indianapolis

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....

10 Comments

Posted in: Then & Now Then and Now: The Old Pump, Massachusetts Avenue and Delaware Street

Photo Credit: Indiana University, Lilly Library, Frank M. Hohenberger Collection, negative 1247 Several people gather around the old pump on Massachusetts Avenue in this circa 1910-1914 photograph. Four men line up to fill their buckets...

1 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Preservation Denied: Board of Trade Building

If you are a faithful reader of our site, you may recall our interview with Indiana Landmarks President, Marsh Davis, cited the Board of Trade building as one of the bigger losses to preservation in...

2 Comments

Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: Marmon House

Daniel W. Marmon, one-time president of the Marmon and Nordyke company, and his wife, Elizabeth, lived at 970 Delaware from 1898 or 99 until his death in 1909. She continued to reside in the home....

1 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Preservation Denied: Crown Hill Cemetery West Entrance

Newly constructed Crown Hill West Gate from the 1902 Hyman’s Journal Handbook of Indianapolis. While the preserved main gate and gatehouse to Crown Hill Cemetery is a well-known landmark along Boulevard Place, and was even...

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Old Northside & College Corner Club

Home of Horace and Martha Nicholson McKay at Broadway & 13th and tomorrow’s Sunday Prayers, check back! The Old Northside is bounded by the East side of Pennsylvania, 16th, Bellfontaine and I-65. According to the...

Posted in: A Room with a View Room With A View: Indiana Landmarks Office on Michigan

This afternoon, we introduce a new feature, Room with a View. There are some truly remarkable properties in the city with spectacular and/or unique views. Not everyone would be open to sharing the view inside...

Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: That Ayres Look

From collection of Thomas Brown, one of our longtime faithful readers, comes this L.S. Ayres advertisement. This is the very first “That Ayres Look” advertisement that ran in Vogue, March 15, 1936. The featured suit,...

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Where Butler University was born

Ever passed this sign at 13th and College? Imagine 13th and College 150 years ago… Rather than Butler Bulldogs, imagine Northwestern Cardinals or some such mascot adorning the hats, license plate frames and sweats of...

3 Comments

Posted in: WTH WTH Weds: Copycat

We typically don’t pick on color choices for historic homes in What the H*ll, since colors are such a personal preference and just about any color could be historically accurate. However, we make an exception...

Posted in: WTH WTH Weds: 20/22 N Delaware

St. Patrick’s Day was just last week, so I’m still a little bit in an Irish mood. I’m still having beer and hoping for some Irish luck. It’ll pass soon enough, to be replaced with...

Posted in: WTH WTH Weds: 323 N. Delaware

Take a castle wall, remove the parapet, punch out few stones, add some glass windows and door in the openings, a steel fire door for everybody’s safety, paste on two royal blue awnings, and, finally,...

Posted in: WTH WTH Weds: Fall Creek Apartments

What the hell? This sad-looking building is the former Fall Creek Apartments [edit: Sharon Butsch Freeland tells us the original name was Jose-Balz Apartments, after the developers of the area], located at 30th and Fall...

2 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania 1928 North Delaware now…

Check out a few photos of 1928 Delaware as it has been beautifully rehabbed by John Richardson. If every home had someone capable of such a loving and faithful restoration, what a beautiful place this...

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Indiana State Fair: September 30- October 5, 1878

A few advertising highlights from the 1878 State Fair program… The etching featured on the cover is an aerial view from what is today, Delaware just about half a block south of 19th Street. Nineteenth...

Posted in: Historic Miscellania 19TH INDIANA STATE FAIR- OCTOBER 2-7, 1871

Enjoy these fabulous images–The Indiana Historical Society has a collection of them, should you wish to hold any in your hot little hands! More years to come through the next few days. Stay tuned. Arkansas,...

Posted in: WTH WTH Weds: 13th & Delaware Streets…

Oh yeah, THIS is soooo much better than… I know some of you will maintain it was the former County Courthouse, English’s or some other building, but my #1 “What the H*ll?!” in the destruction...

Posted in: WTH Introducing: WTH Wednesday

Introducing : WTH Wednesdays Taking a cue from the National Trust’s YIKES features (post note: this originally had a link to those features, but all traces of the series has been wiped from online archives),...

Posted in: Historic Miscellania 100 Years Ago today…1/3/1910- Mayor Shank Sworn In

Samuel Lewis Shank, Mayor of Indianapolis from 1910 to 1913 and again from 1922-1925, seen here on the front of City Hall 100 Years Ago today, Mayor Shank was sworn in at what was then...

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Old City Hall

Formerly the New City Hall After years of having offices in the basement of the beautiful old Marion County courthouse, the city offices had to relocate to make space for the expanding county business. Indianapolis...

1 Comments

Articles