Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Wilmer F. Christian House, 404 N. Alabama Street

Architects such as Vonnegut and Bohn, Francis Costigan, and Rubush and Hunter are well remembered and celebrated in Indianapolis, but how many of us can name a contractor from times past (other than Jungclaus-Campbell, a...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Circle Park and Meridian Street

  Although faded and discolored, this extremely rare stereoview shows Meridian Street looking south from the middle of Circle Park (now Monument Circle) prior to 1870. Photographers and stereoview publishers Salter and Judd worked together...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Fountain Square Police Station No. 4 / Radio Radio, 1117-1119 Prospect

As Indianapolis expanded, it was necessary for the Indianapolis Police Department to move into the neighborhoods and by 1912 four substations had been established. This one-story cottage, located at 1117 Prospect Street in Fountain Square,...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Bird’s-Eye View North from Marion County Courthouse

Photographs of Indianapolis buildings prior to the 1890s are difficult to find. Clients typically requested portraits, so most photograph galleries specialized in capturing the likenesses of individuals. Fortunately a few local photographers added landscape and...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Freund’s Pharmacy, 502 N. Highland Avenue

Freund’s Pharmacy as it appeared in about 1907-1908. The man in front is possibly William C. Freund. (The Indiana Album: Loaned by Joan Hostetler) Just east of Pogue’s Run sits a nondescript little triangle of...

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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: College Hall and the Daguerreotype of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Fletcher

1856 daguerreotype of Calvin and Keziah Fletcher. This is the only known image of Fletcher’s second wife. Note that the brass mat is embossed in the corners “W. H. Weeks” and “Indianapolis.” Click for larger...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church – Schools and Rectory, Georgia Street and Capitol Avenue

View of the NW corner of W. Georgia Street looking east from Capitol Avenue (IUPUI University Library, Indianapolis History Collection, 1913 Indianapolis Streetcar Strike Scrapbook loaned by Deedee Davis) While documenting the increasingly angry crowds...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Fourth Presbyterian Church and The Milton Apartments, 26-30 E. 9th Street

Half of a stereoview of Fourth Presbyterian Church on East 9th Street, then named Pratt Street. Photographed by Charles S. Judd, Indianapolis, ca. 1875 (The Indiana Album: Loaned by Joan Hostetler) Finding photographs of Indianapolis...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: 871-75 Virginia Avenue / Fountain Square Gateway

While walking on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail near Fountain Square last week, I was reminded of one of the benefits of taking a stroll:  really seeing the landscape that is overlooked when whizzing by at...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Jacob Dorsey Forrest House / Irvington United Methodist Church, 30 N. Audubon Road

Part of the charm of historic Irvington, a suburban town platted east of Indianapolis in 1870, is the winding, tree-lined streets and two circles on Audubon Road. Butler College graduate and Irvington resident Vida Tibbett...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Thompson-Mesker Cottage, 1014 N. Arsenal Avenue

Many times determining the construction date of an old house is nearly impossible, but the Queen Anne cottage at 1014 N. Arsenal Avenue is a researcher’s dream. It features a prominent sign above the front...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Darko and Sons Cleaners, 2659-61 Shelby Street

Circa 1940s advertising blotter for Darko & Sons Cleaners (top) and photograph from May 2014. (Courtesy of the Indiana Album) Every building, no matter how forlorn, has a story. Known only to me by this...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Ruskaup Grocery and Tavern / The Inventorialist, 715-717 Dorman Street

The Ruskaup Grocery and Tavern, ca. 1890s. The man standing on the steps on the right is likely proprietor Frederick Ruskaup. Today the Cottage Home Park and Playground occupies the lot to the north, then...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Tansy Motor Service Station, 802 N. Delaware Street

Tansy Motor Service Station on the northwest corner of N. Delaware and St. Clair Streets, 8 Feb. 1949 (Courtesy of the Indianapolis Fire Department) This Indianapolis Fire Department photograph depicts fire damage at the Tansy...

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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: David Macy House, 408 N. Delaware Street

The David Macy house at 408 N. Delaware Street (The Indiana Album: Loaned by Joan Hostetler) Not many 1850s houses have survived in Indianapolis, but a unique government project begun during the Great Depression gives...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Plaza Service Station, 121 E. Maryland Street

Is that a government building or a gas station? Cartoonists of the 1920s often made light of the fact that service and filling stations were so ornate that they were confused with buildings with a...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Pantzer Drugstore, 1601 S. East Street

Postcard from the collection of Evan Finch / July 2011 Google Street View The corner store at 1601 S. East Street had a long life as the Pantzer Drugstore in what is now the Bates-Hendricks...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Morris-Butler House, 1204 Park Avenue

Circa 1867-1885 photograph of the Morris-Butler House (Courtesy of Indiana Landmarks) As a preservationist, I really like it when the “then” and the “now” photographs look alike. Thanks to Indiana Landmarks, the Morris-Butler House in...

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