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 topics discussed at the convention, of particular interest to us now is the convention’s program. In the program, they generously provided the attendees information about the city, including a map of downtown Indianapolis showing the landmarks and major hotels, and rates for those hotels.
Here are the rates for the convention hotels–not all of the above hotels are listed, nor are all the listed hotels are shown above. It was not noted whether these were special convention rates or not.
The fancier or newer hotels–Antlers, Claypool, Lincoln, Lockerbie, Severin, and Spink Arms (later known as the Continental)–offered only rooms with baths. Note that the advertised rates of many Indianapolis hotels in 1890 were $1 and $2 per day, but of course, in 1890 the hotels nearly all included some meals.
A few of these hotel buildings have survived the past 78 years…
- Hotel Michigan (#10 on the map) is now a law office.
- Spink Hotel (#22) is now home to Ike and Jonesy’s.
- Harrison Hotel (#14) is now an office building.
- Hotel Washington (#40) is now an office building (I think).
- Hotel Lockerbie (#25) is now the Canterbury Hotel.
- Hotel Severin (#23) is now the Omni-Severin Hotel.
- The Spink Arms (410 N Meridian Street) became the Continental Hotel, and still goes by that name as an apartment building.
- Sheffield Inn (956 N Pennsylvania Street) became apartments.
Hi – my wife and I are visiting Indy soon. I was raised there until the late 1960’s and I recall there was a hotel with a name something like Marrott (not Marriott). Not that I would expect it to still be in business, but it has been 50 years since I was in Indy, and I just started thinking about the old days, and wonder if my recollections are real or imagined.
Thanks for any enlightenment you can provide.
John
Hi John,
You are correct! Just search “Marott” in the search bar on our website–we have a few features that included the place. It’s now apartments, still standing at Meridian and Fall Creek. Hope you have a wonderful visit back home!
The Marott ranked as the elite hotel of the city for many years, the creation of a rags-to-riches George Marott who parleyed his retail shoe store in many areas–the elegant hotel being his masterpiece. It has re-created itself many times , for a period a little last door primarily for wealthy widows who outlived wealthy husbands, before the era of retirement homes, then a period maybe in ’60’s when controversial East Coast Futterman bought it and upgraded with lots of hoopla, his plan including a short-lived ladies only elegant bar (counterpart to all male clubs then under attack) but this did not fly very long. It was the site of the city’s most-media-covered wedding of iconic Avriel and RK Shull, visiting stars like Van Johnson, Maurice Chevalier and others stayed there but gradually it has again become perhaps largely residential–may still have rooms and still a wonderful hotel.