THE BUSY CORNER OF 9TH AND MAIN

 

I live in an historic neighborhood near downtown. I like to think I have a fair idea of what my neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods were once like, and while I do have a fair grasp of the "historic facts" of my neighborhood, what I really lack is understanding the "flavor".  I can imagine to some degree what it looked like, based in large part on what has survived, but what about the "flavor", what did it sound like, or smell like? In short, what did it feel like?   We talk a lot about historic preservation, and that's a positive thing, but I thought it might be fun to see if I can paint a bit of a flavor photo of a certain corner not far from where I live.  

This is the northeast corner of 9th and Main st. about 1950

The northeast corner of 9th and Main looked much the same for 100 years.  The history surrounding that corner is full of flavor.  The Heinmiller Grocery Company was located in that frame building from mid 1890's until October 11, 1951.  A fact, but not really much "flavor" .  The interesting thing about that corner is that a bit of investigation leads us to all kinds of stories.  We can be led to the Perrin Avenue neighborhood where business partners built new homes side by side, or we can look at German immigrants Adolph Schwarm, a native of Bavaria, who arrived in NYC from Hamburg, Germany on June 5th, 1871 and John J Heinmiller who arrived in America in 1872.  Want to go a little farther afield and I can tie that corner to a couple of different (but related) forms of transportation, and finally, how about some good old fashioned religion? 

                                   From the 1885 Lafayette, Indiana Sanborn Fire Insurance Map

Maybe it will be best to begin at (or near) the beginning for that corner.  Lafayette began development near the river and gradually development moved eastward toward the hills. The building in the above photo was constructed in 1851 for a Universalist church but from 1861 to 1892 it served as the German Reformed Church with a residence at the rear for a parsonage and an adjoining wing to the east for a parochial school.  About ten to fifteen feet were added to the front of the structure when it became a grocery store.  The first store was  a partnership between two young German immigrants, John J. Heinmiller and his friend Adolph Schwarm. The Schwarm & Heinmiller firm actually began in the building at the north west corner of 10th and Main about 1881.  

I called the business partners "friends" and I don't honestly know that for sure, but I do know that Schwarm and Heinmiller built two new homes on Perrin Avenue at 613 and 625 next door to one another.  The Italianate style homes were built in 1884 and Schwarm and Heinmiller raised their families in those homes and lived in them the rest of their lives.  In 1906 The Schwarm and Heinmiller partnership was dissolved and Schwarm opened another grocery near 8th and Main while Heinmiller remained at 9th and Main.  Eventually John Heinmiller was joined in the business by his son Otto.

The German Reformed congregation sold the building at 9th and Main after they completed construction of an imposing new brick church at the southwest corner of tenth and Ferry.  More on that building to follow.  

As I said earlier, 9th and Main was once a happening place and part of the activity at that intersection was due to the fact that the routes of several Lafayette Street railway system all connected to the Street Railway Barn which was located on the north side of Ferry street between 9th and 10th streets so many of the city's street cars passed 9th and Main several times each day.  Not only that, but in addition two different interurban lines served Lafayette and one of those lines came down Main Street Hill to 9th St. and made a right turn onto 9th street.  The Interurban cars, like the street cars, were both electric but think of the Interurban cars as being larger with a much more formal decor inside...more like the lounge car on the railroad vs a more standard passenger car.  

1920 Indiana Railroad and Interurban lines shown in red. 

The late David W Chambers who grew up in West Lafayette had more than 20 years of personal history with our Lafayette Street Cars  and later wrote a history of the Lafayette Street Railway system. He was great at painting some of that flavor I spoke of.  He and his mother often rode a trolly from their home on Salisbury to Central Presbyterian Church.  He recalled the hot summer Sunday mornings when they rode the colorful little street cars to and from church.  The cars all got a fresh coat of paint every Summer.  "how fresh and clean the newly painted car would smell and what a colorful sight to behold.  The lower body was painted bright yellow, the upper portion was cream and the roof and window sashes were cherry red, the motorman wore a dark and light blue uniform that contrasted the bright yellow."   Chambers also described what it felt like and smelled like inside one of the cars.  "street cars had their own distinctive odors, which besides fresh paint in the summer included hot brake shoes, oiled wooden floors, wicker seats and the ozone from hot electric motors.  Until 1929 State Street was paved with wooden creosote blocks and on a hot summer day with all the windows open that odor joined the others."

"At Ninth and Main I could view a lengthy interurban just arriving from Indianapolis. These were magnificent traveling parlors over 50 feet long, but they were formidable looking with big sweeping cow-catchers and projecting headlights.  Cautiously these interurbans would round the sharp curve at Ninth and Main, their green bodies coming precariously close to the wooden sidewalk awning in front of Heinmiller's Grocery.  If an interurban had weak right springs, the body would rub the awning boards loose, and a repairman from the car barn would have to do some prompt re-nailing.  As the interurban negotiated the turn the heavy electric motors would arc, flash and pop, suggesting lightning."  The last interurban came down the East Main Street hill in 1930. The City street cars remained in service until April 1940.  

John Heinmiller retired in 1933 and died at age 88 of injuries suffered in an auto accident.  His son Otto remained in the grocery business at the same location until Oct 8, 1951.  In December 1954 the building was demolished to make room for a 30 car parking lot.   Paul Heinmiller, brother of Otto had a lifelong career with Fairfield manufacturing eventually working his way up to become President of the company. 

                                   December 16, 1954, Lafayette Journal and Courier

The brick church that was built in on the opposite corner of this block to replace this frame building actually did not last much longer than this much older building.  Following several mergers the congregation purchased land just north of Cary Home on South 18th Street. The building at 10th and Ferry was gone before 1960.  In some ways the same forces were at work in the loss of both of those buildings.  The church building at 10th and Ferry had no extra parking space so parking for Sunday services and events was all "on street" parking. In short, the rise of the automobile in American life drove a need for more parking space and a lot of our historic buildings were lost to create that parking.