John Purdue Block

John Purdue Block (HMNAI)

Location: Lafayette, IN 47901 Tippecanoe County
Buy Indiana State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 40° 25.065', W 86° 53.735'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 1362 views
Inscription
Erected on this site in 1845 by John Purdue (October 31, 1802 - September 12, 1876) The John Purdue Block was a collection of 12 stores, each 22 feet wide, occupying the complete block between Columbia and South streets. At the time, it was the largest brick masonry building west of New York City.

Cargo was delivered to the Purdue Block by way of the Wabash and Erie Canal which passed some 100 feet behind this building. The first railroad came through Lafayette in 1851.

John Purdue sold the buildings in the 1850's during the time he was active in the building of Purdue University.

A variety of tenants have made use of the buildings. In 1850, the Northern Indiana Medical College was located here. By 1881, businesses included W. & L.L. Ross Mercantile and Purdue, Brown & Company. In 1885 Augustus Peret opened a buggy carriage and harness manufacturing company.

By 1925 there were six businesses on the block: The Duffy & Means Candy Company; Central Top and Battery Company (manufacturers of soft auto tops); W. W. Steele Wire & Iron Works; Johnson Hardware Company (dealer of farm machinery) and The Glenn Auto Electric Company.

Dennis D. Dunn and Edwin F. Hargitt purchased the building in November 1980 from Glenn Auto and initiated restoration. During the process, on August 7, 1981, a major portion of the building collapsed.

Dedicated to saving this valuable community asset, Dunn & Hargitt brought in architect Peter Goelzer of Minneapolis and Kettelhut Construction, Inc. Of Lafayette, to take over and complete the project.

Restoration was completed in the spring of 1883. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Details
HM NumberHMNAI
Series This marker is part of the More Than Words series, and the Wabash & Erie Canal series.
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, September 14th, 2014 at 5:03am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16T E 508858 N 4474130
Decimal Degrees40.41775000, -86.89558333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 40° 25.065', W 86° 53.735'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds40° 25' 3.90" N, 86° 53' 44.10" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)765
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 14 N 2nd St, Lafayette IN 47901, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. Does the marker have a number?
  7. What year was the marker erected?
  8. Who or what organization placed the marker?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?