Prairie House (predecessor of the Terre Haute House):
-Began in 1838.
-Built by Chauncey Rose.
-Same location as the recently demolished hotel.
-Called “Rose’s Folly” because people believed it to be “to far from town.”
-Highway 40 is rumored to have been “bent” by road crews to pass right by the hotel.
(see an aerial photo; there is a distinct bend in Wabash from that corner on)
-Said to have been abandoned and boarded up for about eight years. (until1849)
-Changed name to Terre Haute House in 1853.
Terre Haute House (1927-2005):
-Original Projected Cost: $800,000 (Terre Haute Tribune - Jan 27, 1928)
-Actual Cost: $1,000,000. (TH Trib – July 1, 1928)
-The Sandwich/Coffee Shop that so many remember on the corner of 7th and Wabash actually started on the northeast corner of the building. The corner of 7th and Wabash originally contained a Drug Store. The northeast corner eventually became the Pastel Room, another meeting and dining space.
-The original opening of the hotel was in fact delayed one or more times (TH Trib – June 16, 1928)
-The AAA Auto Club was not only located in the 1927 hotel, but in its predecessor as well. (The Saturday Spectator, Oct. 24, 1925)
-With 250 rooms, the 1927 hotel had “a bath in every room”...a new idea back then.
-In addition to all the service areas, the basement also contained a Billiard Parlor, Barber Shop, Shoe Shine Stand, and eventually part of a Men’s Suit Shop.
-Speaking of the basement, many didn’t know that it had a “hidden entrance” via a spiral staircase in the back of the Drug Store/Sandwich Shop on the corner of 7th and Wabash.
Was this staircase originally used during the Prohibition or was it simply a quicker route to store rooms? Will we ever know? And, yes, we have it on video prior to demolition—coming soon!
-This is not the first time that Dennis Trucking has been involved with the development of 7th and Wabash. They “Did the hauling of the sand and gravel and other materials used in the construction of the New (1927) Terre Haute House.” (TH Trib – July 1, 1928)
-Santarossa Mosaic and Tile Co., makers of the terrazo flooring for the 1927 structure, are still in business today—as are the William P. Jungclaus Construction Co. (now Jungclaus-Campbell), and William Hermann and Son. An ornamental plaster contractor at the time, Hermann and Son is now a custom furniture, cabinetry, and millwork company. All three companies are still located in Indianapolis.
-Prior to the addition of the Mayflower Room, the space behind the hotel was occupied by the main dining room called “The Room of Diane”; featuring a gold statue of Diane.
-The hotel pumped ice water to each and every guest room in addition to hot water.
-The guest bath tubs could be filled in one minute
-Reiman Lime and Cement Co. furnished approximately 50 train car loads of building materials.
-The hotel boasted “a telephone in every hotel room”; another new idea back then!
-Coincidently, the Statler Hotels (of Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Louis) took out an ad in the TH Tribune on opening day, boasting a “Radio in Every Room”!
-Rumored to have been the first hotel to have “pay toilets”, some say that this was to keep the “ladies of the night” out of the hotel!
-The TH Tribune of June 24, 1928 (one week before opening!) stated that the decorating of the lobby ceiling wasn’t yet complete and that the lobby would be furnished as soon as the trestles (scaffolds) were removed.
-Workmen completed furnishing the main lobby very late the night before the grand opening!
-Not quite ready on time, the Coffee Shop, The Barber Shop, and the Billiard Parlor opened later.
-The menu on Opening Night included: Celery, Stuffed Rose-apple, Salted Almonds, Mixed Olives, Lobster Delmonico, Essence of Chicken, Special Sherbet, Sliced Cucumber, Filet Mignon Bordelaise, Rissole Potatoes, Cauliflower Polonaise, Terre Haute Special Salad, Coffee, Tea, Milk, Form Ice Cream, and Petit Four.
-A dentist, J. Herbert Cusick, occupied one of the Wabash-facing store fronts. His name, on the interior hall windows, and although paneled over, was still visible in black and gold lettering from the inside of the former office space prior to demolition. (Video of this room is next on the video “to do” list!)
-The Mayflower Room ballroom utilized over 30 miles of electrical wiring and 48 circuits; substantial for 1936.
-The dance floor was made up of 31,000 individual pieces of wood.
-Miklos Gaspar, painter of the Mayflower Room’s Mural, also painted 40 murals for the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago. The Mayflower mural, though in very rough condition, has been rescued for future restoration.
-As of early 2006, Anna Gaspar, daughter of the famed muralist, is still alive and well and has been tracking the progress of the mural’s rescue and restoration.
-Eugene Romeo, sculptor of the plaster plaques that covered the north and south walls of the ballroom, also sculpted similar wall plaques for the Chicago Board of Trade, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Merchandise Mart, also of Chicago. The plaster plaques, being approximately 40 feet wide and 13 feet high, painted to look like bronze, and applied directly to the structural walls, could not be saved before demolition. Similarly to Gaspar’s mural, the plaques depicted the arrival of the Pilgrims in America. Most of the northern plaque had already fallen off the wall due to water damage. (see Haute Maison pics in archive) The southern plaque was, however, largely intact; only having lost some of its bronze-colored paint around the edges. (see our interior pics)
--A 1942 THH menu lists a "Cannibal Sandwich" made of RAW beef, RAW egg yolk, ANCHOVIES, and capers! Yummy, and ONLY 65 cents!
-The first half of the copper bar in the Marine Room was built by Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, makers of pool tables, billards, and bars for over 150 years. They are still in business today. This is the half of the bar that is now at the Copper Bar on Wabash.
-The second half of the copper bar in the Marine Room was built by Liquid Carbonic Company, makers of Soda Fountains in the early 20th century. It has been recently said that this half of the copper bar is now "on wheels" in the club house at the Hulman ranch across from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
