Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: Billboards in Indianapolis

Billboards have had a long and sometimes controversial place in Indianapolis history and are in the news again as billboard companies lobby for a proposal to lift a decade-long ban on new and digital billboards....

Read More 3 Comments

Posted in: Vintage Vittles Sunday Adverts: Thanksgiving Love and Lard

Vintage Meat Recipe Book, 1946… an Adventure in Fat! There are some history enthusiasts who yearn to recreate the “good old days.” These intrepid time travelers long to capture the mindset of an ancestor… feel...

Read More 4 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Van Camp’s Cookin’ Up Some History

History on the Hearth: Will translating A 90-year-old Van Camp’s cookbook into the modern day kitchen cause contemporary cooks some heartburn? Today’s cook has many ways of finding a recipe — books, magazines, web sites,...

Read More 2 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ad: Barney’s Jewelers, Lincoln Hotel

If you missed Libby’s fascinating article of yesterday, take a look at the map that shows the jewelry store out in front of the Lincoln Hotel, at the point where Washington, Kentucky and Illinois Streets...

Read More

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Landscape Architect

One of the wonderful surprises of old city directories is finding adverts in the margins and below the regular listings. This one from 1940 advertises Indianapolis Landscape architect, Alembert W. Brayton, Jr. Not being from...

Read More 4 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Ads 1910 Indianapolis Veterinarian

Though its unknown exactly when the first veterinarian came to Indianapolis, it was interesting to chance upon this city directory advert. It makes sense, there would have to be someone to take care of the...

Read More 1 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: 1910 Indy Christmas

Christmas ads of 1910 are all over the map. From milk to diamonds and well wishes from all forms of business… The L. E. Morrison & Co. was one of the many Washington Street businesses…...

Read More 6 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Atkins Saw

To piggyback on the fabulous Indianapolis Collected article of yesterday… Here’s a two-sided advert from the 1904 City Directory for Atkins Saw  ...

Read More 2 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: L. E. Morrison & Co

“TRUNKS.  BEE HIVE TRUNK FACTORY.  GOODYEAR’S RUBBER GOODS. RUBBER”  lined the top of the window at 27 West Washington Street. This L. E. Morrison & Co. advertising postcard, circa 1910, shows a wide variety of...

Read More 10 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ad: Cajun meets Birdseye view Artists

This vintage advert for the Edward Mason Company (circa 1910?) at the southwest corner of Wabash and Delaware Streets shows a building that luckily still stands, now home to  a “Southern” restaurant called Miguel’s. Elsewhere...

Read More 6 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Parquet, not a creamy spread

The warmer weather inevitably makes me grateful for wood floors–just seems to make the house feel lighter and cooler. The above advert is from 1906 and below from 1898–I have to wonder if my parquet...

Read More

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Architects in 1914 Indianapolis

Last night’s fundraiser for Indiana Landmarks included (among many fabulous features) the announcement of this year’s 10 Most Endangered List.  Thinking of all the beautiful structures in need of saving and preservation or those that...

Read More 3 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Hoosier Kitchens, Cabinets, and Refrigerators in 1919

I think most of us have heard of the Hoosier Kitchen Cabinet, right? (There is one on display at the President Benjamin Harrison Home, if I’m not mistaken.) Thumbing through Good Housekeeping from 1919, there...

Read More 7 Comments

Posted in: Indianapolis Collected Indianapolis Collected: Antique ad show brings back Indy’s Wonder Years

In late September, there was a spirited bidding war on ebay over an item that most people would consider a piece of trash. The lucky buyer who won the 100-year-old can of Van Camp’s Pork...

Read More 6 Comments