december - Irvington Historical Society

The Irvington Historical Society Newsletter
DECEMBER 2015
Message from the President:
A Look at Department Stores
A
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
2
Block’s Department
Store Opens Irvington
Branch Store, 1940
3
Wasson’s Department
Store Anchors Eastgate Shopping Center,
1957
The Irvington
Historical Society’s
Bona Thompson
Memorial Center
is open
Sundays, 1-4pm
Wednesdays, 1-3pm
Saturdays, 1-4pm
Closed holidays and
Sundays before
Monday holidays
If you are interested in
volunteering as a docent,
please stop by the center
during one of the above
times.
t this time of year, many people of a certain age have
fond memories of the LS Ayres Department Store
downtown, whether it was viewing its holiday window
display or riding in the Santa Claus Express train on the
seventh floor. Sadly, LS Ayres is no longer in business,
and retail department stores in general are struggling
along in this age of Walmarts and online shopping, but
thankfully the most beloved department store experiences have not been lost. The Indiana State Museum has the
original Santa train on display as well as a replica for children to ride. The museum has also recreated the elegant
LS Ayres Tea Room, and still serves its famous Chicken
Pot Pie and Chicken Velvet Soup. The Indiana Historical
Society has recently launched its latest “You Are There”
experience, entitled “That Ayres Look” which provides a
multi-faceted portrait of the company.
The Irvington Historical Society shares in the Ayres
magic with a current exhibit at the Bona Thompson
Center of items related to the LS Ayres Department
Store, including clothing items, advertising, and historic images.
In this issue we also look at two other department
stores that had an impact on Irvington—Block’s and
Wasson’s. Unfortunately none of these retail legends
exist anymore, but their memories are being kept
alive by those who remember the magical impact they
had during the holiday season.
Seasons Greetings!
Don Flick, President
Irvington Historical Society
IRVINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY ~ Bona Thompson Memorial Center ~ 5350 University Avenue ~ Indianapolis IN 46219 ~ www.irvingtonhistorical.org
Page 2
Block’s Department Store Opens Irvington Branch Store, 1940
Written by Don Flick, IHS President
The William H. Block Company was an Indianapolis-based department store chain founded in 1874 by Austro-Hungarian immigrant Herman Wilhelm Bloch who had Americanized his name to William H. Block. The Block Department Store was located downtown at the corner of Illinois and Market Streets. The downtown store was the company’s only location for several decades, but like many department stores Block’s underwent an aggressive expansion process after World War II.
Stores were eventually opened in suburban Indianapolis locations—Glendale, Southern Plaza, Lafayette Square, and Washington Square—as well as in Bloomington, Kokomo, and Lafayette.
However, the first expansion of Block’s outside of downtown Indianapolis appears to
have been a small branch in Irvington known
as the Block’s Irvington Appliance Store,
Opening on February 7, 1940 it featured
household appliances but eventually branched
into housewares and electronics. The store
was originally located at 13 S. Ritter Avenue,
in a now-demolished building that sat in what
is now the grassy lot immediately behind the
Irvington Antique Mall. By the spring of 1947
the store had relocated around the corner
into a storefront at 5534 E. Washington
Street, in a building, also since demolished,
that was situated in what is now a portion of
the CSL Plasma Center parking lot.
The last mention of the Block’s Irvington
Store that appeared in The Indianapolis Star
was in an article published on October 31,
1954. Presumably the store was either sold
or closed soon thereafter, undoubtedly a
victim of increased suburban retail development. Ω
Top: Headline and photo from the Feb. 17, 1940 issue of The Indianapolis Star.
Far left: Advertisement from the Nov. 5, 1948 issue of the Howe
Highs School Tower newspaper.
Left: Advertisement from the Dec. 18, 1954 issue of The Indianapolis
Herald.
Below: Photo of lot where Block’s Irvington Store was first located.
IRVINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY ~ Bona Thompson Memorial Center ~ 5350 University Avenue ~ Indianapolis IN 46219 ~ www.irvingtonhistorical.org
Page 3
Wasson’s Department Store Anchors Eastgate Shopping Center, 1957
Written by Don Flick, IHS President
It is well-documented that suburban sprawl during the postWorld War II era took its toll on downtowns across America,
but in addition to downtowns, older pre-war commercial areas
like the Irvington retail district, centered around East Washington
Street and Ritter Avenue, also suffered. Catering to the burgeoning automobile culture, two commercial developments —
Irvington Plaza and Eastgate Shopping Center—were announced
in 1954. The combination of these and other suburban developments would have a devastating effect on the older Irvington
businesses. A March 31 article in The Indianapolis Star lauded
both developments for their accommodation of the automobile—2000 parking spaces at Irvington Plaza and 7000 parking
spaces at Eastgate.
Eastgate was developed by realty broker Albert Frankel, with
planning and design by Irvington–based architectural firm C. Wilbur Foster and Associates and Los Angeles—based Welton Becket. When it opened in 1957 it was the first suburban shopping
center in Indianapolis with a major retail anchor, that being the
first suburban branch of the H.P. Wasson and Company department store, whose flagship store was located downtown on the
northwest corner of Meridian and Washington Streets.
In 1967 Wasson’s was purchased by Chicago-based Goldblatt’s
and the name of the store at Eastgate eventually was changed to
Goldblatt’s. With the opening of Washington Square Mall in
1974 Eastgate began
to experience difficulties. Goldblatt’s
went out of business
and the Eastgate
store later became a
Burlington
Coat
Factory, which eventually left for Washington Square Mall.
In an attempt to
keep it vital, the
owners of Eastgate
rebranded it Eastgate Consumer Mall,
but that was not enough and the center was eventually closed and
sold to a data storage company.
In an ironic twist, it wasn’t long before changing retail preferences
and cultural attitudes favored the old Irvington commercial district and Downtown once again, dooming Washington Square
Mall, which had doomed Eastgate, which had doomed Irvington
and Downtown. What comes around goes around. Ω
Upper right: Advertisement from the April 4, 1954 issue of The Indianapolis
Star.
Middle: Article from the April 9, 1954 issue of The Indianapolis Herald.
Lower right: Article from the March 19, 1957 issue of The Indianapolis Star.
IRVINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY ~ Bona Thompson Memorial Center ~ 5350 University Avenue ~ Indianapolis IN 46219 ~ www.irvingtonhistorical.org
Page 4
If you were an Irvington husband in 1947 looking to make a
real statement with your wife’s Christmas present, you could
get her what “a million women love” - a Bendix Automatic
Home Laundry. It could be purchased from not one, but two
Irvington appliance stores—Block’s Irvington Store and
Moore’s Modern Appliance Company, located a block apart
from each other on East Washington Street.
IRVINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY ~ Bona Thompson Memorial Center ~ 5350 University Avenue ~ Indianapolis IN 46219 ~ www.irvingtonhistorical.org
Page 5
This is a reminder to renew your
Irvington Historical Society
membership for 2016.
You can fill out the membership form
below and mail it to the address below.
Please consider making an additional
donation to help us further our mission
of preserving the history and culture of
Irvington.
Thank you for your support!