Reader’s Question:
I own several properties in the vicinity of 22nd and Talbott. I am intrigued by a building at 2147 N. Talbott Street, which has the word “POWER” carved in a stone above its entrance. Can you provide me with any information on the significance of this word or the history of the building? ~ Jeff C., Indianapolis
HI’s Answer:
The building at 2147 North Talbott Street was completed in 1929. The one-story commercial structure was not the first improvement on that site. There was previously a two-family dwelling on Lot 89 in Meridian Place. The two-story frame property had the addresses of 2147 and 2149 Talbott Avenue. At that time, Talbott was known as an Avenue, rather than a Street.
The lot at 2147 North Talbott Avenue had a 2-family frame residence on it before the present structure was built in 1929 (1927 Baist map courtesy of IUPUI Digital Archives) CLICK TO ENLARGE
When the Talbott Theatre was completed in 1926, the “double” immediately north of it was still standing. In an early photo of the movie house, a portion of the two-story frame rental can be seen to the left of it (note the small child on the porch). While the residence immediately north of the theatre was torn down for the commercial building at 2147, the residence immediately south of the theatre remains today.
A small portion of the double at 2147-2149 Talbott Avenue can be seen in this 1926 photo of the newly opened Talbott Theatre (W. H Bass Photo Company Collection courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society) CLICK TO ENLARGE
Over the years, both the theatre and the buildings on either side of it have been modified. The marquee was removed from the theatre, windows were covered or removed, and the buildings were painted the same color. The residence to the south has an addition on the front of it that attempts to make it look like a commercial building. A recent photo illustrates some of the changes between 1926 and 2015.
A present day image taken from a similar position as the 1926 photo shows changes made to the former Talbott Theatre (2015 photo by Sharon Butsch Freeland)
Before the residential structure to the north was torn down to make way for the existing commercial establishment, the final tenants residing at 2147 were Julio and Ines Samper, and the final tenant residing at 2149 was Robert Curry.
The commercial building that replaced the two-family rental was built late in 1928 and early in 1929 by grocer Percival Oliphant Power (1878-1931). Percy had grown up in the retail grocery business. His father, Jesse Taylor Power (1847-1915) had been a grocer in Indianapolis before him. The elder Power operated stores in three different locations within the Mile Square.
Jesse T. Power’s November 11, 1915, obit in the Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis Public Library archives)
Following his father Jesse’s death, P. O. Power left the final downtown grocery store his father had established and opened a grocery in a two-story, mixed-use brick building on the southeast corner of 22nd Street and Talbott Avenue. Starting out in just one of the storefronts, Power eventually expanded his business to occupy multiple spaces in the building, from 2151 to 2155 N. Talbott. That building is no longer standing. The southeast corner of 22nd and Talbott has been a vacant lot for about a decade.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
It was during the years his grocery was at 2151 – 2155 Talbott that P. O. Power acquired the property immediately south of the building on the corner. Although the two-family residence on that land was not very old, it was razed to make way for a building that would make the entire corner a commercial node. When Power erected his very own building, he embedded a stone in the brickwork with his surname carved into it.
The single word POWER appears in a stone above the front entrance to the one-story building at 2147 North Talbott Street (2015 photo by Sharon Butsch Freeland) CLICK TO ENLARGE
After finishing the new building for his business, Power also moved his family almost three miles north, from their home at 2046 North Alabama Street in what is now called the Herron-Morton Place neighborhood to a new home at 4820 Washington Boulevard in what is now called the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood.
Former northside residence of the Percival and Beatrice Power family at 4820 Washington Boulevard as it appears today (2015 photo by Sharon Butsch Freeland)
Unfortunately, Percival Power did not get to enjoy either his new grocery store or his new home for long. He died in 1931. P. O.’s widow Beatrice and their son Richard carried on the grocery tradition started by his father in 1874.
Just three years after building his own grocery store, Percival O. Power died (1931 obituary in the Indianapolis Star )
The Power family closed their store in 1961, after more than three decades in the same building and nearly five decades near the same neighborhood corner. Son Richard W. Power (1915-1977) and daughter Marian Power Slater (1911-1986) both retired to Florida. While Percival died at the relatively young age of 52, his widow lived to the age of 89, their son to 62, and their daughter to 75. Three generations of the Power family are buried in Lot 739 of Section 48 at Crown Hill Cemetery.
