There persists a misunderstanding that Evansville’s iconic Bell building was rotated 90 degrees during a remodeling project. Alas, that 1930 architectural feat should be attributed to the now-AT&T building in Indianapolis. Although the River City’s Bell Telephone Company building Downtown didn’t pivot to a new position, it still has an interesting history.
The corner of Fifth and Vine streets prior to 1929 housed a saloon and several other small buildings, and behind it at Sixth and Vine stood the Adath Israel Jewish synagogue and the United Hebrew Institute. The Bell Telephone Company was located on Sycamore Street near Second Street. Having merged with Indiana Bell, the company decided to construct a new building at Fifth and Vine, rising four stories with a beautiful ornamentation along the roof line. Designed by the Indianapolis firm Vonnegut, Bohn and Mueller — featuring work by Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s father — the new building was completed in 1930 and stood as a gleaming example of the then-popular Art Deco design.
Telephone service expanded rapidly after World War II as Evansville witnessed its largest residential building boom in history. Indiana Bell decided it needed more space, so three more floors were added in 1956-57; exterior starburst vents indicate the original four stories. Sadly, the new modern design replaced the decorative cornice with the 1950s streamlined look seen today, but Art Deco elements were kept and the limestone-clad façade — apart from half a floor of granite visible on the ground level exterior — remains a testimony to Evansville’s 1920s building boom. Evansville’s Indiana Bell building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
At Sixth and Vine, the old synagogue was vacated in 1955 when Adath Israel moved to a more modern building on Washington Avenue (itself now demolished). The old synagogue was demolished in 1968, and six years later, the Indiana Bell building again expanded with a Brutalist addition that resembles what some at the time called “East German deco.” The parking garage at Sycamore and Sixth was completed the block in 1999.
Another Downtown building experienced a similar growth spurt. At Sixth and Main streets across from the Victory Theatre, the former American Trust and Savings Bank — now home to VPS Architecture — began its life in 1904 as a two-story, highly ornamented building. Designed by popular architect Clifford Shopbell — whose namesake firm’s work can be seen in Downtown structures like the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Bitterman Building — two additional floors were added in 1913 and the decorative cornice was thankfully saved and moved to the new roofline. The bank failed during the Great Depression, but the building is a beautiful reminder of what Evansville looked like in the early 20th Century.
The next time you are Downtown, walk around these two buildings and take in the craftsmanship that went into making them what we see today. It’s worth your time.
