The Architecture of William Nichols
The Architecture of William Nichols
Building the Antebellum South in North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi
The Architecture of William Nichols: Building the Antebellum South in North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi is the first comprehensive biography and monograph of a significant yet overlooked architect in the American South. William Nichols designed three major university campuses—the University of North Carolina, the University of Alabama, and the University of Mississippi. He also designed the first state capitols of North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. Nichols’s architecture profoundly influenced the built landscape of the South but due to fire, neglect, and demolition, much of his work was lost and history has nearly forgotten his tremendous legacy.
In his research onsite and through archives in North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, Paul Hardin Kapp has produced a narrative of the life and times of William Nichols that weaves together the elegant work of this architect with the aspirations and challenges of the Antebellum South. It is richly illustrated with over two hundred archival photographs and drawings from the Historic American Building Survey.
The Architecture of William Nichols is a beautifully illustrated book that traces the prolific architectural career of William Nichols in his antebellum worlds of North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi from 1804 to 1856. During this period, Nichols designed buildings that today stand as iconic structures in each state. His Gerard Hall (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Gorgas House (University of Alabama), and Lyceum (University of Mississippi) are beloved buildings that define the architectural landscape of each campus. Paul Hardin Kapp and Todd Sanders write eloquently about Nichols and firmly establish his fascinating legacy as an architect.
Paul Hardin Kapp is a professional and academic historic preservationist. He is associate professor of architecture at the School of Architecture and associate director of the Collaborative for Cultural Heritage and Policy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is coeditor of SynergiCity: Reinventing the Postindustrial City. He is a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, a Senior Fulbright Scholar, a James Marston Fitch Mid-career Fellow, and a Franklin Fellow, US Department of State. Todd Sanders works in the Historic Preservation Division of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. He is author of Jackson’s North State Street.
