From 1918 – 1973, the Hotel Lincoln occupied the location that is now the Hyatt Regency/PNC Center.  At the time this impressive flatiron building towered fourteen stories above Indianapolis, Kentucky Avenue intersected with Washington Street, thus the resulting flatiron design.

The architects of the Hotel Lincoln, Rubush and Hunter, designed many other still-standing buildings in the Indianapolis area – two of the most notable are the Circle Theatre and the Indiana Theatre.  In addition, the firm designed the Indiana School for the Deaf and the Coca-Cola Bottling plant on Massachusetts Avenue.  The men behind this successful firm were Preston C. Rubush and Edgar O. Hunter, who began their partnership in 1905.

Rubush was born in Fairfield, Indiana, in 1867.  Hunter was born in Versailles, Indiana in 1870.  Both came to Indianapolis in the 1890’s, after receiving building and architectural degrees.  Hunter’s younger brother, Frank, also an architect, introduced the two men.  In addition to the buildings Rubush and Hunter designed in Indianapolis, they also designed many structures financed by Joseph W. Young, Jr. in various locations in Florida.

After many successes, both men passed away within a few years of each other – Hunter in 1949 and Rubush in 1951.  Both are interred at Crown Hill Cemetery.

Historic Indianapolis has explored the history of the Hotel Lincoln in two stories: Then and Now: Hotel Lincoln/Hyatt Regency 2-20 Kentucky Avenue  and Indianapolis Collected: Life in the Hotel Lincoln.

There is a video of its demolition, though it was pulled off youtube since we first shared it here.