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: 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: The Fading of the Orange Roof

A postcard showing the grandeur of the downtown Howard Johnson’s. (Image: Amazon) We often look towards chain businesses with a bit of disdain. Large corporations sending profits out of state while serving up conveniences with...

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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: 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: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: National Surgical Institute / Imperial Hotel, Northwest Corner of W. Ohio Street and Capitol Avenue

The Imperial Hotel, 1904 (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, 1904 glass plate negative made by the Detroit Publishing Company) This opulent Queen Anne/Romanesque Revival building, located north of the Indiana State House, has...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Grand Hotel and Circle Centre Mall, Illinois and Maryland Streets

The Grand Hotel, circa 1876 stereoview by Indianapolis photographer John Pendergast (The Indiana Album: Loaned by Joan Hostetler) Shortly after the expansion of the Grand Hotel in 1875, photographer John Pendergast set up his camera...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Pyle House / Board of Trade / Chase Tower, 143 N. Meridian Street

When the end was near for the delapidated Pyle House, newpaper writers looked back nostalgically at the former days when the building at 143 N. Meridian Street was a well-known inn. Situated north of Christ...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Reid-Dickson House, 1456 N. Delaware Street

1906. Courtesy of the Herron Art Library, Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission Collection Indianapolis was past the Victorian era of architecture with its turned posts, gingerbread trim, and Queen Ann details by the time the Reid...

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Posted in: Vintage Flats Flats Lost & Saved: Two Alamedas and the Avenue Hotel

The 400-block of Massachusetts Avenue is one of the most interesting blocks in the city – historically and architecturally. Doesn’t it seem like it’s been neglected in history, compared to the blocks just northeast and...

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Posted in: Then & Now Then and Now: Hotel Lincoln / Hyatt Regency, 2-20 Kentucky Avenue

The corner of West Washington Street and Kentucky Avenue was once the site of the four-story Commercial Block. In 1906 the building housed various businesses including M. F. Smith, jeweler, and the tailor G. F....

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