Always love chancing upon old adverts that show one of our long-gone buildings, as is the case with this residence-turned-funeral-home, formerly at 1639 North Meridian, (in 1913, home to the John F. Wild family). In April 1928, this stood on what is now part of the Micky D’s block. Yes, golden arches now in place of a large Victorian. Love the lamp-post too.
Isn’t it interesting how many funeral homes were fashioned of these large old Victorians?
This home was in fact north of the Golden Arches. What proceeded was a restaurant which had several dining rooms and featured some steak my 80 yo aunt liked and she always took me there for it. The outside was a white frame …looked like a cottage or house. Sorry can’t remember the name.
According to the street labling, the McD’s complex is all south of 17th; so with this address being 1639, it should be somewhere on that stretch…
Hawthorne Restaurant. My grandmother use to eat there on occasion and got the recipe for the Glazed Ham Loaf from the Hawthorn Room. There were several themed rooms in the restaurant.
My grandmother took me for an elegant luncheon at The Hawthorne Room, probably around 1960 ( I was possibly twelve years old at that time.). I would love to see a photo of the restaurant and learn about its history. Many thanks!
Very cool. Thanks for sharing! Yes, and the Mickey D’s replaced a former gas station as well. You may want to check out the Sanborn maps that show the now lost to posterity “Hampton Court Terrace” residential high density with courtyard housing that looks amazing from what I’ve seen. It was located at 1530 N. Meridian. It pains me to see what that place may have looked like before its replacement. Find and play with and utilize a great resource (free) found in the Indianapolis Site Inventory Tool (ISIT) that I created and launched while at the City managing the brownfield redevelopment efforts. http://maps.indy.gov/MapIndy/Index.html?theme=Brownfields Chris H.
Thank you, Chris!
The restaurant in that place was called the Hawthorne Room. VERY well used for all kinds of meals. It did have some separate rooms for groups. My husband & I had our first date in that restaurant on April 18, 1960!! And we have never forgotten
Love the stories of this Hawthorn Room!
The Hawthorne Room restaurant was owned by Richard Adams. His daughter, Diane, was the hostess. This was a very busy restaurant. It’s location made it convenient for lunch for “media people.” WFBM TV (6) was at 1330 N. Meridian. WISH TV (8) was at 1440 N. Meridian, WLWI TV (13) was between the two. WFBM and WISH also had radio stations. Advertising agencies were located close to “Media Row” and thus “Ad” people were regular customers. Adams had huge blown-up photos of Hawthorne trees on the walls. These were trees in Adams back yard. Although I did not include the Harthorne Room in my book, “Indianapolis Television,” many other media memories are in it.
We used to go the the Hawthorne Room almost every Sunday for dinner – the roto steak and cloverleaf rolls were the best. I wish we still had restaurants like this,
The Hawthorne Room was a favorite in our family! They had a huge wooden tree in their bar area (no alcohol just seating at the bar with lunch service) and the top of the tree was the ceiling and from it hung $1 bills…that sure was back in the day! Good food in normal portions at good prices…what a concept!
Does anyone know if any of their recipes are around? I would love to find one for their frozen fruit salad with poppy seed dressing and also their butterscotch rolls. Ahh the memories!
There is a recipe for the Hawthorn Room’s Sour Cream Raisin Pie in the Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes from Famous Eating Places published by Simon & Schuster in 1950. I remember going there for dinners related to school activities–I went to Shortridge High School 1963-67. I cannot remember eating there as a family outing, because my parents thought the food wasn’t very good–we generally went to the Tee Pee at 38th and Keystone.
Not sure but this house or the house to the north of this one became a beauty school. You could go get your hair and nails done then go to the Hawthorne Room for lunch. What a great afternoon!
I grew up in Franklin, IN, 20 miles south of Indianapolis – my grandparents took my brother & I there
during the 1950’s – it was a very special treat – often we met with a group of my grandfather’s buddies from the Rainbow Division of the army with whom he served in World War I – quite memorable experiences for me –
Hello Judy, I remember your name, having grown up in Franklin, IN myself. My grandmother took me to The Hawthorne Room also- very lovely! My maiden name is Streightoff.
By way of follow up to a response I made about the former Finn Funeral Home (later Speaks and Finn), my father and I took meals at the former Hawthorne Room at least four times a week for years. Wonderful food. Wonderfully, prepared and modestly priced. There is no place like it today. And to be replaced by a McDonalds…..oh my.
Thanks,
Fr. Noah
I just added a follow up message however, the first message never seemed to be received. I’m trying again.
I was in the Finn Funeral Home in 1953 for the funeral of a great aunt, Bridge McShane Seese, a great Donegal lady. By that time it was called Speaks and Finn. Joe Speaks owned and operated his funeral on the corner of the alley just north of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church downtown. He wanted my father, who grew up in the Irish parish, to come to work for him. Eventually, he left there and apparently merged with the Finn’s. I originally thought the funeral home was in the 1700 block but that was a childs memory. My family always went to Harry Feeney’s funeral home on north meridian where Teachers Credit Union now stands. Eventually, he bought Kirby’s funeral home in the 1800 block, a building that is now the Indiana Eye Surgery. I was in both funeral homes so many times as an irish kid I thought I was related to Harry! And again, that wonderful Hawthorne Room. Last year I had the privilege of participating in the funeral of “our waitress” from the Hawthorne Room, Irene Gantz, the BEST server ever! Father Casey
Father Noah, If you see both messages now, it is because all comments are moderated; they do not appear immediately. Thank you for sharing your recollections!
I’m looking for the recipe for their poppy seed dressing it was wonderful