Wabash County Museum
36 East Market StreetBuilt: c. 1895Style: 20th Century FunctionalThis structure dates to approximately 1895, and its earliest known occupant was the Big Four Mercantile Co. It has served as an undertaking business, a furniture store, a garment manufacturing establishment, and became a Sears, Roebuck store in 1937. Currently, the Wabash County Museum and the Wabash County Convention and Visitors Bureau occupy the building.The main features of the façade, which was added in the first half of the 20th century, are stylized Art Deco pilasters along the first story and three upraised brick bands below the cornice.
Bedford Block
231-237 South Wabash StreetBuilt: 1901Style: Romanesque RevivalThe Bedford Block was built under the joint effort of William J. Wilson, former Wabash postmaster, and Warren Bigler, Indiana State Auditor and the first president of the State Association of Abstractors of Title. Early occupants of the building include a gentlemen's furnishings shop, a saloon, and the Wabash National Bank. In 1910, the first moving picture theater in Wabash took the place of the saloon.The Bedford Block, with its rock-faced and dressed limestone block façade, is easily identified as Romanesque Revival in style. Quite notable are the large, round-arched windows and the checkerboard-patterned parapet with stone lions' heads on each corner.
Wabash Loan & Trust Co.
8 West Canal StreetBuilt: 1927Style: Neo-ClassicalThe Wabash Loan and Trust Company was built by its owner, attorney Nelson G. Hunter to be "a building of the future" that would satisfy the banking needs of Wabash for the next hundred years. However, with economic turmoil during the Great Depression, the bank was forced to close its doors in 1932. From 1940 to 1966 the Wabash Plain Dealer had its offices in the building.This three-story structure is of steel frame construction with a façade of Bedford limestone. Architect Charles Weatherhogg of Fort Wayne incorporated fluted pilasters with Corinthian capitals, an egg-and-dart lined cornice, and a decorative balustrade. The copper clock on the corner at the second floor façade and the torchere light standards on either side of the main entry are original to the building. Original interior features are also worthy of attention.
Bradley Block
5-7 West Canal StreetBuilt: 1901Style: Romanesque RevivalA popular passenger stop for the interurban and street cars, the Bradley Block was once a prime business location. Charles and Oscar Bradley housed their pharmacy on the first floor for over forty years, beginning in 1901. Offices occupied the second floor, while the third floor served as a civic meeting room and ballroom. The "New Bradley Building" is located on the southeast corner of Market and Miami Streets.This structure exhibits characteristics of the Romanesque Revival style with the ground floor rounded pilasters and the rock-faced stone trim of the upper floor windows. Classical details are the dentils in the cornice of the building and the storefront. A noteworthy decorative element of the building is the stone tablet on the central parapet depicting "BRADLEY." During a recent restoration, the etched glass windows above the storefront, also depicting the owners' name, were revealed.
Small Building
102 West Canal StreetBuilt: 1880sStyle: ItalianateThe Enoch P. Small family used this structure in the 1880s as Small & Company's flour and feed store, which served as an outlet for Upper Union Mills, operated by the Smalls. Mr. Small is known to have installed the first roller mill ever used in Wabash County. Theodore Small expanded the operation in the 1890s to include groceries. His sons, Goldwin and Garl, continued the business until the 1940s.The construction year of this brick two-story commercial building is unknown, but it owes its style to an 1884 renovation. Before its corner was changed in 1884 to the diagonal entryway seen today, the Small Building was originally four bays wide along Canal Street. Typical of the Italianate style, popular in Wabash during the 1860s through the 1880s, the tall, slender windows are adorned by stamped metal caps. The four-petal flowers and decorative brackets along the cornice also exemplify this style.