Percival O. Power’s wife, Beatrice, ran the grocery store for many years after he died (Indianapolis Public Library)
Following the Power family’s 32 years in the building at 2147 North Talbott Street, it became home to the Volunteers of America Thrift Store for about six years.
From 1962 to 1968, the Volunteers of America operated a Thrift Store in the 1929 building at 2147 North Talbott Street (image courtesy of Jeffrey Congdon) CLICK TO ENLARGE
From 1969 to 1982, the former O. P. Power grocery and the former Talbott Theatre, as well as other nearby properties, were owned by William Randolph Galvin (1940-1994). Randy and his wife Karen operated the Black Curtain Dinner Theatre in the former movie house and rented out their other spaces. They also lived a block away on Delaware Street. It was during the period the Galvins were in the area that it gained the moniker of Talbott Village. A 2012 Historic Indianapolis article discusses some of the other businesses that were in the village here.
From 1969 to 1971, 2147 N. Talbott housed Morera’s Leather Shop. From 1972 to 1975, local chef Oran “Peanut” Smith first operated the Cabaret Night Club and later the Galley Restaurant and Night Club.
In 1975, Stan Smith and Terry Bradley opened the Hummingbird Café. Initially featuring jazz, folk, and bluegrass music, the entertainment evolved to include poetry readings and comedy acts, as well. It also hosted special events for local community organizations, like the Human Justice Commission (HJC), Community Action Against Poverty (CAAP), and National Organization for Women (NOW).
Special events like the HJC benefit auction were held in the Hummingbird (scan of Indianapolis Recorder, June 6, 1975, IUPUI Digital Archives
One of the most popular groups to perform at the Hummingbird was the Nebulous Players. The trio was made up of the extremely clever and very talented Jack O’Hara, Gayle Steigerwald, and Pat O’Hara.
(photo of album cover of 1976 LP “Kulchah Schlock!” by the Nebulous Players taken by Sharon Butsch Freeland)
The Hummingbird Café closed its Talbott Village location in 1979. The Hummingbird reopened in 1981, under new owners Phil and Carolyn Webster and Steve Magers, in a new location on the southwest corner of 71st Street and Keystone Avenue.
In 1982, the building at 2147 was acquired by New Village, Inc. whose principal was Kent J. Henry. In 1985, it was sold to the W E G Corporation, operated by Henzy Green, Jr. In 1988, the title was quitclaim deeded to James Williams, M.D., Albert Moore, Jr., Willie Ryan, and Fred W. Draper.
The owner of record since 2001 has been POWER PROPERTIES LLC. It would appear the corporation took its name from the stone on the building. The former theatre now houses the Talbott Street Nightclub. POWER PROPERTIES LLC also owns the parking lot directly across the street from the buildings.
2147 North Talbott Street as it appeared on September 27, 2015 (photo by Sharon Butsch Freeland)
Readers who have memories of any of the businesses that have been located in the POWER property at 2147 N. Talbott Street are encouraged to leave comments following this article.
Excellent article and well researched. Kudos to Sharon Butsch Freeland.
Thanks, Jeffrey.
Saw the name and wondered if this Power family was at all related to journalist Fremont Power of the Indpls Times and later Indpls News.
Good question, since the surname often has an “s” on the end of it, and theirs did not. Fremont Alvin Power was born in 1915 in Carmel, Indiana, to Alvin S. and Ethel (West) Power and died in 1991 in Indianapolis. It is not obvious from my research of Percival Oliphant Power that there was any close relationship. Percival’s father, Jesse T. Power, came to Indianapolis from Pennsylvania, whereas Alvin S. Power’s father, William D. Power, came to Indianapolis from Kentucky.
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BTW, I went to Shortridge High School with Fremont Power’s son, Steve.
