Half an Hour in Lafayette

At the last minute my mother decided she wasn't coming along on the late winter road trip so Cory and I took our time and we got on the road about 10:00 a.m. this morning.  Total driving was about  4.5 hours today with a half hour stop for some lunch at Panera and then another half hour stop for a quick architecture walk in downtown Lafayette, Indiana.

The Ross Building and First Merchants National Bank, Main Street

Why would I stop in a town that was less than an hour from our destination?  Why, they had a U.S. Post Office mural, of course!  Turned out there was more to see than that so I walked around for a few blocks while Cory waited in the car.

Ross Building, monks on corners originally held lanterns

Built in 1918 the Ross Building pictured above is a good example of Gothic Revival.  Right next door and a strange neighbor to be nestle up to was the vault style First Merchants Bank built the same year. Generally two to three stories high, the vault has a facade penetrated by a large, tall and generally narrow central opening, and occasionally smaller ones on either side.

First Merchants

I walked the square around the Tippecanoe County Courthouse and saw many things to catch my eye, including the coolest bench ever.

The courthouse was a beauty too, Finished in 1884,  it's built of Indiana limestone and is two-and-a-half stories tall on a raised basement. Architecturally, it is a mix of styles including Second Empire, Beaux Arts, Baroque, Rococo, Georgian and Neo-Classical.

Indiana limestone

It was a pricey courthouse to build and included 100 columns and nine statues!

I really enjoyed the massive wood doors. You don't see 'em like that very often.

500 lb walnut doors at each of the 4 entrances

Inside the guards were friendly and I was told I could take all the pictures I wanted as long as I didn't take any in the courtrooms, standard for the courthouses I've visited.

looking up into the rotunda

A cool feature on the inside was the elevator, installed in the early 1900's.

Also on display was a couple of paintings on the first floor depicting historical scenes.

Quite a lot to absorb in just half an hour!   I could have walked around longer but I wanted to get to Turkey Run State Park before dark.

 Cory and I have a room at the Inn that has windows that open...always something I'm looking for in case I have to air the room out.  I'll take an older building any day over a newer one.  Definitely well kept up though for an older building and no pesky odors to bother my allergies.  The room is really large and quite a bargain for only $75.

We had time for a short walk before settling in for the night.  I'll tell you more about the park tomorrow, and I'll share the post office mural on Monday probably.