Historical/Biographical Sketch
Processed by
Barbara Quigley
3 June 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
1 folder |
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COLLECTION |
1989 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Charles Latham, Jr., North Thetford, Vermont, 24 April 1989 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. Credit line: Charles Latham, photographer. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
1987.0222, M 0550, Latham and Walters Records, 1921–1929. |
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ACCESSION |
1989.0427 |
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NOTES: |
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The firm of Latham and Walters was formed in 1909 by two contractors with training as engineers. Charles Latham (1881–1940), a native of Indianapolis, had graduated from the engineering school at Princeton University and had several years experience with the Moore-Mansfield Construction Co. Harrison Walters (ca.1878–1960) was born in Hendricks County and graduated from Purdue University.
During the next eighteen years, the firm specialized in commercial and industrial buildings, but also built two important residences, those of auto magnate James A. Allison (ca. 1910) and banker Stoughton A. Fletcher (ca. 1915). The two largest commercial projects were the track elevations at Union Station in Indianapolis in 1917–19 (which also involved building all of the present Union Station except the original waiting room) and the New Indiana Reformatory at Pendleton (1923). The firm also built two churches, the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer (ca. 1922) and the Woodruff Place Baptist Church (1926). The firm constructed several warehouses, including a large one for the Holliday Steel Co. (1925), the Pres-O-Lite factory at Speedway, and workshops for Crown Hill Cemetery and for the Pennsylvania Railroad at Richmond, Ind.
The partnership was dissolved in 1927. Walters bought the firm and changed its name to Walters Engineering Co. After doing minor jobs for Union Station, the Marmon Company, and the School for the Blind, Walters became a consultant, working for the Russell B. Moore Co. and then Alden-Meranda. Latham continued work as Charles Latham, Builder. He specialized in residential work, and built homes for Eli Lilly, Nicholas H. Noyes, Herbert M. Woollen, C. Willis Adams, and Bowman Elder. Among several remodeling jobs the most important were on the residences of J. K. Lilly and J. K. Lilly, Jr. (on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art).
Sources:
Adams, Hilary and Charles Latham. Collection guide for Latham and Walters Records, 1921–1929. Manuscript Collection: M 0550
Woodruff Place Baptist Church. “Woodruff Place History” (http://www.woodruffplacebaptist.org/history.shtml). Accessed 3 May 2004.
This collection consists of ten 5”x7” black-and-white photographs of buildings constructed or remodeled by either the Latham and Walters firm or the Charles Latham, Builder firm in Indianapolis. Most of the photographs are of large houses. Two are of churches, and there is one of an industrial building. These buildings were constructed or remodeled during the period of 1916 to 1932. The photographs were all taken by Charles Latham, Jr., in 1989.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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C. Willis Adams house (original owner), Pennsylvania Street at Williams Creek. Willard Oslar, architect. Built ca. 1930–32. |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
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Nicholas H. Noyes house, south end of Sunset Lane. Fred Wallick, architect. Built ca. 1929. |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
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Robert B. Failely house (two photographs), 57 West 57th Street. Willard Oslar, architect. Built ca. 1927–28. |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
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Eli Lilly house, 5807 Sunset Lane. Robert Frost Daggett, architect. Built ca. 1932. |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
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Herbert M. Woollen house, Golden Hill, Totem Lane and Spring Hollow Road. Lee Burns, architect. Built ca. 1930–31. |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
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Oldfields (on the grounds of Indianapolis Museum of Art), 38th Street and Michigan Road. Hugh McKay Landon was original owner; built in 1912. Remodeled for J.K. Lilly, Jr., by Charles Latham, ca. 1932. |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
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Stokely Van Camp (a.k.a. Steinhart Building), North Meridian Street. Built ca. 1916–20. |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
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Woodruff Place Baptist Church, 1739 East Michigan Street. Built in 1926. |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
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Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3421 North Park Avenue. Built ca. 1922. |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, P 0425).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.