Good heavens – first date I ever had was to a movie at the Talbott Theatre – that brought back memories!! Incidentally, when I was small, I lived in a huge house at 231 East 11th Street. Went back to Indianapolis in 2000 to attend a 50th High School reunion (Howe), went to see that house, it had been restored, looked very nice. What has happened to it since??
It looks as if your childhood home recently changed hands. Someone started renovating it but did not finish. Below is the link to the listing sheet. When you get to this page, click on the BLC # that’s highlighted in blue. When you get to the page with info and a photo of the exterior in the upper left-hand corner, click on the photo to bring up additional photos of the property.
http://matrix.miborblc.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=140476877
will any of my questions get answered?
The HI Mailbag is published every two weeks. Questions are generally answered in the order in which they are received. Sometimes they are taken out of order if a question sent in closely relates to another article that was recently published. In addition, sponsors and donors receive preferential treatment when they send in questions, because Historic Indianapolis needs their financial support to continue the website. Occasionally, a question may not be answered simply because the answer to it cannot be found.
My grandparents lived on Talbot Street most of their life. I remember going to the grocery store on the corner of 22nd & Talbot. I thought it was called Farris Grocery. Am I confused? There was a cleaners across the street – maybe that was Farris. Powers just doesn’t sound right.
A man by the name of Ferris Risk operated a store named “The Corner Grocery” in the building on the southeast corner of 22nd and Talbott. That building had the addresses of both 2157 N. Talbott and 127 E. 22nd. That was a different building from the subject of this article, 2147 N. Talbott Street. The building that was on the corner no longer exists. The building at 2147 was the second building south of the corner before the corner building was torn down. Now that there is no building on the corner, it may appear as if 2147 is the corner building, but it was not always the first building south of 22nd. Prior to building 2147 N. Talbott, Jesse Power started out in the building on the corner. Ferris Risk occupied the building that Power formerly occupied. You can read Ferris Risk’s obituary here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/indystar/obituary.aspx?pid=156723028.
Dear Sharon Butsch Freeland: I read your recent material on the old Talbott Theater with much interest. I grew up in that neighborhood and was privileged to work at the Franz Drugstore at 124 E. 22nd Street from about summer 1949 or 1950 till 1960, with 2-1/2 years off for military duty. Reading the history and seeing the photos brought back a ton of great memories. Thanks again.
Glad you enjoyed it. If you worked at the Franz Drug Store, I hope you also saw the article that I wrote about that building. If you did not, here is the link: http://historicindianapolis.com/hi-mailbag-building-at-122-east-22nd-street/
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If you can think of anyone who might have any photos of the businesses, homes, schools, churches, etc. in the neighborhood, we’d love to get copies of them.
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Sharon
I am the son of Oran ‘Peanut’ Smith and I grew up on the street in the early ’70s. My father also did the catering for the Black Curtain dinner theatre. Matt, son of Randy Galvin, and I played up and down that street and at his big house behind the theatre. We use to call the grocery at the corner ‘the corner store’ (oddly enough). We lived in a house across the street from the theatre next to a florist I believe. Thank you for the article. I have a few pictures of businesses somewhere I will try to dig them out.
Thanks for sharing, Scott. We’d love to see the pictures. It’s amazing how cities are born, slowly decline then climb back up and everywhere in between. I definitely recall that there was a florist shop there across the street, but always nice to get these things reconfirmed by those who lived it. Please do be in touch!
For a brief moment in the late 70s/early 80s, 2147 was a terrific venue for punk, new wave, and ska music, as documented in the brilliant 2017 Satch Art Space exhibit: “History of Indianapolis Punk Rock”. I remember pogoing to the Zero Boys there, sometime early 1980. Though not as busy as Crazy Al’s or Third Base, the dark, isolated, grungy 2147 was a special place.
Do you know the name of the little record shop that occupied the alley just to the north of the theatre? Late 60’s to early 70’s?
Thanks
Was it this? https://www.flickr.com/photos/shushmuckle/49642060167
It was called, with deliberate irony, THE SPADE IN THE HOLE. Operated briefly by a young African-American man. I bought my copy of the Rolling Stones LET IT BLEED album there, along with a package of ZIgZags.