J. C. Penney Co., Northwest Quadrant, Monument Circle, Indianapolis, 1951

Description:	J. C. Penney Co., Northwest Quadrant, Monument Circle, Indianapolis, 1951[HISTORY: Inside this building are the remains of the 1950 J.C. Penney Co. department store building, the Circle’s controversial first Modern building. The Chicago architectural powerhouse of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill designed the Penney building with a blank limestone arced curtain wall and fenestration at the base and top for display and offices. The business occupied the building from 1950 to 1981, with other retailers such as Woolworth on the first floor. In 1982 the curved stone curtain wall and other exteriors were removed and replaced by a more conventional brick and tinted black glass façade. BUILDING DESCRIPTION: Although it has been remodeled multiple times, the building retains its arc which follows the arc of Monument Circle. The third and present façade of granite and glass was designed by local firm Ratio Architects in 1990-91, with a fourth floor penthouse added to increase floor space. Ratio’s design won the 1992 citation award of the Indiana Society of Architects and the Monumental Award. SIGNIFICANT FEATURES: The same gray-and-brown finish on the Market Tower building is found here, creating consistency between the buildings even though they are designed very differently. The Post-Modern design echoes the former English Opera House and Hotel which historically stood on this site, with two end towers, colonnade of piers, and abstracted entablature. LOST ARCHITECTURE: Construction of the J.C. Penney building resulted from the controversial demolition of English’s Opera House and Hotel, a City landmark which occupied the entire northwest quadrant of the Circle. Col. William H. English, a Democratic politician on the national stage, and his son built the Opera House and Hotel in phases from 1880 to 1897, modeling the theater after the New York Grand Opera House. The building met its demise in 1948. -Monument Circle District Historic Preservation Plan, Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission p. 100] Yes [refaced]
Origin:	1951
Created By:	McLaughlin, H. Roll
Source:	http://iuidigital.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p17312coll4/id/358
Collection:	Indiana Landmarks H. Roll McLaughlin Collection
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Indiana Landmarks. Copyright permissions granted for educational use by Indiana Landmarks
Geography:	Washington Street- Monument Circle Historic District Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/4259418/, 39.7690282 -86.1582826 Indianapolis Marion Indiana 39.7690282 -86.1582826
Subjects:	Built Environment Historic buildings -- Indiana Architecture -- Indiana commercial Mid-Century Modernist

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