Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: In the Woods

This postcard shows how the Pennsylvania Hotel would have looked shortly after opening. (Image: eBay) Why would anyone want to surround a beautiful historic building with a brick wall separating the occupants from the rest...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: A Night on the Circle

Monument Circle is always a pleasant place to take a stroll on a summer evening. The center of the city is always bustling with people enjoying the picturesque surroundings. Despite the great location, there isn’t...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Saint vs. Saint

Even those who know little about Indianapolis are likely familiar with that “saintly” steakhouse on Illinois Street that has been serving up massive chops and fiery shrimp cocktails since 1902. Today there is no shortage...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: History Paved Over

Although it’s heartbreaking to think about the buildings and businesses that have been lost over the years in Indianapolis, it is still exciting to discover a long lost building for the first time. Interstate 65 looms...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Beware of the Witch

This 1960s-era postcard promises a country style meal served by the Sloan family. (Image: Amazon) A once-popular way to make your business stand out from the competition was to build a structure to look like...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: An Evening in Merry England

A postcard showing the Sheffield Inn. The single story section was a later addition as a large house stood in its place the year the inn opened. At some point this structure was replaced with...

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Posted in: Misc Mondays Misc Monday: Burning Joan of Arc: The 1927 Indianapolis Arson Scare

John F. Hagel’s Mission-style church in the mid-1920s. (Source: “25th Anniversary, St. Joan of Arc Parish, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1921-1946.”) On May 13, 1920, Pope Benedict XV canonized Joan of Arc, the 19-year-old French soldier and...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: A Stay off of The Circle

The Harrison Hotel located at Capitol and Market once featured a decorative limestone base and awning to protect guests from the afternoon sun. (Image: Amazon) The fate of a historic building dating back to 1928...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Summertime Cruisin’

Happy May 1st! As spring heads into summer, we start thinking of how to take advantage of the warm weather. Some sixty years ago, area teenagers participated in a deeply-rooted cruising culture as way to...

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Posted in: General Back to the When

38 North Pennsylvania Street Years of Operation: 1932-1997 Notable: Before Office Depot or Staples there was a local leader in office supplies called Stationers. The Ober family-owned company opened in 1933 on North Pennsylvania. Two years...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Last Train to Indy

No passengers can be seen waiting in this 1970 photograph. (Image: Library of Congress) Passing the Romanesque Union Station may create conflicting emotions for some. It is gratifying to see an impressive historic building restored–especially...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: A Lost Roadside Beacon

The big green sign could once be seen by drivers exiting turn one at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Image: eBay) For anyone who may have grown up from the sixties through the eighties, childhood trips...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Final Four Fun in the Wholesale District

Saint Elmo’s Steakhouse doesn’t look nearly as inviting covered in plywood and a tacky mansard roof during the very early nineties.  (Image: Library of Congress) The NCAA Final Four returns to Indianapolis this weekend in...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Why is that a Parking Lot?

The rooms and lobby appear to be very well appointed for 1960s standards. (Image: eBay) When enjoying a spring day on the War Memorial Mall, it is easy to become mesmerized by the vast island...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: The Hotel Antlers

The Scottish Rite Cathedral looms large on the northern fringes of downtown. Aside from the towering neo-Gothic architecture, a primary reason for its great presence is the existence of vast parking lots surrounding the building....

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now Revisited: Zaring’s Egytian Theatre, 2741 Central Avenue

Courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society, Bass Photo Company Collection #94388, 1925. This view looks east toward Central Avenue from 28th Street. After witnessing people jamming into packed movie theatres and sensing a good business opportunity,...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure, Bicycles At Your Leisure: The Cyclorama Fad Hits Indianapolis

The northwest corner of Ohio and Illinois. The Cyclorama towered over the neighboring Rink Store. (Image: Bass Photo Company Collection, Indiana Historical Society) The first buildings that always stuck out when driving into Indianapolis in the 1980s...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: The Downfall of a Landmark

It would be unusual for a hotel to advertise that “*fill in the blank famous person* died here.” However, when tragedies occur, the general public tends to have a long memory, perhaps sharing in whispered tones what...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Businesses That Called The Claypool “Home”

Today’s modern downtown convention hotels tend to be imposing structures. Often entrances are set back from the street, and sweeping porte-cochères cover guests as they step from their vehicles, almost directly into the lobby.  This was not...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Post Christmas Movies

The exterior when the building was known as the Loew’s State in the 1920’s. The storefront to the south of the main entrance is Brosnan’s, which specialized in outfitting women’s fashion. (Image: Bass Photo Co....

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