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Magnolia Building. Image: Bass Photo Collection, Indiana Historical Society
1888 Advert for Cleaveland Yard Fence
John B. Cleaveland was born five years after the city of Indianapolis, in 1826 in Quebec City, Canada. In his late 30’s, not long before the end of the Civil War, he moved to Indianapolis– in 1864.
Just over 10 years later, in May 1875, Cleaveland filed for a building permit for a new five-story brick structure at the intersection of Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee (now Capitol), estimating the cost at $60,000. In June 1875, William Ballard won the contract to build the “Cleaveland Block.”
Cleaveland entered the real estate business with John S. Spann, and a few years after that, patented a couple of novel iron fence designs that became popular in Indianapolis and elsewhere.
Ads and endorsements appeared for the “Cleaveland Yard Fence,” fortifying a number of prestigious homes on Meridian Street. In 1889 the homes of A. B. Gates, and later J. H. Clark were specifically noted, with another ad crowing that the fence was “going up in every part of the city. It is self-supporting, has no unsightly braces, and does not hide the beauty it encloses.” The fencing was manufactured at 20-22 Biddle Street, “three squares south of the Massachusetts Avenue depot.”
1887 Sanborn, showing Cleaveland block, misspelled. (IUPUI Digital Library)
Back to Cleaveland’s architectural endeavors, his Cleaveland Block was designed by William Henry Brown, the same architect who designed another stunning flat iron building at the intersection of Virginia Avenue, Washington and Pennsylvania streets: the Vance Block, a. k. a. Indiana Trust Company Building.
Brown was a Lawrenceburg native who moved to Indianapolis at age 17. His father was a contractor, likely inspiring his interest in the built environment. While studying architecture, the Civil War broke out and he exchanged tools of measurements for those of the military, but returned to architecture studies after the war’s conclusion.
Years later, he became president of the Brown-Ketcham Iron Works, and secretary of Colonnade Realty Company, for which he designed the Colonnade Apartments, among others. He also designed the Masonic Temple on the southeast corner of Washington and Captiol (Tennessee), which preceded the subsequent replacement that still stands on Illinois Street. His obituary says he built the very first “double” in Indianapolis–also on Illinois street.
Ad for Cleaveland & Appel, October 1878
When the Cleaveland block was finished in 1876, the namesake owner moved his real estate business into the building. John B. Cleaveland and his son Charles F. were ever-enterprising. In addition to real estate, they also ran an insurance business for a few years. In 1878, Charles F. Cleaveland and Fred D. Appel started Cleaveland & Appel. The next year, the insurance company was just “Cleaveland & Co.” with John J. Appel as a clerk, and living at the Cleaveland Block. John J. Appel continued with Cleaveland & Co. through 1881. Charles F. Cleaveland then partnered up with Robert H. Adams to continue the insurance business in 1883. Such was the liminal nature of such business.
As a side note, John J. Appel went on to work for Barnard & Sayles in 1883, alongside a few other gentleman, but most notably, Fred A. Gregory. By 1885, another insurance company commenced. Modern day readers will surely recognize the name of the long-lived and well known, Gregory & Appel.
The rental units in the building were mostly leased in 1878, and included among the noteworthy business tenants, attorney and future vice-president, Charles W. Fairbanks who had offices there for a few years. The agency of Western Assurance Company of Toronto moved into the building in 1879. In March 1882, the Indiana, Bloomington & Western Railroad office, which had been in the building since July 1876 vacated the Cleaveland block following an announcement that the building would be converted into a hotel and boarding house.
1915 Sanborn (IUPUI Digital Library)
In 1901, the building sold to Michael H. Spades for $37,500. This seems to coincide with the building’s name change to “The Magnolia.” It was remodeled within a few years, leaving the building with 136 apartments in addition to commercial spaces. As with many business rentals, those spaces were in frequent flux.
An early member of the automobile industry, the “Indianapolis Motor Car Company” established its first sales room here in 1907, representing both the Dragon and Logan cars, while also working on other models of their own.
grainy newspaper image from November 1916 fire.
In 1916, the building suffered a large fire that started in the attic, causing $30,000-35,000 worth of damage. It must have been quite a memorable scene with flames shooting from the top, and renters on lower floors chucking various belongings out the window to the sidewalk, in an attempt to salvage personal possessions.
Just over a year after that fire, at the end of 1917, Michael Spades’ son, Myron, sold the building to David M. Kitselman for $80,000. It was at this time, the name of the building was changed to the Columbia Building–despite the existence of The Columbia Club on the Circle. Through the 1920s, sugar exited the building through the Betsy Ross candy shop. In 1929, the Goldsmith Brothers started a new drug store business, after selling their prior drug store venture to a chain called Walgreen Drug Company. There are countless stories of lives and businesses that touched this building.
In October 1939, businesses vacated the premises so the building could be razed and replaced with a parking lot and filling station. Today, its grave is somewhere under the vast convention center.
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