Hawkeye, the estate of Frank H. Wheeler (Stokely Mansion)
| Dates: | 1911-1912 |
| Location: | Marian College, Cold Springs Road, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Architect: | William Price of Price & McLanahan, Philadelphia |
This house was built for Frank H. Wheeler, of the Wheeler-Schebler Carburetor Co. Wheeler was a co-founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with his friends and neighbors Carl Fisher and James Allison. The house was designed by William Price of Price & McLanahan, of Philadelphia. James Allison was so impressed by the interior of the Wheeler house that he fired his architect and hired Wheeler’s architect to redesign his interiors. The rear of the house features an arcade of over 200 feet in length, which ran alongside the ornamental lake. The nine-car garage, now demolished, featured a six-story stone tower which overlooked the ornamental lake. There was an Oriental Garden with a Teahouse, an octagonal ice house, a greenhouse, and several other outbuildings. Historic photographs taken c.1913 show the lavish furnishings enjoyed by the Wheelers and the electric lights which illuminated the buildings and lake at night.
When Carl Fisher developed Miami Beach, Florida, Wheeler purchased a lot for a summer house there. The Wheeler house was later sold to the William B. Stokely family and was acquired by Marian College in the 1960s. The garage was demolished sometime after 1965. The mansion remains, along with the Caretaker’s Cottage, ice house, pavilion, teahouse, and the office wing of the greenhouse complex. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
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| Front facade | Note the elaborate tile roof and decorative rafter tails |
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| The porte-cochere | Rear of the east wing of the house |
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| View inside the arcade | Pavilion at west end of the arcade |
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| The Wheeler house (left) with the arcade and a historic concrete lamp-post in the foreground | |
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| Detail of paneling in the Entrance Hall | The circular room, probably a Breakfast Room |
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| Leaded glass window on the main stair landing | The octagonal Ice House |
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| Another view of the Ice House | Detail of Ice House entrance |
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| The remaining wing of the Greenhouse complex (note outline of greenhouse roof) | Rear view of Greenhouse building, note tile roof |