Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Ballard Ice Cream Company

It’s Christmas in July! Business: Ballard Ice Cream Company Year of this Advertisement: 1921 Location:  Originally on North Delaware Street; at the time of this ad, located at 315 N. Alabama Street Neighborhood: Downtown What they did: Sold...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Indianapolis Tent and Awning Company

Business: Indianapolis Tent and Awning Co. Year of this Advertisement: 1900 Location:  20 S. Alabama Street Neighborhood: Downtown What they did: Manufactured and sold tents and related items Years of operation: 1890 – early 1950’s Notable: The company’s trademark was...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Pink’s Pharmacy

Business: Pink’s Pharmacy Year of this Advertisement: 1907 Location:  550 Indiana Avenue Neighborhood: Downtown, Indiana Avenue What they did:  Pharmacy and soda fountain Years of operation: 1896? – 1916 Notable: Herman Pink, the owner of Pink’s Pharmacy, was a Prussian...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: American Hominy Company

Business: American Hominy Company (formerly Cerealine Manufacturing Company) Year of this Advertisement: 1907 Location:  18th Street and Gent Avenue (near 16th Street and Harding Street) Neighborhood: Northwest side What they did: Manufactured food stuffs Years of operation: 1867 –...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: J. I. Holcomb Manufacturing Company

Business: J. I. Holcomb Manufacturing Company Year of this Advertisement: 1939 Location:  Barth Avenue and Palmer Street, former home of the Leedy Manufacturing Company (located there from 1903-1930) Neighborhood: Bates-Hendricks Neighborhood What they did: Developed and sold cleaning products...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: The Marott Hotel

Image courtesy of Evan Finch Business:  The Marott Hotel Year of this Advertisement:  Based on the fashions, circa 1960? Location:  2625 North Meridian Street Neighborhood:  Mapleton-Fall Creek What they did:  Hotel/ Apartments Years of operation:  November...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Fendrick’s Restaurant

Matchbook scan courtesy of Evan Finch. Business: Fendrick’s Restaurants Year of this Advertisement: 1950’s Location:  110 N. Illinois Street and 231 s. Illinois – the two restaurants were four blocks apart and catered to travelers passing through...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: William F. Piel & Co. (National Starch and Chemical Company)

Trade card in public domain; scanned by the Boston Public Library Business: William F. Piel & Co. Year of this Advertisement: late 1800’s, between 1873 – 1899 Location:  1050 W. Raymond Street Neighborhood: South What they did: Starch production...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Polk’s Milk

Photo courtesy of Evan Finch Business: Polk’s Milk Year of this Advertisement: pre-1950 Address: 1100 E. 15th St. Neighborhood: Downtown What they did: Milk production and delivery Years of operation: 1872-1950’s Notable: Legendary jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery once worked at Polk’s Milk...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: The Claypool Shop

Business: The Claypool Shop of L.Strauss & Co. Year of this Advertisement: 1920 Address: 116 W. Washington Street Neighborhood: Downtown What they did: Sold ladies’ hats Years of operation: c. 1917 – 1920 (under the...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Indianapolis Light and Heat Company

Image Courtesy of IMCPL Digital Collections From 1904 – 1926, the company now known as the Indianapolis Power and Light Company was the Indianapolis Light and Heat Company, as indicated in this advertisement from the...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: George William Hoffman Co. (Bar-Keepers’ Friend)

In 1883, George William Hoffman, an Indianapolis chemist and owner of the George William Hoffman Company, used a powder he concocted to clean rhubarb from a metal pan.  He later sold the new cleaning powder...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Metropolitan Theater

Earlier this week, Historic Indianapolis featured the Metropolitan Theater in “A Room with a View,” Metropolitan Hall: Indianapolis’ First Theater. The theater’s proprietor, Valentine Butsch, is a forebear of Historic Indianapolis’ own contributor, Sharon Butsch Freeland, and...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: L. Strauss & Co.

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Ad. Hereth & Co.

In 1852, John C. Hereth, a German immigrant who came to Indianapolis via Jefferson County, Indiana, opened a shop in downtown Indianapolis which sold anything needed to maintain a horse – at that time the...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Hibben, Hollweg & Co.

This 1920 advertisement, showcases a product sold at Hibben, Hollweg, & Co., a dry goods store in Indianapolis, which was located in a prominent building that still stands near the corner of Georgia and Meridian...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: The Freeman Newspaper

In July 1888, Edward Elder Cooper, originally from Florida, founded The Freeman, the first illustrated African-American newspaper in the United States.  Cooper was born in 1859, and arrived in Indianapolis at age nineteen.  He was...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Real Silk

In 1922, brothers Jack and Lazure Goodman formed the Real Silk Hosiery Company, one of the first companies to sell women’s hosiery door-to-door.  At the height of their success in 1929, Real Silk sold over...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Stark, Wetzel, & Co.

It is often the case that individuals who excel as lower-level employees in one business will leave that business and start their own enterprise (unless, of course, there exists a non-compete agreement).  Such is the...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: The Pink Poodle

Image courtesy of personal collection of Evan Finch. In the early 1960’s an up and coming star named Aretha Franklin asked for some R-E-S-P-E-C-T from Indianapolis audiences when she performed at the Pink Poodle, a...

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