trans-[Ni(pdm)₂]²⁺ (pdm ​= ​2-pyridinemethanol) proved to be a reliable synthon for the construction of isoreticular metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) of linear dicarboxylates, as exemplified by three one-dimensional (1D) MOFs [Ni(pdm)₂(BDC)]_n (1), [Ni(pdm)₂(NDA)]_n∙nDMF (2), and [Ni(pdm)₂(ADC)]_n (3) (H₂BDC ​= ​1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid; H₂NDA ​= ​naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylic acid; H₂ADC ​= ​9,10-anthracenedicarboxylic acid; DMF ​= ​N,N-dimethylformamide) which shared identical connectivity. A dinuclear cluster [Ni₂(pdm)₄(HBTC)₂]∙2DMF (4) was formed from tricarboxylate ligand BTC (H₃BTC ​= ​benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid) with the two pdm ligands aligned cis to one other. Single-crystal structure analysis indicated that the 1D chains of 1 − 3 were stacked at different angles in the solid state, resulting in different crystal packing patterns, including a pseudo Kagome-like cross-section for 1, 1D channels for 2 with DMF guest species, and a non-porous structure for 3.