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Historic Structures of
Evansville, Indiana
Large Commercial Buildings
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Evansville (pop
126,272) is the seat of Vanderburgh Co. in southwest Indiana.
Incorporated in 1847, it is an important transportation hub and
a regional cultural and industrial center.
Settled in 1812, the community grew as a river
port, especially after the completion in 1853 of the Wabash and
Erie Canal linking the Ohio River at Evansville with Lake Erie.
It is named for Robert M. Evans (1783-1842), who mapped the area.
The city is the seat of the University of
Evansville (1854), the University of Southern Indiana (1965),
and the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science.
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American Trust & Savings Bank
Classic Revival, 1914
523-30 Main St.
The Classic Revival style is distinguished by the presence
of one or more (but not necessarily all) of the following characteristics:
- Greek inspired columns and pilasters (decorative features
which imitate columns but are not load-bearing)
- Bold and unadorned exterior moldings
- Heavy cornices (overhanging projections at the top of a roof)
- Horizontal transoms (bars or openings) above entrances
The Classic Revival style can be distinguished by
the Federal or Jeffersonian styles by the absense of any fan
or arch-shaped windows, since the ancient Greeks did not use
arches.
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McCurdy Hotel, 1917
Three-Part Vertical Block. This was the dominant style
of tall buildings of the period. The facade is divided into three
main "zones" that, though separated, are nevertheless
closely related to one another.
101-111 S.E. 1st St.
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Court Building, 1909
Apartment
Three-Part Vertical Block.
The cornice has been removed. (A cornice is the overhanging
projection at the top of a building, as shown in the building
above.)
123-125 N.W. 4th St.
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 Indiana
Bell Building
129-133 NW 5th St.
Art Deco, 1929
Art Deco was a style of design popular in the 1920s and '30s,
with its sleek, streamlined forms and elegant, geometric aesthetic.
Art Deco grew out of a conscious effort to simplify the elaborate
turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau style, to make it more responsive
to the new "machine-age" ideals of speed and glamour.
States Funk and Wagnall's New Encyclopedia: "It
found expression in objects as diverse as locomotives, skyscrapers,
roadside diners, radio cabinets, jukeboxes, and advertising displays.
"Primary examples of Art Deco in the U.S. are the interior
of Radio City Music Hall (1931) in New York City, designed by
Donald Deskey (1894-1989); and William van Alen's (1882-1954)
Chrysler Building (1930, New York City), with its sleek aluminum-
banded facades and arched and pointed spire."
(The apparatus on the roof is for the transmission and reception
of radio signals.)
Art Deco appears to be a popular style for telephone and telegraph
buildings, as can be seen with the Ameritech
Building in Kokomo.
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