originally named the schiller theater, the mixed-use building was designed by the architectural firm of adler & sullivan (louis sullivan and dankmar adler) in 1891 at 64 west randolph street. it was intended to serve german americans, and was funded by the german opera company. the office building was named after friedrich schiller, the german playwright; it was then briefly known as the dearborn theatre (from 1898-1903); and finally, in 1903 it was renamed the garrick theatre.

at the time of construction, the schiller was one of the tallest buildings in chicago, and is still widely considered one of the greatest collaborations between the two architects. the I-shaped building consisted of a 17-story tower flanked by a 9-story wing with oriel windows on either side. the exterior of the building was sheathed in buff-colored ornamental terra cotta shaped into a variety of patterns, and intertwining with lush, leafy forms.

the interior of the 1,286-seat auditorium contained a series of striking vaults, that were faced in plaster panels. these featured a repeated star-pod pattern in which central, star-like shapes are surrounded by borders of intricate intertwining vine and leaf forms. other plaster panels had interlocking or flat circles, all originally in a color scheme of salmon, green, gold, yellow, and red.

the schiller saw many iterations and inhabitants: the german investors backed out of the project near the turn of the century and from 1898-1903 the building became the dearborn theater, showing vaudeville or touring stage shows. five years later its name was finally changed to the garrick theater under new ownership. between 1910 and 1950, the garrick building was leased, subleased, sold and put into receivership six times, but remained, nonetheless, a popular stop on the vaudeville circuit.

simultaneously, and in symbiotic fashion, the early twentieth century saw the stretch of randolph street between state and clark streets become a national center for popular sheet-music publishers; filling the garrick and neighboring office buildings, they sold their new material to traveling vaudevillians. in 1950, the theater was closed and converted into a television studio. seven years later, it was sold to balaban and katz, who reopened the building as a movie theater. eventually balaban and katz no longer considered the architectural gem commercially viable, and made a deal to wreck the building and redevelop it – tragically – as a parking structure.

the garrick was razed in early 1961, but the demolition served as a clinching point in the preservation movement in chicago, instigating a major outcry from the public and becoming an important salvage for richard nickel, john vinci and david norris. thus, the pieces acquired by urban remains unilaterally lead back to their efforts. these very fragments were saved and likely handled by nickel himself. the entire team had been hired under the sponsorship of the world book encyclopedia and the municipal reference library of chicago to salvage materials specifically for distribution to interested museums and public institutions.

according to a publication on nickel’s preservation efforts, documenting the garrick theater was exceptionally time consuming and laborious. he even apparently worked around being denied access to the gallery of the theater by climbing into a fourth floor door via the roof of the neighboring greyhound terminal. in the end nickel and the rest of his team salvaged hundreds of artifacts and ornament, and recorded extensive notes, diagrams and photographs of the structure.

nickel’s photographs specifically helped to record and elevate the building for posterity, rendering in black and white the sullivan-designed plaster work that had been garishly painted, thus reorienting attention to the form. nickel passionately attempted a campaign to save the garrick, plying philanthropists to join his effort and soliciting letters from various public figures. a month before the demolition was to occur, telegrams and letters of protest poured into the mayor’s office, including from the likes of frank lloyd wright’s widow, le corbusier, arthur drexler (the director of architecture and design at the new york moma), lewis mumford, and more. a lengthy court battle, picketing, and nickel’s grassroots effort did not prevent the garrick from being turned to rubble. alternately, it did bring great attention to the vulnerable status of extant sullivan buildings, and mobilized the preservation movement.