An early 1920s photo of Clifford Waite (whose son, Robert, loaned this photo) in front of his plumbing shop at 115 South Main Street in downtown Culver (the present location of Cafe' Max).
An early 1960s advertisement for the El Rancho theater on Lake Shore Drive in Culver, from the Kim Amond collection.
An early 1960s advertisement for the El Rancho theater on Lake Shore Drive in Culver, from the Kim Amond collection.
A photo, circa 1929, of the Culver Feed & Grain Mill (Elijah Robinson is pictured standing in front of it). The mill, located at the east end of Mill St., is probably what facilitated Mill Street being named what it is!
A Christmas card from the 1960s from the Taber family, owners of Culver's downtown News Agency, located on the east side of Main St. where the Chinese restaurant is today (the Newsstand was replaced for a time with the Olde Towne
Restaurant). The News Agency closed its doors in the early 1980s (photo courtesy of Edna Taber, of our own library staff!)
Erecting the sign for J's 5 &? a dimestore that opened in Culver, under Cindy Johnston, in 1975 and closed in the 1980s. It was located at 114 N. Main, on the east side of the street across from the Library, where Michelle's Headquarters is today.
Unusual business card advertising Chesty's Mink Ranch, operated by Dwight (Chesty) Newman just off of SR 17, south of Culver.
A 1922 postcard advertising Ferrier Lumber, long a mainstay in Culver. J.O. Ferrier, owner of the company, also owned the Maxinkuckee Ice Company, one of the prominent ice houses on the lake. Ferrier Lumber was located near the end of East Jefferson Street, facing south.
Sidewalk days in Culver, 1960.
The 1955 grand opening of the now-defunct Outdoorsman store in Culver.
The beloved ice cream counter at Mr. T's drug store on Academy Road, as of October, 1989.
The House of Treasures antique store, as depicted in this 1958 postcard. The store was originally located at 772 West Shore Drive, where it operated for years before moving in the 1960s to Lake Shore Drive in Culver, at the site of present-day Papa's restaurant. It was owned by Virginia Glackman, who lived in a cottage across the street. Thanks to Carol Saft for providing info on this store (courtesy Jim Croy).
Gandy & Mow's Livery Stable
An 1896 advertisement for Gandy & Mow's Livery Stable in Culver. Perhaps someone knows just where the stable was located?
An early 1970s shot of the east side of Culver's downtown North Main Street shows the Back Door Boutique shop and Kline's TV and Appliances. "Judi Burns, who corrected me on an earlier mistake on the naming of the TV shop, notes that the Boutique and Kline's occupy buildings that were mainstays of Culver's downtown businesses (among their previous occupants: Rector's Pharmacy and a number of restaurants -- including one once operated by the Snyder family -- and other shops over the years) and that those buildings are now gone, and an empty lot exists where they once were.
House on East Washington St.
This house, on East Washington Street, was -- at the time of this photo's being taken -- once a gift shop. This picture was taken in the early 1970s.
The City News Agency is the most visible business in this early 1970s photo of South Main Street's east side. The News Agency was owned and operated by William Taber, also a consummate photographer whose photos grace several pages of this website.
Verl McFeely secured an"excellent baker" for his new bakery in the Menser building across the street from Culver's Methodist Episcopal church, reports this June, 1937 article from the Culver Citizen newspaper. The Methodist church at that time was located on the southwest corner of Main and Washington Streets in downtown Culver, where the north addition of the public library exists today. McFeely's bakery, then, was on the east side of north Main Street in the building today occupied by the Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Association.
Culver Blacksmith Shop South Main Street
The blacksmith shop (or “tin shop”) on South Main Street was built circa 1905 and was located in what is today a vacant lot on the eastern side of South Main, just south of the intersection of Main and Madison Streets. The building was demolished in the summer of 1990, having fallen into disrepair.
A 1914 photo of Clifford Waite loaned by his son, Robert) in front of his plumbing shop. According to Robert Waite, the shop was located on the east side of South Main Street where for years the eye doctor's office was located, and where today there is a real estate office.
Awnings by Amond was located where the Collector's antique store is located today, on the east side of Main Street in downtown Culver. This November, 1962 photo was loaned the library by Kim Amond.
Howlett Motor Sales, associated with the Lake Shore Garage on, of course, Lake Shore Drive, circa 1945. Lake Shore Garage was located across the street from Vandalia Park in the location that is today Osborn's Minimart.
Clark Funeral Home Matchbook
A matchbook advertising the Clark Funeral Home at "6th & Monroe, Culver, Ind." However, there are not (and have not, as far as we know, ever been) streets by that name in Culver, Indiana. Anyone with suggestions as to the origins of this matchbook and the business it advertises (also unknown in Culver!), are encouraged to contact the library.
An advertising sheet that hung in the Corner Tavern on Main Street, a beloved Culver icon for decades. This item courtesy the Kim Among collection.
Charles Asper was a masonworker in Culver who built his own home on Slate Street during the nineteens. He is here profiled in one of an interesting series of articles that appeared in the 1930 Culver Citizen newspapers. Each one would profile a local businessman and featured a neat pen-and-ink drawing of the businessman alongside some caricatures of him. Mr. Asper died in the 1980s.
Charles Asper was a masonworker in Culver who built his own home on Slate Street during the nineteens. He is here profiled in one of an interesting series of articles that appeared in the 1930 Culver Citizen newspapers. Each one would profile a local businessman and featured a neat pen-and-ink drawing of the businessman alongside some caricatures of him. Mr. Asper died in the 1980s.
A 1939 Culver Citizen profile of local stone mason Charles Asper, one of the better-known businessmen of Culver for many years. This feature was one of a series the newspaper ran in 1939, profiling local businessmen. More will be
added to the website.
Greetings" from McGill's factory (later Walker manufacturing) on West Mill St., as it appeared in the early 1970s (photo by White Photography).
A strike at the McGills plant. Judi Burns writes that the strike took place in 1985. "that was the strike that closed the plant and they moved their operations between the Valparaiso and Monticello plants," writes Judi. Photo by White Photography.
Jane and Charles McCafferty opened the Outdoorsman store "alongside the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee" in the 1950s, as depicted in the pages of the Culver Citizen. Is this the same store that became Clara Hanson's restaurant and sporting goods store, still operating today on Lake Shore Drive near the train depot?
View of the east side of north main Street in downtown Culver in the early 1970s. Visible, in spite of the poor quality of the original image, is the Kelly shop, run by Marilyn Kelly of Culver.