S.J. Payne Building
90 West Market Street & 163 South Miami StreetBuilt: 1898Style: Renaissance RevivalBuilt in 1898 by Samuel J. Payne, this structure was constructed on the last available lot on Market Street between Wabash and Miami Streets. At its completion, Mr. Payne hosted an open house with over 300 of Wabash's most prominent citizens in attendance. He, along with his brother Thomas, operated a furniture store and undertaking business there for approximately ten years. The combination of furniture stores and undertaking businesses was common in the late 19th century, for the making of furniture was closely related to the making of coffins. After the Paynes moved out, the business continued under various ownerships until approximately 1930. At this time, the building's ground floor was divided in two and it was shared by the Union Cigar Shop and the Union Coffee Shop in the 1940s and 1950s.The two-story Renaissance Revival-style S.J. Payne Building has an L-shaped plan that accounts for its Miami and Market Street addresses. One of the most unusual features of this brick structure with an iron and steel frame is the brown, rock-faced surface glazed vitrified brick of the Market Street façade. These bricks were popular for just a brief time, and these particular bricks are from Burgoon & Co. in Logan, Ohio. Notable features of the Market Street façade are the contrasting materials, paired arches, garlands, and lions' heads in the tympana of the large arches of the second floor. The Miami Street façade echoes the Market Street façade with a much less elaborate plain brick and limestone trim.
National Block
2 West Market StreetBuilt: 1876Style: Second EmpireAt the time of its construction in 1876, the National Block was the most ambitious building project Wabash had ever seen. The project of local businessman William R. Collins and the First National Bank of Wabash, the structure served as the headquarters of the bank, and also it contained four ground-level shops, multiple offices, and an upper-story hall. Since its completion, the building has served multiple businesses and organizations including a bookstore, offices for the fire department, and the Royal Arcanum Lodge.The Second Empire-style National Block is three stories with a rectangular plan. Its corner diagonal entrance is thought to be the first of its kind in Wabash. Quite notable is the mansard roof with two towers, eight dormers, and multi-colored slate. In 1998, Wabash Marketplace Inc. completed a restoration of the building to its current appearance.
Jim Amoss Building
110 South Wabash StreetBuilt: 1880Style: ItalianateThis structure was constructed in 1880 under the direction of James M. Amoss, an attorney, Circuit Court Clerk, and Wabash City Clerk. The building has seen many occupants including a tailor shop, an insurance company, a barber shop and public bath in 1897, and a confectionary and fruit shop in 1901. It was the home of the Knights of Pythias in 1907, and in 1924 it housed the Wabash Business College and the Salvation Army. The Jim Amoss Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.The Italianate structure has gone through minor changes but many original aspects remain such as the cast-iron brackets supporting the second-floor balcony and the decorative metal hoods over the upper-story windows. Of great note is the attractive cornice with scroll brackets and dentils and the decorative oval panels of the frieze.
Solomon Wilson Building
102 South Wabash StreetBuilt: 1882Style: Second EmpireBuilt by Solomon Wilson, this structure held drug stores from its construction until 1918. After this time, it became Scheerer's Grocery Market and retained that name for over sixty years. In 1984, the Solomon Wilson Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.The two-and-one-half story Solomon Wilson Building has undergone very little change in over 100 years and was restored in 1982. Notable architectural features include the horseshoe dormer windows, bull's eye windows, cornice, and the mansard roof.
City Hall
101 South Wabash StreetBuilt: 1883Style: ItalianateIn 1883, architect Frederick A. Grant's design for the City Hall of Wabash was accepted and the building constructed. The first floor of the structure served as the fire department with the upper floors used as offices for the chief municipal officials of Wabash.The City Hall is predominately Italianate in style, which can be seen in the bracketed cornice, the hipped roof, and the arcade along the ground floor. The original double doors that accommodated the firehouse were removed and the first floor was remodeled for offices in a 1970s renovation.
Shively Block
59-73 South Wabash StreetBuilt: 1897Style: Romanesque RevivalIn order to create more office space for attorneys, Judge Harvey B. Shively constructed this building directly across from the County Courthouse. For a large part of its early years, the Shively Block was home to many notaries, attorneys, loan officers, and insurance men. The northernmost storefront was occupied from 1901 to 1937 by Gackenheimer Pharmacy, best known for its soda fountain.The façade of the Shively Block is rock-faced limestone block. Romanesque Revival features include the four tourelles on the third floor that extend beyond the roof line and ground floor piers topped by foliar capitals that divide the storefronts. The second floor window groupings and entry bay add to the asymmetry of the structure.
