Posted in: General When Bad Things Happen to Good Buildings

It’s usually under the guise of “improvement” and “modernization,” but even with less than perfect vision, they aren’t fooling any of us: bad things happen to good buildings. You know it when you see it:...

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Posted in: DeJa Vu Deja Vu Tuesday: Just another book in the wall

Indianapolis was just beginning to emerge from the pioneer era in the winter of 1853 when a small group of men gathered to establish a new lodge dedicated to Friendship, Love and Truth. One of...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Gunned Down Grocer

As a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, during the “golden age of fraternalism” (circa 1860-1920), for one “brother” to shoot another sounds unlikely. All the more when the organization was founded to...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Southeast Corner of Pennsylvania and Market Streets

Half of a circa 1876 stereoview looking south on Pennsylvania Street from Market Street (The Indiana Album: Loaned by Joan Hostetler) Merely a decade after the end of the Civil War, photographer John W. Pendergast...

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Posted in: Indianapolis Collected Indianapolis Collected: Showdown at the Odd Fellows Lodge

Lewis Baum was an unhappy man.  The old building where he rented office space was set for demolition in June 1907, which just didn’t seem fair since he had a lease that ran through 1908.   ...

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Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayers: IOOF Capital Lodge & East Washington Street

It guards the corner of Hamilton and East Washington, its storefronts close to the sidewalk, expectant. It has watched its neighbors come and go, come and go, change from printing company and barber to gas...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: IOOF Capital Lodge 2102 E. Washington Street

In May 1927 a tornado slammed into the east side of Indianapolis destroying dozens of buildings. This photo, looking east on East Washington Street toward the intersection of Hamilton Avenue, shows some of the damage...

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