Claypool Hotel records
Collection
Identifier: L325
Scope and Contents
The collection primarily consists of the records of W. Bryan Karr, general manager, and his staff at the Claypool Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana, ranging from 1943 to 1967, regarding the hotel, its business, operations, and renovations, as well as Karr's involvement in civic events and organizations in the city, as well as professional organizations and the National Hotel Company of Galveston, Texas, which owned the Claypool. Karr’s correspondence with the National Hotel Company staff concerns hotel finances, auditing procedures, supplies, and construction work. Other correspondence included letters, postcards, memos, and notes from hotel patrons, suppliers, advertisers, hotel staff, and other hotel owners regarding hotel business.
The collection also contains reports, blueprints, memos, menus, directories, signs, pamphlets, ephemera, and other materials used in the running of the Claypool Hotel. Additionally, the collection contains correspondence regarding hotel renovations and the installation of new furnishings that occurred in the 1950s, as well as papers relating to the rental of office, display space in the hotel by airlines and other businesses, and papers regarding the Indianapolis 500 Festival.
There are a few oversize materials such as an undated, hand-drawn map of downtown Indianapolis; a "march order" pamphlet for the 1958 Indianapolis 500 parade; and numerous blueprints (1952-1959) (OBD068).
The collection also contains reports, blueprints, memos, menus, directories, signs, pamphlets, ephemera, and other materials used in the running of the Claypool Hotel. Additionally, the collection contains correspondence regarding hotel renovations and the installation of new furnishings that occurred in the 1950s, as well as papers relating to the rental of office, display space in the hotel by airlines and other businesses, and papers regarding the Indianapolis 500 Festival.
There are a few oversize materials such as an undated, hand-drawn map of downtown Indianapolis; a "march order" pamphlet for the 1958 Indianapolis 500 parade; and numerous blueprints (1952-1959) (OBD068).
Dates
- 1943-1967
Creator
- Claypool Hotel (Indianapolis, Ind.) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Historical Note
On May 17, 1903, the Claypool Hotel opened at the corner of Illinois and Washington streets in Indianapolis, Indiana. Henry W. Lawrence built the hotel to replace the historic Bates House on behalf of the owner, Connersville millionaire Edward Faye Claypool. Construction took two years and the new hotel occupied the land where Thomas Carter’s tavern, constructed in 1822, and Bates House, built in 1853, once stood. The enormous building contained a water works plant, electric light plant, telephone system, fire protection system, pumping station, ice making plant, mechanical refrigeration system, steam laundry, Turkish bath, swimming pool, and barber shop. The water was pumped from two 500-foot wells drilled under the hotel, where it was filtered and purified by an air compressor. The lobby, purportedly the largest in the United States, was designed by Frank Andrews. The hotel's 450 guest rooms were elegantly furnished, and unique meeting rooms were noted for their size. It also had dining rooms, a restaurant, ground floor cafe, and ladies' cafe, a rooftop garden, and an assembly hall, which seated 1100 people, making it a popular choice to host conventions and meetings. The Claypool Hotel’s proximity to the Indiana Statehouse ensured its use as a headquarters for both political parties and as a site for political gatherings. When celebrities visited Indianapolis during the early 20th century, the Claypool was the place to stay or reside. Numerous retailers rented spaces in the hotel, including a newsstand, drugstore, tailor, railroad ticket office, and women's clothing store. The hotel expanded to the west in 1914, adding 400-600 rooms and remodeling some public spaces.
The hotel was later owned by the Indiana Hotel Company, with Lawrence as president until his death in 1926. Charles A. Kepner, Lawrence's assistant, assumed the management duties of the Claypool shortly before his employer's death. In 1939, Arthur V. Brown became preseident of the company while George G. Cunningham served as general manager. The hotel's condition and reputation, declined during World War II. On August 28, 1943, Maoma L. Ridings, a member of the Women's Army Corps stationed at Camp Atterbury, was found murdered with a wine bottle in Room 729 and her murderer was never found. That same year, the National Hotel Company from Galveston, Texas acquired the hotel. By the end of the war, the hotel had gained a poor reputation in Indiana for being outdated and dirty. In 1948, the hotel began a decades-long rehabilitation--renovating its rooms, updating its systems, and overhauling the lobby--to turn business around. In the late 1940s, W. Bryan Karr became the hotel's general manager. In 1954, the hotel again became notorious as the site of another grisly murder when the body of 18-year-old Dorothy Poore was found stuffed into a dresser drawer in a sixth floor room. Finally, on June 23, 1967, an arsonist (and janitor) Walter A. Evans set a fire in a fourth-floor utility closet. Despite the fire being confined to the utility area, water from firefighting efforts heavily damaged more than 800 rooms and flooded the lobby. The hotel closed for repairs, but rather than restoring the historic hotel, the owners closed the building, hoping to build a new hotel on the site. Legal issues with the first-floor retail tenants led to a two-year delay and the Claypool was demolished in 1969.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
"Arthur V. Brown Heads Claypool." Indianapolis Star, January 6, 1939. Accessed January 17, 2025. ProQuest.