Wabash Co. Courthouse
Hill, Main, and Wabash StreetsBuilt: 1879Style: Italian RenaissanceThe present Wabash County Courthouse is the third for the county. History was made only months after its completion when four Brush arc lamps were temporarily attached to the tower of the Courthouse making Wabash the first electrically lighted city in the world.Designed by architect B.V. Enos of Indianapolis, this structure is faced in red brick and sandstone. One of the most dominating features of the Courthouse is its domed clock tower. Other features emphasizing the Italian Renaissance style are the symmetrically placed round-arch windows of the first floor and the projecting pavilions with pediments on each façade. Exceptional interior features include stamped metal ceilings, encaustic tile floors, and the grand staircase.
Memorial Hall
89 West Hill StreetBuilt: 1899Style: Romanesque RevivalThis tribute to Union Civil War veterans was said to the "the second structure of the kind in the United States." The building has served as the meeting hall for the Grand Army of the Republic (the organization of Civil War Union Veterans), a community room for dinners, and the meeting place for the Women's Temperance Union convention of 1904. In addition, it served as a temporary hospital for the influenza epidemic of 1920, headquarters for the county historical society, and now serves as county offices.The two-story structure was constructed with 18-inch-thick walls consisting of brick with rock-faced Bedford limestone. Notable features include the mosaics above the arched entry and the two circular towers flanking either side of the structure. An addition to the structure was recently incorporated, yet complements the original with similar materials and style.
Sheriff's House & Jail
31 West Main StreetBuilt: 1879Style: ItalianateIn 1879 plans were developed to build a new jail to replace the one built in the early 1850s. The new structure incorporated a sheriff's residence and served both its functions until 1979.The Sheriff's House and Jail was designed by architects B.V. Enos & Son of Indianapolis, was constructed by L.S. Wilson, and cost $20,000 to build. The Sheriff's House dominates the square-plan jail, which is constructed of stone slabs and located directly behind the residence. The roof line of the residence, with its short pyramidal tower, pedimented gable, horse-shoe shaped dormer vents, and decorative brackets along the cornice, is quite notable. The only major alterations to the structure are the porch which was added in the 1920s and the replacement of the original front door.
Post Office
110 South Miami StreetBuilt: 1912Style: Neo-ClassicalDesigned by John Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, the Post Office opened its doors on April 20, 1912. Fremont Ward acted as the Superintendant of Construction for the erection of the $70,000 structure.The Neo-Classical style of the Post Office is seen in the four fluted Doric columns and in the projecting portico with pediment. An open balustrade above a cornice with ornamental modillions is seen on each façade of the building. One story and square in plan, this structure rests on a granite foundation with a façade of dressed Bedford limestone.
Eagles Building
104-106 West Market StreetBuilt: 1905Style: Classical RevivalThis theater and business block was built in 1905 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The theater had the seating capacity of 1,163, and eighteen offices occupied the upper stories. The theater still shows first-run films and is now home to Wabash Marketplace Inc. and the North Central Field Office of Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.Designed by architect Arland W. Johnson of Toledo and encompassing an entire city lot, the four-story Classical Revival building is one of the largest buildings in the downtown. Noteworthy features include the tripartite round-arch windows of the third floor and the stenciled walls and hand-painted ceilings of the fourth-floor Eagles meeting hall and ballroom.
Hotel Indiana
111 West Market StreetBuilt: 1920Style: Georgian RevivalIn the early twentieth century, Wabash residents agreed upon the importance of the "establishment of a high class, modern hotel." This goal was accomplished with the opening of the Hotel Indiana in May of 1920. At the time, it was thought that no other hotel in the area could compete with this state-of-the-art facility. The building is also referred to as the Red Apple Inn.The Georgian Revival style of the Hotel Indiana is emphasized by the six-over-six window sashes, flat brick arches over the windows, and symmetry of the design. Other notable features include its monumental size and decorative heraldic shield.
Honeywell Center
275 West Market StreetBuilt: 1940sStyle: Art DecoMark C. Honeywell, a Wabash native and co-founder of Honeywell, Inc., built the Honeywell Memorial Community Center in the 1940s in memory of his parents and late wife Olive Lutz-Honeywell. The Center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and in 1994 an addition was built to house the 1,500 seat Ford Theater, Carpenter Plaza, Clark Gallery, Garver Sculpture Plaza, the Olivette Room, and an exhibit about Mr. and Mrs. Honeywell.A prime example of the Art Deco style, the Honeywell Center exhibits a tower-like projection with stepped fronts and geometric motifs. Its beige brick and sharply defined outlines further emphasize its architectural quality.
