in the accompanying images of the building by nickel, we are able to see the beautiful red sandstone used, similar to that of the wainwright building.
a newspaper timeline compiled by jonathan kland:
mr. dooly expects to break ground for the new post office in a day or two. he is waiting for the completion of the plans of the street grade (salt lake tribune, 13 aug 1890).
r. kletting has just completed the drawings and working plans for the dooly building on second south and west temple streets to the order of adler & sullivan, the chicago architects, who deputed him to do this work. the post office and the bank will be on the first floor, while the other five floors will be given over for business offices, about 180 in all. the contract will be given out in a short time (salt lake tribune, 14 sep 1890).
the dooly excavation
excavating for the dooly building will be finished within a few days. work on the foundation has already begun (salt lake tribune 01 oct 1890).
photographs of the dooly building have been made. they show that it will be a decided ornament to the town (salt lake tribune, 07 oct 1890).
the bids for the construction of the dooly block were opened yesterday. the probst construction company are said to be the successful bidders (salt lake tribune, 16 apr 1891).
the contract was signed yesterday for the completion of the dooly building with the probst construction company to be completed in ten months. the building is to be of diamond creek stone, six stories high, two elevators, and with all modern improvements (salt lake tribune 21 apr 1891).
work is progressing rapidly on the dooly building. the stone columns for the first story are up and the second-joists will be down in a few days. the big steam derricks are constantly at work, the men are busy and the building will be pushed until (salt lake tribune, 17 jun 1891).
it is understood that the papst construction company of chicago have secured the job of finishing up the four lower stories of the dooly building. the two upper stories will be contracted for later on. the building is the most pretentious in the territory, and will cost $250,000 when ready for occupancy (salt lake tribune, 23 sep 1891).
the sixth story of the dooly building is now going up, so that before snow flies everything will be under cover (salt lake tribune, 30 sep 1891).
the big boilers for the dooly block have been lowered into the basement and they will soon have the furnaces finished around them and be ready for heating the building. because of the cold weather, work of completing this building goes on much slower than the owners like it to do (salt lake tribune, 24 jan 1892).
the steam plant in the dooly building was tested yesterday, so that steam can be turned on most any time this week (salt lake tribune, 14 feb 1892).
“the great dooly building”
it is approaching completion and is a very fine structure. the great dooly building is approaching completion, and citizens who have been over it speak highly of the interior arrangements. there are some 185 rooms in the building, with forty-five on the fourth floor and twenty-three on the upper floor where the alta club is to have its new home. a noticeable feature of the structure is that all of it is well lighted, including the ground floor apartments, and the rear rooms especially are commodious and well arranged. the alta club will have one of the finest dining-rooms in the west when the quarters are ready, one of the features being a great fire place, of the kind now so popular among the clubs of the country. the fittings of the building generally are of oiled oak, with high wainscotings and massive doors, though in part of the lower story marble will be used. the building is equipped with the latest improved elevators, and is steam heated. the plaster work is rough, and in tints of red and drab. when the building is completed, it will be one of the finest structures in the entire west (salt lake tribune, 06 may 1892).
the dooly building contractor is now laying the iron rods and beams in front of the building so that the sidewalk may be laid at an early date (salt lake tribune, 10 may 1892).
the vestibule of the dooly building is about finished, and it is a grand affair with its handsome marble tiling floor, marble wainscotting, double sets of doors and the two elevators (salt lake tribune, 03 jun 1892).
there is much activity around the dooly building where many lawyers and business people are moving into the building (salt lake tribune, 05 jun 1892).
it is stated that the elevators in the dooly building will be in running order early next week. the painter is getting in his work at the new building now, and all the office doors are being handsomely lettered. (salt lake tribune, 17 jun 1892).
the elevators in the dooly building are making trial trips now (salt lake tribune, 26 jun 1892).
a number of persons with plenty of leisure time rode in the elevator at the dooly building yesterday, but in a short time they will both be in first-class shape and will make quick trips (salt lake tribune, 29 jun 1892).
the above newspaper experts sourced from the special collections department, j. willard marriott library, university of utah.
