Being a city steeped in history, there are a whole lot of historic buildings around Vincennes that provide a glimpse into the past.
There's the Knox County Courthouse, Grouseland, Knox County Public Library and Old French House as well as the McGrady-Brockman House, the Vincennes Fortnightly Clubhouse and numerous other historic homes and buildings.
Unfortunately, since the ranks of historic structures have steadily dwindled over time, what still stands now is just a small snapshot of how Vincennes once looked. Buildings are plagued by Mother Nature and neglect, fall into disrepair and are often riddled with so many structural issues that it's sometimes best to tear them down.
But look past all the demolitions and you'll see the gems that not only still remain but have been repurposed and continue to be used.
Renovating and repurposing old structures, though, is no easy task. It takes time, vision and a whole lot of elbow grease and money.
Andy Myszak, co-owner of Myszak + Palmer Architecture and Development, is well-versed in the work it takes to “recycle” vintage buildings. His firm has been involved in various different renovation and repurposing projects, including the recent transformation of Clark's Crossing, 300 N. Sixth St.
The former school school dates back to 1916 and served first as an elementary/junior high school, then as the first George Rogers Clark Middle School and finally as an administration center for the Vincennes Community School Corp.
A $9 million investment was made into the building, providing 47 apartments for seniors.
The architectural firm has also renovated its own offices, located at 903 Broadway St. in a residence built in 1883, as well as the historic Brevoort House at 522 Busseron St.
When firms like Myszak + Palmer start on a renovation project, the first thing that's examined is the building's structure.
“We look at the overall construction of the facility and any additions to the building,” Myszak said.
Anything that's added onto a building can create issues for renovation work. When the firm decided to renovate the administration building for the Clark's Crossing project, Myszak said they were asked why they didn't choose the high school across the street instead.
“That building had five additions and eight different levels, and that just makes it more difficult to navigate,” Myszak said. “That's why we chose the administration building. It was one type of construction, no additions, and was basically a nice, level facility.”
Once the structure has been examined, teams can focus on actual renovation plans, discussing how many original features can be saved and to what extent historical integrity can be maintained.
“If buildings have been left to deteriorate, it's very hard to save those elements,” Myszak said. “It really just depends on what type of maintenance and upkeep has been done on the structure over the years. Some buildings may not be worth saving when you get into the structural issues.
“We'd love to save all of them.”
Myszak + Palmer was also involved in the renovation of the Hack & Simon Building, 1101 N. Third St., back in 2012. The property it sits on was once dotted with structures comprising a brewery complex and the Hack & Simon building, now headquarters of the Knox County Development Corp., served as the brewery owner's offices.
Tim Ellerman of Ellerman Construction Inc. worked on the renovation project with Myszak and Palmer and like the Clark's Crossing project, the goal was to maintain its original features. Walls were repaired and the existing trim was duplicated in places where it had deteriorated.
“We matched everything to the old,” Ellerman said.
All the original wavy-glass windows — a common feature in older structures — were kept in place and an addition that was tacked onto the building was torn off, revealing some brickwork that needed mending. That was done using some bricks left over when the other brewery buildings were demolished to ensure that it matched.
That brickwork is a unique feature of the building and can be traced back to the brewery owner, who commissioned its construction.
“Most of the brewery buildings were pretty much just plain Jane, but that building was different. [The owner] didn't want a building that looked like everything else,” Ellerman said. “That's where all the fancy brickwork came from and that's why it's all special.”
As crews work on renovating old buildings, they sometimes stumble upon some interesting discoveries. For example, during work on the Hack & Simon offices, crews recovered some old brewery bottles. And when the Brevoort Mansion was renovated, workers found a “fantastic” square piano that's likely original to the home, Myszak said.
What was unearthed during the renovation of the Bierhaus Center, 328 N. Second St., though, was a bit more groundbreaking.
As workers with Sievers Construction worked on the project back in 1998, the foundations of pioneer printer Elihu Stout's shop, where he started printing the Western Sun (ancestor of The Sun-Commercial) in 1807, were discovered.
Historians knew for years the approximate location of the shop, which was behind the Bierhaus Center, and that's why local historian Richard Day sometimes drove by the Bierhaus Center renovation project; he wanted to see how work was progressing.
