Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayer: Oliver and Warren Buildings

As the final Sunday Prayer for July, we’d like to offer these buildings in the 1200 block of Oliver Avenue. With the right owners and tenants, they could have the potential for futures as interesting...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Hotel Harrison

Today’s advertisement is actually stationary from the Hotel Harrison. Of course, stationary emblazened with the image of the hotel had to have been pretty effective advertising. Hotel Harrison was built in 1928, one of the...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Hotel Edward

103 years ago today, this postcard from the Hotel Edward was mailed to Evansville… The Hotel Edward was built at the corner of Illinois Street and Chesapeake Street (126-130 S. Illinois) in 1907, along with...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Indianapolis Hotels of 1933

The convention map, showing major hotels and landmarks. In October 1933, the American Public Health Association held their annual meeting/convention in Indianapolis at the Claypool Hotel. While I am sure there were many very important...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Illinois House

From an 1883 directory of Indianapolis hotels is this listing for the Illinois House, located on the east side of Illinois Street, just south of the Union Depot. ILLINOIS HOUSE, WILLIAM ESSMANN, PROPRIETOR, 181, 183...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania An Englishman’s Stay in Indianapolis, 1851

In the early 1850s, Englishman J. Richard Beste and his family came to America and toured the interior, including Indianapolis. As was popular at the time, he wrote a travelogue “The Wabash: or Adventures of...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Hotels of the 1890s and 1900s

Here are just a handful of advertisements of Indianapolis hotels from the 1890s and 1900s. By this time, there were more than 40 hotels in the city. By this time, the Enterprise Hotel, on Massachusetts...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Hotels of the 1870s and 80s

Continuing in the vein from last week’s advertisements of the 1850s and 60s, here are some from Indianapolis hotels of the 1870s and 80s.   Circle Park Hotel appeared in Indianapolis in the 1880s. These...

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Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayer: 3000 Pennsylvania Street

From the 3000 block of Pennsylvania Street, we have this former four-flat building that is hoping for a better future. Built in the 1900s or early 1910s, it was one among several flats and duplexes...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Hotels and Boarding Houses of the 1850s and 60s

The 1855 Indiana State Gazetteer and Business Directory reported the following about the lodging in Indianapolis: Indianapolis is noted for its fine and well regulated hotels. Perhaps no other city in the West can boast...

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Posted in: A Room with a View Room with a View: Garfield Park Pagoda

The 1903 Pagoda (also known by many as the Pavilion) in Garfield Park is a historic outdoor room at the top of the park. Disappointingly, the observation deck is no longer open, but still the...

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Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayer: Woodruff Place West Drive

Today’s Sunday Prayer is this potentially marvelous home in Woodruff Place, which stood out to us when we were recently out perusing the neighborhood because of its largely still intact original windows, doors, siding and...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania The Indianapolis-Yosemite Connection

What does our fair industrial city of Indianapolis, Indiana have in common with the majestic Sequoia trees towering in the Yosemite of California? Both places were homes to the “Father of the National Parks” and...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ad: Father’s Day in the 30s and 40s

Happy Father’s Day! Today, we have a few advertisements celebrating dads. First is a Father’s Day 1945 advertisement for the Meridian Furniture Company. As the ad says, “Furniture makes a GREAT GIFT…one he can enjoy...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania History of Military Park

Our monthly theme for June is the “Great Outdoors”, and it seems that we’ve been more enjoying the great outdoors than writing about it. So, to help rectify the dearth of in-depth coverage, today we’ll...

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Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayer: Bush Stadium/Victory Field

While the most recent plans for the former Victory Field, also known as Bush Stadium, are apparently progressing forward, its current condition and the potential for the plans to fall through still makes it today’s...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Advertisement: Hobbs & Dunn–Landscape Architects

From the 1913 Blue Book comes this ad for Hobbs & Dunn: “Landscape Architects and Engineers”. And they also advertised in the 1913 City Directory… Not too many landscape architects were around the city in...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania The Ginkgo behind Apparatus at 14th and Meridian

Since June’s monthly theme is about the great outdoors, we’ve been looking around at trees a lot: in parks, along streets, in plazas, in yards. The topic of this article is an historic vestige of...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Preservation Affirmed: Stout Field Terminal

Stout Field, located on south Holt Road between Minnesota and Raymond Streets, was Indianapolis’ first municipal airport. Originally known as Mars Hill Airport, for the suburb it is located in, and also simply known as...

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Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayer: Alfred Glossbrenner Mansion

Alfred Glossbrenner, prominent early 1900s Indianapolis citizen and president of Levey Printing, built this grand mansion at 3202 (or 3210) North Meridian Street in 1910. Like other mansions on North Meridian, Glossbrenner’s home was ornately...

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