Posted in: General 5 Indy Hotels You’ll Wish You’d Seen

Above: The Grand Hotel in 1937 (Indiana Historical Society, William H. Bass Photo Company, #237,900) It goes without saying that the Claypool would be at the top of the list, but we just covered that...

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Posted in: General How the Claypool Hotel Began

Early vintage luggage label from Claypool Hotel (Don’t forget–May is preservation month! Which is why we are revisiting some of the best of what we’ve lost. Let’s not do that again. Mmmmmk? ) Of all...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Claypool Hotel…Menu 110 Years Ago today…

Head north on Illinois to the northwest corner at Washington and back 110 years and this is approximately what you would see. This postcard, postmarked December 28, 1907 and reads: “All drunk & having a...

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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: Penny Post Penny Post: Indianapolis, a pretty place

Postmarked: Indianapolis, IND., SEP 7, 1907, 11-AM Received: Buchel, KY., SEP 8, 1907, 11-AM Message: Indianapolis must be a pretty place judging from some of the cards I have gotten. I cannot tell, however, as...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: Culture Club

Front of The Propylaeum (also known as the John W. Schmidt House), located at 1410 N. Delaware Street in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Built in 1890, it is listed on the National Register of Historic...

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Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: The Lohrmann Residence

Reader’s Question:  There is a fairly large structure, presumably a home, on the west bank of the White River at 16th Street that appears to be boarded up or abandoned.  It looks fairly impressive (what...

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Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: Indiana Democratic Club/Indiana War Memorial, 22 E. Vermont Street

Courtesy Indiana Historical Society, William H. Bass Photo Company #24090 Since we can’t get away from politics these days, why not review some former political sites in Indianapolis? In 1901, 82 prominent Democrats incorporated the...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Entrepreneurs in Morton Place

Let’s meet three Indianapolis business trailblazers and entrepreneurs. These three are connected through their creation of Morton Place (19th to 22nd Streets, Delaware, Alabama, New Jersey and west side of Central streets). These three businessmen had...

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