One day as he passed by, he noticed that workers had unearthed what appeared to be a row of bricks. Mike Sievers of Sievers Construction stopped construction so that Day could excavate the site and he eventually uncovered the brick foundation of the back wall of the print shop, plus parts of the side walls. Once the stones were uncovered, they were taken to the recreated shop at the State Historic Sites, 1 W. Harrison St.
By discovering and investigating the stones, Day said two lingering questions about Stout's shop could finally be answered.
“One was whether the dimensions [of the recreated print shop] were accurate or not. Our restoration was based on an old photograph of the building taken around 1909, just before it fell down. We discovered that the original dimensions were pretty close to what we have,” Day said.
Historians had also wondered whether the print shop had a cast-iron stove with a chimney stack or a full-fledged fireplace. The stones that were discovered were hearth stones, meaning that the shop did indeed have a fireplace.
There are some definite perks of continuing to save old buildings when it's possible and plausible. From a practical standpoint, some of these old structures — like the former Ebner Ice Co. storage facility on Chestnut Street that's now VU's Ebner Hall — provide thousands of square footage for whatever new purpose they'll serve.
“One of the things that's nice about old buildings is the space. If the building has been well-built and you can go in there and pick up a lot of square footage, then it's worth repurposing,” said Phil Rath, VU's vice president for Financial Services and Government Relations.
Continuing to renovate and repurpose buildings is also beneficial to the community at large because people oftentimes have personal connections to them.
“If you look at Clark's Crossing, that's been a fine addition to the community. By saving that building and not demolishing it and creating a parking lot or flat space, we've saved the character and saved the memories,” Myszak said, “It's important to the community and to people who have lived here their whole lives or the people who come back for Homecoming.”
And Ellerman said preserving these buildings is important, too, because they're snapshots of how things were done and how structures were built years and years ago. Today, most people don't want to build with the “old look” because erecting modern structures is less costly and labor- and maintenance-intensive.
“It takes money to match individualism. You don't see old concepts coming back. Building with the old look is hardly done anymore,” he said. “No one wants to build something that's maintenance intensive and that makes sense, but as we look at trying to save these old buildings, they do give people a window into what they were doing back in time.”
Looking to the future, there's still a lengthy list of places that need some TLC. The Pantheon and New Moon theaters are on that list, as are the downtown loft spaces.
“We're looking at saving the buildings downtown that we can, repurposing those and trying to bring new businesses to Main Street,” Myszak said, who serves on INVin's board (the organization dedicated to revitalizing downtown). “There are some beautiful lofts downtown and we'd like to see them repurposed.”
Here's some history behind some buildings that have been repurposed over the years in Vincennes.
Built in 1885, this building housed the offices of the brewery's leadership.
The brewery had been run originally by John Ebner until it closed in 1870. He then leased the business out to various parties who proved unsuccessful in its management, according to “The History of Vincennes Bottling” by Bill Hopper.
German immigrant Eugene Hack (who served as director of German National Bank) and French immigrant Anton Simon (who, like Hack, served on the Vincennes Board of Trade) formed a partnership and rented the brewery, renaming it Hack & Simon Eagle Brewery, or just Eagle Brewery, depending on the source. Within two years, they had purchased the property and spent a large sum of money enlarging it. A number of new buildings were erected and the plant was “thoroughly modernized,” growing to large proportions, according to “Vincennes in Picture and Story,” compiled by J.P. Hodge and published in 1902.
At one point, it employed between 25 and 40 people and sold its products — chief beer brands were Elite, Export and Erlanger — over a radius of 100 miles or more in every direction.
The brewery covered two entire city blocks, represented an investment of $350,000 and was one of the most successful businesses in the city. The buildings were constructed of brick, trimmed in stone, and it was considered one of the best-looking breweries in the state, according to Hodge's book.
One picture in “The History of Bottling” proclaims that the company produced “the beer that boomed Vincennes.”
According to various sources, the brewery was up and running until Prohibition went into effect, after which the buildings were eventually sold.
