Department of Commerce Building

York & Sawyer

Building a Nation - Indiana Limestone Photograph Collection

A previously unknown collection of over 25,000 black and white architectural photographs were discovered in a dilapidated house owned by the Indiana Limestone Company in Bedford, Indiana. These images of residences, churches, universities, museums, businesses, and public and municipal buildings, many of which were designed by prominent architects, document the use of Indiana limestone throughout the United States from the late 1800s to mid-1900s. Remarkably holistic in scope, these photographs and their accompanying metadata can be studied across major disciplines such as American history, architectural history, history of technology, urban studies, history of photography, historic preservation, labor history, and the history of geology. The Indiana Geological Survey, the custodian of the Indiana Limestone Photograph Collection, in partnership with the Indiana University Libraries has been cataloging, digitizing, archiving, and publishing online a growing subset of the photographs thanks to funding provided by Indiana University’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research and an LSTA grant awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Indiana State Library.

Image

Department of Commerce Building Public Deposited

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Description

Architect Louis Ayres was appointed by York & Sawyer to design this building. Currently named Herbert C. Hoover Building

Location

Coordinates: 38.893886, -77.033148
Street Address: 1401 Constitution Ave NW

ILCO ID

DC6856_13_0

Caption

Cut Stone Contractor: Indiana Limestone Company*
General Contractor: Consolidated Engineering Co.
Photographer/Studio: Commercial Photo Co., 1115 Eye St NW, Wash DC
Caption: *Group #2
Date of Photograph: 5/8/31

City

Washington DC

Filename

VAC5094-04867

Subject

Stone carving
Construction
Stone walls
Details
Windows
Doors & doorways
Arches

State

Title

Department of Commerce Building

Architect

York & Sawyer

Physical Description

Kind of Stone: Select Buff, Standard Buff & Variegated
Quantity (cu. ft) and Finish: 639,000

Negative Number

Persistent URL

http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/images/VAC5094/VAC5094-04867

Source Metadata Identifier

VAC5094-04867

Holding Location

Bloomington - Indiana Geological and Water Survey
Geology Building
1001 E. 10th St.
Bloomington, IN 47405
Contact at igsacm@iu.edu, 812-855-7636

Campus

IU Bloomington

Building Date

1929-1930

Relationships

In Collection:

Building a Nation - Indiana Limestone Photograph Collection

Items

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Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Visibility	Actions
	VAC5094-04867.tif	2024-07-30	Public	Download