Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ad’s: Hook’s for Drugs

Business: Hook’s Drugs Date of Ad: July 29, 1906 Location: Various Locations, Originally Prospect and East (demolished) Years of Operation: 1900-1994 Notable: A drugstore that became a household name across Indiana had humble roots. Started by a...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: All’s Fair

August brings about a favorite tradition amongst Hoosiers. Every year nearly one million people descend on the Indiana State Fairgrounds in the capitol city to celebrate the agricultural spirit of the State of Indiana. If...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania A Bathing Revolution at the Indiana State Fair

The Locomotive, 1853. (Photo Stephen J. Taylor from the collections of the Indiana State Library.) You might have a hard time imagining Abraham Lincoln taking a shower — and not just because the wild-looking man...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Better Babies Building and Hook’s Drug Store Museum, Indiana State Fairgrounds

Better Babies Building during the Indiana State Fair, 1926. (Courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society, W. H. Bass Photo Company Collection, 99329-F) Had you visited the Indiana State Fair between 1920 and 1932, not only...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Indiana State Fair, 1202 E. 38th Street

Among a group of old photographs found in the attic of an Indianapolis home were these three faded snapshots identified as the 1900 Indiana State Fair. Many people might have tossed the small, poorly processed,...

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Posted in: Penny Post Penny Post: The Murat Temple from the State Fairgrounds

Postmarked: Indianapolis, IND. SEP 6, 1951 4:30 PM Message: Hi Folks: – Having a fine time running around the fair grounds. Still have lots to see if it doesn’t rain again. Jack has been busy...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Franklin Mutual Life Insurance Company

The Franklin Fire Insurance Company, featured in this September 1874 ad, was chartered in 1851 in nearby Franklin, Indiana, in Johnson County.  In 1871, the company reorganized and moved into Indianapolis, and eventually, in 1874,...

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Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: Better Babies Building and Hook’s Drug Store Museum, Indiana State Fairgrounds

Had you visited the Indiana State Fair between 1920 and 1932, not only would you have seen the usual judging of livestock, you could have also viewed the scientific judging of babies in the “Better...

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