indianapolis

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Music to Your Ears

Business: Wilking Music Company Location: 120 East Ohio Street, near Massachusetts Avenue Years of Operation: 1922-1995 Notable: For over 70 years, Wilking Music Company was the place to go if you wanted that glamorous Steinway...

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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...

Posted in: Historic Miscellania New Life at Central State Part III: The 1899 Building

The 1899 Building, formerly the Men’s Dining Hall for Central State Hospital. (Photo: 1899indy.com) When last RWAV headed west, we visited Central State Hospital’s Administration Building in the middle of its restoration and transformation into “Central...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Tip of the Hat

This Sunday ad from 1966 targets the “back to school” crowd. Who doesn’t want to dress to impress for the new semester? (Image: Indiana State Library) Business: Harry Levinson Date of Ad: August 18, 1966 Location:...

Posted in: Penny Post Penny Post: Weather Report, 100 Years Ago

Postmark: Indianapolis Ind Aug 22 1916 9:30PM Message: My dear sister: Aug 22. 1916. This is ___and I never got a letter from home. Can you account for that? I can’t. Don’t let...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Fave: After 1890 State Fair, See This!

Visitors from all over the state come to see and show at the Indiana State Fair. Check out the non-fair recommendations from the 1890 State Fair Visitor’s Guide–the last year before moving to its current location....

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Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: Indiana State Fair & Expo

Indiana State Fair and Exposition, 1873. Spanning Exposition Avenue (now 19th Street) between Hudson and Ogden (alleys immediately west and east of Alabama Street) Image: Indiana State Archives. The location, scale and wares have changed,...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Fave: State Fair Souvenirs

Image: collection Tiffany Benedict Browne Some people must have a tangible memento of places visited, others prefer photos, and still others are content to make memories. While memories may wash away like footprints in the...

Posted in: DeJa Vu Deja Vu Tuesday: The Carole Lombard Mystery

“Every picture tells a story don’t it,” Rod Stewart famously sang in the early 1970s, the same decade that brought us other grammatical atrocities in song titles such as “Baby I’ma want you.” But sometimes...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: We’re All Nuts

Business: Morrow’s Nut House Date of Ad: December 30, 1945 Location: 50 North Pennsylvania Street, 46 West Washington and various downtown locations Years of Operation: 1933- 1989 Notable: If you grew up in Indianapolis in...

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Posted in: DeJa Vu Deja Vu Tuesday: For Whom the Bell Tolls

During a recent campaign stop in Indiana, Donald Trump told a cheering crowd that the job of running for office was so hard that the actual job of being president would be easy by comparison....

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Posted in: DeJa Vu Deja Vu Tuesday: Would a Hoosier by any other name smell as sweet?

In a rare display of bipartisanship during a campaign season otherwise marked by epic ugliness, Indiana’s two U.S. senators recently banded together to take on the entrenched bureaucracy in Washington’s all-powerful Government Publishing Office. Earlier this month,...

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Posted in: DeJa Vu Deja Vu Tuesday: Celebrating 200 years of history repeating itself

In 1905, philosopher George Santayana penned the oft-repeated maxim, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” To which Indy native Kurt Vonnegut promptly retorted (some 80 years later), “I’ve got news for Mr....

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: More Than Just Jewelry

Goodman Jewelers at 30 West Washington Street dabbled in “slenderizing” equipment back in the 1950s. (Image: Indiana State Library) Business: Goodman Jewelers Date of this Advertisement: April 12, 1959 Location: 30 West Washington Street Neighborhood:...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: Brick Double, Fletcher Place

There are so many special buildings and places to love in Fletcher Place, but this one is a standout, as it is so unusual compared to other homes in the area. The earliest listing for...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Mad for Millinery

Image: Indiana State Library Name of Business: African Ostrich Feather Company Date of this Advertisement: March 26, 1916 Location: State Life Building, 15-23 East Washington Street, Fourth Floor Neighborhood: Downtown, Wholesale District Service Provided: Millinery, Makers of...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: Herman Lieber House, Lockerbie Square

Herman LIeber Cottage Indianapolis has so many fabulous neighborhoods, and much to love in each. Most Fridays, we will point to a favorite place in an Indy neighborhood, so that next time you are wandering...

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Barney’s at The Lincoln

Ever wonder what Alexander Ralston might say if he strolled around downtown Indianapolis today? What was once a precisely planned city has been slowly butchered throughout time. The broad, diagonal streets that angled towards the Circle, giving...

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: On Tour

The La Tour dining room in all of its swanky seventies glory. (Image: eBay) Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Many a couple enjoyed a romantic dinner downtown on the holiday of love. Wonder what...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Hamming it Up

Indy natives believe that Shapiro’s is the first, last and only name in delicatessen dining. First timers may walk away disappointed, however, if they are craving a certain Hoosier-beloved ham sandwich. No Kosher deli worth its salt would...

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