Browne, Tiffany Benedict. "How the Claypool Hotel Began." HistoricIndianapolis.com, May 15, 2019. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://historicindianapolis.com/how-the-claypool-hotel-began.
Donnelly, Cathleen F. "Claypool Hotel." Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, revised February 2021. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://indyencyclopedia.org/claypool-hotel.
Kamm, Jeff. "At Your Leisure: The Downfall of a Landmark." HistoricIndianapolis.com, January 30, 2015. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://historicindianapolis.com/at-your-leisure-the-downfall-of-a-landmark.
"Lawrence, Claypool Head, Dies." Indianapolis Times, January 13, 1926. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://newspapers.library.in.gov.
The hotel was later owned by the Indiana Hotel Company, with Lawrence as president until his death in 1926. Charles A. Kepner, Lawrence's assistant, assumed the management duties of the Claypool shortly before his employer's death. In 1939, Arthur V. Brown became preseident of the company while George G. Cunningham served as general manager. The hotel's condition and reputation, declined during World War II. On August 28, 1943, Maoma L. Ridings, a member of the Women's Army Corps stationed at Camp Atterbury, was found murdered with a wine bottle in Room 729 and her murderer was never found. That same year, the National Hotel Company from Galveston, Texas acquired the hotel. By the end of the war, the hotel had gained a poor reputation in Indiana for being outdated and dirty. In 1948, the hotel began a decades-long rehabilitation--renovating its rooms, updating its systems, and overhauling the lobby--to turn business around. In the late 1940s, W. Bryan Karr became the hotel's general manager. In 1954, the hotel again became notorious as the site of another grisly murder when the body of 18-year-old Dorothy Poore was found stuffed into a dresser drawer in a sixth floor room. Finally, on June 23, 1967, an arsonist (and janitor) Walter A. Evans set a fire in a fourth-floor utility closet. Despite the fire being confined to the utility area, water from firefighting efforts heavily damaged more than 800 rooms and flooded the lobby. The hotel closed for repairs, but rather than restoring the historic hotel, the owners closed the building, hoping to build a new hotel on the site. Legal issues with the first-floor retail tenants led to a two-year delay and the Claypool was demolished in 1969.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
"Arthur V. Brown Heads Claypool." Indianapolis Star, January 6, 1939. Accessed January 17, 2025. ProQuest.
Browne, Tiffany Benedict. "How the Claypool Hotel Began." HistoricIndianapolis.com, May 15, 2019. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://historicindianapolis.com/how-the-claypool-hotel-began.
Donnelly, Cathleen F. "Claypool Hotel." Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, revised February 2021. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://indyencyclopedia.org/claypool-hotel.
Kamm, Jeff. "At Your Leisure: The Downfall of a Landmark." HistoricIndianapolis.com, January 30, 2015. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://historicindianapolis.com/at-your-leisure-the-downfall-of-a-landmark.
"Lawrence, Claypool Head, Dies." Indianapolis Times, January 13, 1926. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://newspapers.library.in.gov.
Extent
2.3 Cubic Feet (6 manuscript boxes, 1 small manuscript box, 1 extra-large oversize folder)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1: Administrative records, 1947-1967, undated
Series 2: Hotel building records, 1943-1960, undated
Series 1: Administrative records, 1947-1967, undated
Series 2: Hotel building records, 1943-1960, undated
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from the Claypool Hotel, 1969/05.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection reprocessed 2011/12 by Brent Abercrombie. Finding aid created 2011/12 by Brent Abercrombie. EAD finding aid created 2018/05/02 by Lauren Patton. Collection reprocessing completed 2025/02/05 by Brittany Kropf. EAD finding aid revised 2025/02/05 by Brittany Kropf.
- Advertising
- American Hotel Association
- Blueprints
- Buildings -- Repair and reconstruction
- Buildings -- Repair and reconstruction
- Business enterprises
- Business enterprises -- Indiana
- Business enterprises -- Indiana -- Indianapolis
- Congresses and conventions
- Congresses and conventions -- Indiana
- Construction
- Correspondence
- Democratic Party (Ind.)
- Directories
- Eastern Air Lines
- Ephemera
- Financial statements
- Greyhound Lines, Inc.
- Hotels
- Indiana Hotel Association
- Indiana State Teachers Association
- Indianapolis (Ind.)
- Indianapolis Speedway Race
- Indians (Baseball team : Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Insurance
- Menus
- Newsletters
- Republican Party (Ind.)
- Restaurants -- Indiana
- Stores, Retail
Creator
- Claypool Hotel (Indianapolis, Ind.) (Organization)
- Title
- Claypool Hotel records
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
