Terre Haute House - Salvaging Some Things, Landfilling The Balance

Salvaging Some Things, Landfilling The Balance

Many local residents were appalled by the demolition of the Terre Haute House, but with the end in sight, efforts turned to saving as much of what was inside the buildings as possible. Having been largely empty for more than 35 years, much of the interior and exterior of the Terre Haute House were, not surprisingly, in an advanced state of decay. Greg Gibson, the new owner, and the demolition team worked with the Vigo County Historical Society and other interested parties to save some historically significant items within the hotel and neighboring buildings.

Here is a list of what was removed:

• The bar that was originally located in the Marine Room. Clad in copper, it is shown in several old photos of the Marine Room and was quite shiny in its heyday. After undergoing restoration, one half of this bar has been installed in a new tavern that occupies the former Frog's Bistro across Wabash Avenue from the old hotel. Fittingly, the new establishment will be called "The Copper Bar". The other half is rumored to be in a private home in Terre Haute, but this cannot be verified.
• The marble countertop from the hotel's front desk. Current whereabouts unknown.
• The Mayflower Room's mural, which is to be restored by local artists, although it is undecided where the restored mural will be placed.
• The stone eagle from the Fort Harrison Savings & Loan building. The Tribune-Star reported that it was given to the Hulman family.
• Two grand pianos. Both grand pianos, a Kimball and Chickering and Sons, are now in private ownership and planned for complete restoration.

It also appears that many other valuable and historically significant items were destroyed with the hotel. Each room contained a cast iron radiator, and a bathroom with a glass-shelved medicine cabinet, a porcelain pedestal-type sink, a porcelain tub, and a Starr Brown bottle opener with corkscrew. Shell-shaped glass light fixtures adorned the bathrooms, and square glass fixtures were still present in the bedrooms. Hundreds of varnished hardwood doors, a lobby full of solid walnut panelling and lots of marble were also mixed with the rubble. The basement still contained cooking utensils, china, pots, pans, and machinery at the time of demolition. An antique drill press and other tools were still present in the basement, as well as keys to all of the rooms.