Imperial Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana
1909 postmarked postcard view of the Imperial Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. This ornate structure was built by the National Surgical Institute on the northwest corner at Ohio Street and Capitol Avenue, just north of the Indiana State House (State Capitol). This view was looking northwest from the southeast corner of that intersection. The sign above the entrance at the base of the tower advertised IMPERIAL BUFFET.
A fire at the National Surgical Institute’s former location and the expense of this new facility bankrupted the National Surgical Institute in 1898. Some have reported that the Indiana College of Medicine occupied the building for a short time after the bankruptcy, but the college already had a four-story building on the northwest corner at Senate Avenue and Market Street. The college was listed at that location in the 1899 R. L. Polk directory. In any case, a 1902 book¹ mentioned that the Imperial Hotel had been “established over a year ago…at Capitol avenue and Ohio street.” The name then changed to Hotel Metropole in the spring of 1913. This was evident from a State Board of Health report² where disbursements from the state’s Hydrophobia Fund were reported going to the Imperial Hotel from October 1912 through April 1 of 1913. Beginning on April 14 of that year, all disbursements were going to the Hotel Metropole rather than the Imperial Hotel. The 1914/1915 Sanborn™ fire insurance map set for Indianapolis identified the Hotel Metropole as the occupant of the building.
1. Max Robinson Hyman, The Journal Handbook of Indianapolis: An Outline of History (Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis Journal Newspaper Co., 1902), page 168. Available online at books.google.com/books?id=CR0VAAAAYAAJ&printsec=front....
2. Thirty-second Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Indiana (Indianapolis, IN: Wm. B. Burford, 1914), page 36. Available online at books.google.com/books?id=x68_AQAAMAAJ&printsec=front....
From the collection of Thomas Keesling.
A close-up section of the postcard image can be seen here.
www.flickr.com/photos/hoosier_recollections/5200036002/
Copyright 2004-2014 by Hoosier Recollections. All rights reserved. This image is part of a creative package that includes the associated text, geodata and/or other information. Neither this package in its entirety nor any of the individual components may be downloaded, transmitted or reproduced without the prior written permission of Hoosier Recollections.
Imperial Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana
1909 postmarked postcard view of the Imperial Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. This ornate structure was built by the National Surgical Institute on the northwest corner at Ohio Street and Capitol Avenue, just north of the Indiana State House (State Capitol). This view was looking northwest from the southeast corner of that intersection. The sign above the entrance at the base of the tower advertised IMPERIAL BUFFET.
A fire at the National Surgical Institute’s former location and the expense of this new facility bankrupted the National Surgical Institute in 1898. Some have reported that the Indiana College of Medicine occupied the building for a short time after the bankruptcy, but the college already had a four-story building on the northwest corner at Senate Avenue and Market Street. The college was listed at that location in the 1899 R. L. Polk directory. In any case, a 1902 book¹ mentioned that the Imperial Hotel had been “established over a year ago…at Capitol avenue and Ohio street.” The name then changed to Hotel Metropole in the spring of 1913. This was evident from a State Board of Health report² where disbursements from the state’s Hydrophobia Fund were reported going to the Imperial Hotel from October 1912 through April 1 of 1913. Beginning on April 14 of that year, all disbursements were going to the Hotel Metropole rather than the Imperial Hotel. The 1914/1915 Sanborn™ fire insurance map set for Indianapolis identified the Hotel Metropole as the occupant of the building.
1. Max Robinson Hyman, The Journal Handbook of Indianapolis: An Outline of History (Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis Journal Newspaper Co., 1902), page 168. Available online at books.google.com/books?id=CR0VAAAAYAAJ&printsec=front....
2. Thirty-second Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Indiana (Indianapolis, IN: Wm. B. Burford, 1914), page 36. Available online at books.google.com/books?id=x68_AQAAMAAJ&printsec=front....
From the collection of Thomas Keesling.
A close-up section of the postcard image can be seen here.
www.flickr.com/photos/hoosier_recollections/5200036002/
Copyright 2004-2014 by Hoosier Recollections. All rights reserved. This image is part of a creative package that includes the associated text, geodata and/or other information. Neither this package in its entirety nor any of the individual components may be downloaded, transmitted or reproduced without the prior written permission of Hoosier Recollections.