The Terminal Arcade, located on Wabash Avenue in downtown
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
, is a
Beaux-Arts building on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
since June 30, 1983.
The building originally served as the
Terre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern Traction Company
The Terre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern Traction Company, or THI&E, was the second largest interurban in the U.S. state of Indiana at the 1920s height of the "interurban era." This system included over of track, with lines radiating from Indi ...
interurban station, opening in 1911. It was built on the grounds of the former J. S. Evans and Sons, a bicycle shop. The end of the interurban age came on January 11, 1940, when the track between Terre Haute and
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
was closed, largely the result of automobiles making interurbans superfluous. From December 1, 1949, until 1972 the Arcade served as the city's union bus station.
[Terminal Arcade Facades (north & south), (sculpture)](_blank)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Accessed January 2, 2009
The Beaux-Arts building is made of
terra cotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
and brick. It has identical facades on its north and south sides, constructed of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and with
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
bases. Various designs carved upon the building include lions,
garland
A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance.
Etymology
From the ...
s, and fruits. The building itself was designed by
Daniel H. Burnham of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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; the facades were the work of Fred Edler and J. W. Quayle.
[ ''Note:'' This includes and ]
The other property in Terre Haute built by the Terre Haute, Indianapolis, and Eastern Traction Company was a power house at the corner of Mulberry and North Water. It was built in 1907 to power the interurbans the Terminal Arcade served, and the 457 miles of track the interurban ran upon. The 1907 lease, under the name of the Terre Haute Traction & Light Company, called for 999 years; interurbans were no more by 1940.
There have been threats to the Terminal Arcade. The mayor of Terre Haute
Pete Chalos proposed condemning the building. In 2004, during talks for building a new federal building in Terre Haute, one of the proposals would have included razing the Terminal Arcade and placing the new building on its site.
As of August 2022, a new
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
is scheduled to operate in the space, it's scheduled to open by late January 2023.
Notes
References
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Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana
Transport infrastructure completed in 1911
Beaux-Arts architecture in Indiana
1911 establishments in Indiana
Buildings and structures in Terre Haute, Indiana
National Register of Historic Places in Terre Haute, Indiana
Transportation buildings and structures in Vigo County, Indiana
Former railway stations in Indiana
Railway stations opened in 1911
Railway stations closed in 1940
Former bus stations
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