Early Hammond / Hohman Avenue
Broken Corner - Hammond, Indiana - Hohman Avenue

Hohman Avenue - 1890 -  Looking southwest from the Monon Railroad tracks toward Broken Corner and the future site of the Courthouse. The intersection in the middle of the picture is State Street. (Until 1930, this street was known as Indiana Street.) The large three story building at center-right is the site of the Indiana Hotel. A sign on this structure advertises "STOVES", a needed commodity for new homes. The house in the lower left has a wooden sidewalk covering the drainage ditch on the east side of Hohman Avenue. Some electrical lines have been installed and you can see horse drawn wagons using the dirt street. Two pedestrians stand in the middle of Hohman Avenue at the center of the picture. On the very extreme lower left, a woman stands outside at the right of the door waiting for a "coach". For years, this location was known as a coach or bus stop.

Some  years later, after the woman was waiting for her "coach" in the 1890 photograph, buses continued to visit the same spot just north of the Indiana Hotel and the intersection of Hohman Avenue and State Street. The Greyhound Bus Station eventually ended up on State Street, halfway between Hohman Avenue and State Line.

Hohman Avenue 1890 - Looking north toward "Broken Corner". The tall man in the dark outfit (extreme right) can be seen standing on the sidewalk smoking a long-stem pipe while two others (one leaning against the light post and the other holding the reins to the horses) chat and get caught up on the news. On the left, two women walk a young child. The building on the left of Hohman Avenue with the bay window on the second floor, may be seen again in the picture (three down) taken from the top of the Hammond Building.

Some of these buildings, besides the Courthouse, can be seen in other photographs of this area. On the right, above the horses, is a billboard for Jones Business College. That billboard can be seen in a photo of The Hammond Building (Fox Men's Wear)...

The small posters pasted  on the side of the wooden building at the far right, advertise events for June 8 and June 9 suggesting this picture may have been taken in late spring.

 

 

 

Around the corner: This scene from a 1908 photograph is looking north on Hohman Avenue. The "Jones Business College" sign links this image to the one above.  The Hammond Building (for years known as Fox Men's Wear) is on the northwest corner of Hohman Avenue and Fayette Street. The fence at the extreme lower right was in front of Central High School. It had a public drinking fountain  for thirsty  horses. The street was used primarily for horse drawn buggies and wagons.

This photo was taken from atop the Hammond Building looking southwest at Broken Corner. The small building in the left center has a billboard ad for Harry Minas retail store, soon to become the finest in the Midwest. At the top of the photo you can see the outline of a large barn, suggesting that much of the land around Hammond was still in cultivation and operated as farmland. (Harrison Park at this time was a cow pasture.)

  The last windmill in downtown Hammond is seen in this old family picture. On the right center is the outline of the Hammond Building on Hohman Avenue and Fayette Street. The other buildings have not been identified yet but the windmill shows the proximity to the growing Hammond business district. Photo: circa 1909-1910.

 

One of the many photographers who came to downtown Hammond to preserve the city's history.  The men are facing east, in the direction of the Central High School, just across Hohman Avenue from the Courthouse at Broken Corner.

Photographers represented newspapers and post card publishers who used the post card images to circulate the notion that Hammond was a civil community, an enterprising business community, with good schools and other cultural amenities.

Images were made on glass plate negatives and were of high resolution. Central High School was a favorite subject of visiting photographers.

This may be the image of Central High School that the photographer saw in his camera.

 

  

 

 

This photograph was taken from the tower of the Courthouse at Broken Corner and looks South on Hohman Avenue. The tall spire of the German Lutheran Church rises above the businesses and homes at left center. The M.E. Church can be seen at the left center edge of this photograph.

You may "click" on underlined text to see a photo of each building but you will have to use your "Back" key to return here.

 

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