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: 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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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: 500 Block of West Washington Street / Eiteljorg Museum

This 1953 view shows the 500 block of W. Washington Street as it appeared in 1953. (Courtesy of The Indiana Album: Photographed by J. Parke Randall) This week we share another 1953 photograph of Indianapolis...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Briggs Flats, 550 Fletcher Avenue

People gather to look at the fire-damaged Briggs Flats in this August 30, 1948 photograph. The brick, Romanesque Revival apartment building was constructed at 546-552 Fletcher Avenue in 1893. It featured an arched porch and...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Louisa Magruder’s House, 564 N. Highland Avenue

An early resident of what is now Cottage Home neighborhood was an elderly black woman named Louisa Magruder (ca. 1808-1900), whose home stood at 564 N. Highland Avenue just south of Pogue’s Run. Born into...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Bass Photo Company, 308 S. New Jersey Street

Much of Indianapolis’s visual history from the past century is known due of the  foresight of one commercial photography studio: The W. H. Bass Photo Company, located at 308 S. New Jersey Street from 1897...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: DeLuxe Cake & Pastry Shop, 657 E. 38th Street

DeLuxe Cake & Pastry Shop, ca. 1945 / Courtesy of IUPUI Library, Neighborhood of Saturdays Collection Travelers along Maple Road (now 38th Street) in the 1930s and 1940s recognized the DeLuxe Cake & Pastry Shop...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Reid-Dickson House, 1456 N. Delaware Street

1906. Courtesy of the Herron Art Library, Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission Collection Indianapolis was past the Victorian era of architecture with its turned posts, gingerbread trim, and Queen Ann details by the time the Reid...

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Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: SW Corner New Jersey & Vermont (Recycled)

Then: Hyde School #1 was constructed by the school system in the 1860s and stood for many decades.  The camera faces west in this 1907 view of the playground. Buildings to the right face Vermont Street...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Ryan/Gasaway Home, 1103 E. 9th Street

Finding photographs of the homes and businesses of the Vonneguts, Efroymsons, Ayres, and Blocks families is relatively easy. Just go to the William H. Bass Photo Collection at the Indiana Historical Society and many images...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Kroger Grocery and Big Al’s Superstore, 4601 N. College Avenue

Courtesy of Ball State University, University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive,                                         Pierre and Wright Architectural...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Bird’s-Eye View of the City Market 222 E. Market Street

In this week’s Room With a View column featuring  Chelsie Roy‘s photo of the Indianapolis City Market, the author wondered what the view would look like with Tomlinson Hall, the former community building that stood west...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The House of a Thousand Candles, 1500 N. Delaware St.

The Library of Congress owns over 14 million prints and photographs and only a small fraction have been (or probably ever will be) digitized. Therefore I’m always thrilled to find scans of Indianapolis images, even...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis (Almost) Then and Now: Cantor Drive-In Restaurant

In honor of the birthday of architect Mies van der Rohe (March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969), I have digressed from the usual “then and now” theme and mourn the loss of a Mies...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Briggs Flats, 550 Fletcher Avenue

People gather to look at the fire-damaged Briggs Flats in this August 30, 1948 photograph. The brick, Romanesque Revival apartment building was constructed at 546-552 Fletcher Avenue in 1893. It featured an arched porch and...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: W. E. Mick Building and Aquilina Apartments, Central Avenue and East 30th Street

The W. E. Mick Building, also known as the Aquilina Apartments, was a brick structure built in 1910-11 on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and East 30th Street. Realtor and developer William E. Mick...

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