In much more recent history, the remaining brewery buildings were demolished, leaving the brewery office that houses KCDC the last one standing. Vincennes University originally sought to have the building demolished and public outcry ensued, sparking an effort to save and renovate it. Thanks to grants and fundraising, including grants from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the Efroymson Family Fund, and the Bierhaus family the building was repurposed.
According to Hodge's publication, the Bierhaus Brothers wholesale grocery warehouse was established in 1890 by William C. and Edward Bierhaus, who were sons of Edward Bierhaus, senior, of E. Bierhaus & Sons. The brothers built the facility at the south corner of Second and Broadway streets (later occupied by several enterprises including a laundry business) and in fall 1891, the business was moved to north Second Street.
Over the next two years, the company grew so much that they decided to build the “mammoth” building at the corner of Second and Perry streets in 1900, according to Hodge. It was “a handsome brick structure,” with five stories and a basement. The building was “provided with a railroad switch, elevators, and every modern convenience for handling their immense traffic with ease and dispatch.” The structure was completed in 1901.
At the turn of the century, the two groups of the extended Bierhaus family were experiencing a bit of rivalry and were in competition with each other in the wholesale grocery business. In 1929, according to newspaper articles, the land occupied by E. Bierhaus & Sons' warehouse at First and Church streets was needed for what's now George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, so E. Bierhaus & Sons bought out Bierhaus Brothers and moved into the aforementioned “handsome brick structure” at Second and Perry.
Decades later, efforts began to repurpose the building and turn it into a modern medical-services complex.
News articles state that John Ebner started the company whose plant dates back to 1854, though Hodge's book states that the John Ebner Ice Co. was established in 1880 at the corner of Chestnut and Locus streets.
Upon his death in 1889, his son, John Ebner Jr., became the company's second president. Under him, the company began manufacturing ice and was likely the first in the state of Indiana to do so, according to several sources. Up to that point, cities and towns relied on ice cut during the winter months from lakes and ponds, which was then stored in sawdust to be used in the summer months.
John Ebner Jr. died in 1914 and was succeeded by Lawrence Ebner. In those days, the company operated ice plants at Carmi, Olney and Flora, Illinois, as well as Martinsville, Seymour and Washington. In 1917, the company built the five-story cold storage facility at 1200 W. Chestnut St. that contained 500,000 square feet and could store 135,000 bushels of apples.
The building utilized the most improved methods of refrigeration and had a system of ventilation and temperature control. Apples and cut peonies were primarily stored in the facility, according to “Vincennes University in Transition,” by Chelsea L. Lawlis.
In the 1960s, VU acquired the property and it has been transformed into Ebner Hall which, with additions, is now the university's Technology Center.
VINCENNES WATER SUPPLY CO.
The Vincennes Water Supply Company was formed around 1886. Its distinguishing feature was a standpipe that stood at 200 feet high, said to be the tallest structure of its kind in the world when it was completed, according to newspaper articles. It was 22 feet in diameter and had the capacity of 575,000 gallons.
A New York firm, the same firm that constructed the plant, owned and operated it until it was sold to the city in 1935. Fifteen years later, the city abandoned the site and built a new plant at the south edge of Vincennes.
Eventually the standpipe was demolished. Robert E. Green of Oaktown, a VU graduate and one of the country's “largest earth-moving contractors,” took charge of the abandoned site that was converted into the activities center that bears his name today. It stands at 120 W. Harrison St.
VINCENNES FOUNDRY AND MACHINE CO.
The white-brick structure that now houses the Medical Center of Vincennes, 406 N. First St., was once home to the Vincennes Foundry and Machine Co. According to local historian Richard Day, the company was started by Franklin Clarke, H.A. Buck and Dana Chapman and it became known as the Wabash Valley Foundry of Clarke and Buck (Chapman died in 1865 and his name was dropped from the company's moniker). The men were machinists from New York and in its early years the foundry produced things like steam engines, mills, fences (including the fence surrounding the Knox County Courthouse), pumps, pipes, kettles and cast-iron storefronts — many of which can still be seen along Main Street today.
The foundry was initially a wood-frame building that burned down in 1885 and was replaced by the current brick structure. The business stayed in operation until the 1960s, producing items such as sewer lids, periscopes for Sherman tanks during World War II and portable grills for barbecuing.
In 1984, the building was renovated and repurposed into the MCV.