Long Description:
From the National Road
"http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/10423/stories/64671">web
site:
"From trail way to highway, the Historic National Road through
Indiana has seen tremendous change and growth over the centuries.
Spanning the breadth of the state, the Historic National Road
follows Highway 40 right through the heart of Indiana and its
capital, Indianapolis, the Byway's largest city. Travel the
Historic National Road today to experience Indiana, past and
present."
The plaque on the side of the building reads:
"When constructed in 1905, the Ayres Building was the first
modern, fireproof department store in the city. Located at 1 West
Washington Street and designed by the local architectural firm of
Vonnegut & Bohn, the store was enlarged in 1914, 1928, and
1946. Founder Lyman S. Ayres (1824-1896) had been a leading dry
goods retailer in the state since opening his first store on
Washington Street in 1872. A family owned business for three
generations, the department store founded many of the great
traditions of downtown Indianapolis, such as the Ayres Tea Room,
Santa Land, the Ayres Clock, and the Christmas cherub. L. S. Ayres
& Company vacated its historic headquarters in 1992. The
building was rehabilitated and integrated into Circle Centre."
From the Lost Indiana
"http://www.lostindiana.net/html/crown_hill__ls_ayres.html">web
site:
"Before suburban shopping malls, indeed, before automobiles, the
Ayers family department store anchored the retail center of
Indianapolis.
Lyman S. Ayers was born in Oswego, New York on September 4,
1824. In 1843 he followed the population movement westward, opening
a series of stores in Ohio, bringing goods from New York into the
midwest. Expanding his empire, he purchased the Trade Palace store
in Indianapolis which stood at 26 West Washington Street. For
several years he stayed in New York as the buyer for the store,
moving to Indianapolis in 1874.
Lyman continued to grow his company, expanding to 33 West
Washington a few years later. By the mid 1890s the company had
outgrown this location, too, and Lyman purchased the land at the
southwest corner of Washington and Meridian streets for a grand new
facility.
Unfortunately, Lyman would not see his dream come to reality, as
he died on May 7, 1896. His son, Frederic M. Ayers, would take over
the company and build the new store in 1905.
The original building was 8 stories tall, with the
administrative staff occupying the top floor. In these early days,
goods purchased and shipped in from outside of town were expensive
and slow to arrive. Like many large department stores of the time,
Ayers actually built or constructed many of the items it sold.
Complete floors were devoted to the construction of picture frames
and cabinets and another to hundreds of dressmakers who assembled
both custom creations and the racks of ready-to-wear dresses on
sale below. Most of the rest of the store was sales floor, with the
basement reserved for economy items, markdowns, and a large soda
fountain.
As the city expanded into the suburbs, so too would Ayers,
becoming an anchor of the new Glendale Center in 1958. Under the
leadership of Lyman S. Ayers II, who took over the company in 1954,
there would eventually be 10 stores open around the city and state.
Ayres diversified in 1961 with the creation of Ayr-Way Stores, a
discount operation designed to compete with K-Mart which lasted
until its sale to Target Stores in the early 1980s.
By the early 1970s, the department store landscape in
Indianapolis was crowded, and downtown shopping in serious decline.
The Associated Dry Goods Company acquired LS Ayers and Ayr-Way in
1972, operating both as separate divisions. In 1986 the May Company
of St. Louis purchased L. S. Ayers and Company.
Despite loosing over $2 million on the downtown store in 1988,
the May Company signed up to become an anchor for the proposed
Circle Center Mall. After years of delays, they were finally forced
to close the facility in January of 1992. Many of the historical
items were put in storage, including the cherub that appeared over
the corner of Washington and Meridian each Christmas and 120 years
of L. S. Ayers downtown came to an end."