Wallace Block (Kettlehut Building)
| Dates: | 1869, 1893 / 1949 /1983-1984 |
| Location: | Northwest corner Fourth and Ferry Streets, Lafayette, Indiana |
The Wallace Block (1893) and the adjacent Wallace Building (1869) are located at the northwest corner of Fourth and Ferry Streets in Lafayette, across from the Downtown Post Office and the former Hotel Fowler. These buildings have an interesting and eventful history.
In 1864, William Wallace & Bro., a plumbing and gas-fitting company, was established by William and James B. Wallace. About the same time William Wallace was named superintendent of the Lafayette Gas Company. About 1869, the building at 310 N. Fourth Street was built by the company, finished about December of that year.
In 1876, the company laid the mains and built the reservoir for Lafayette. This was done during “an almost unprecedented rainfall...water on the levee was six feet deep, while other parts of the city through which the mains extended were also submerged.” Around the same time, William Wallace superintended the construction of the sewers, water supply systems, the heating systems for Purdue University. An 1889 photograph shows the south wall of the building with a sign reading "Wm. Wallace & Bro., Plumbers, Gas and Steam Fitters, Mantels, Crates & Vitrified Sewer Pipe."
In 1893, the Wallace Bros. Co. built a three story, Italianate-style brick building at the northwest corner of Fourth and Ferry. It had six store-fronts on the first floor, office spaces on the second floor, and a public hall on the third floor. Written in the concrete floor of one building's vaults, is "B. DAVIS OCT 31 1893." The Wallace Bros. Co. occupied the corner store front, the Fourth Street storefront, and the old building. The LaFayette Bridge Co. occupied the store front at 328 Ferry St. (328 Ferry and the Wallace Bros. corner store fronts were later combined into one large store space.) Wallace Bros. Co. was incorporated January 1, 1894. The company was worth $35,000 in Capital Stock, in 350 shares. The Wallace brothers owned 160 shares each, along with 3 other stockholders who each had 10 shares.
From 1906-1909, the Lafayette Life Insurance Company occupied the space at 328 Ferry. William Wallace died in 1919 and the company remained in business until about 1927. The Wallace Bros. Co. was last listed in the Lafayette city directory for 1927-1928, having been in business for 63 years.
In 1948, Herman Berry opened Berry’s Camera Shop in the old Wallace Building at 310 N. Fourth. The following year, WASK radio remodeled the third floor of the Wallace Building for its studios. At 5:30 a.m., October 22, 1949, a guest at the Fowler Hotel spotted a fire on the third floor of the Wallace Building. Before it could be controlled, it caused $100,000 worth of damage, and destroyed the roof and interior of the third floor. The entire building sustained water damage. The cause of the fire was probably an electrical short in the wiring of the WASK studios. Occupants of the building which had to relocate included the Chamber of Commerce, the Harrison MacDonald Advertising agency, the Western Indiana Gravel Company, the Girl Scouts headquarters Price and Price, and Berry’s Camera Shop. Shortly after the fire, contractor Karl Kettlehut purchased the building, removed the remains of the third floor, and added a new roof over the second floor. The storefronts were extensively remodeled, and refaced with modern sea foam-green structural glass and aluminum. At this time, Berry's Camera Shop relocated to the corner storefront.
In 1983, Karl Kettlehut decided to renovate the buildings to something similar to their historic appearances. Historic preservation was a very thing at the time, and Mr. Kettlehut was among the first to sympathetically renovate a building in Downtown Lafayette. He did not seek the tax credits which most developers utilize to renovate historic properties. In 1984, the 1950 storefronts were removed, cornices rebuilt, and new window hoods placed on the 1869 Wallace Building. The cornice of the 1893 Wallace Block was adapted from the pattern of the original. This renovation greatly improved the buildings and served as a catalyst for similar renovations in the area.
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| The Wallace Building, built in 1869, shown here in 1890 | The Wallace Building, 310 N. Fourth Street, 2004 |
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| The Wallace Block, built 1893, shown c.1893-1894 (photo courtesy of Berry's Camera Shop) | The Wallace Block, c.1895 (photo courtesy of Berry's Camera Shop) |
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| Logo of the Wallace Bros. Co., 1896, used until about 1912 on advertisements and receipts (image courtesy of Berry's Camera Shop) | After the fire, October 22, 1949, which destroyed the third floor WASK studio (photo courtesy of the Herman Berry Collection) |
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| October 22, 1949 (photo courtesy of the Herman Berry Collection) | Enlarged view showing the 1-year-old Berry's Camera Shop (est. 1948) at 310 N. Fourth, moved to the corner the following year |
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| The Wallace Block and Wallace Building, 1966, showing results of 1950 remodeling (photo courtesy of the Herman Berry Collection) | 1983, prior to renovation of building by Karl Kettlehut, note the aluminum and sea foam-green structural glass on the storefronts (photo courtesy of the Herman Berry Collection) |
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| 2004, showing the results of Karl Kettlehut's 1984 renovation | Berry's Camera Shop, "Everything Photographic" and serving your Digital and film needs, est. 1948 |