This photo would have been taken from the clock tower of the old Marion County Courthouse located on the block south of City Market and Tomlinson Hall between Market and Washington Streets. The courthouse was demolished in 1962 after the City-County Building was built.

The When, for those who may not know, was a building in Indy. I believe it was a department store.

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2018/07/26/heres-l...

Awhile back I posted these photos on my Flickr page and annotated the images with links to some history articles that I and others wrote on Historic Indianapolis (a great web site for Indy history). Click on these links to learn more:

Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3

Please excuse this overused adjective, but stitching together 4 photos makes such an impressive cityscape. This must take the award for most detailed Shorpy photo to date! Wish you could find a few photos of South Bend, 150 miles north of Indy.

---

Indianapolis, An Outline History, 1902.
Max R. Hyman, editor.

Notable Retail Establishments.

Vonnegut Hardware Company—The Vonnegut Hardware Company, wholesale and retail dealers, 120-124 East Washington street, is the development of a business that was established originally in 1851 by Mr. Clemens Vonnegut, sr., and in 1898 assumed the present style, with Mr. Clemens Vonnegut and his three sons, Clemens Vonnegut, jr., Franklin Vonnegut and Geo. Vonnegut, as partners. Their five-story and basement building, 45 x 200 feet, contains a very large and complete stock, including the best and finest productions of leading American manufacturers and the finest imported articles, the assortment embracing builders' and cabinet hardware. machinery, tools, manufacturers' supplies, meat market outfits. Imported and domestic cutlery, household hardware, etc. Besides their large retail trade, they have heavy wholesale business covering Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and the South, and employ four traveling salesmen. This firm is a member of the Retail Merchants' Association.

Was this a contest of some sort, or just a clever ad to get people to go looking for the WHEN?

[Explained in a previous comment. - tterrace]

I missed it somehow, thank you. Interesting story.

I'm sure that I'm not alone among Shorpyites in that the first thing I do when seeing a panorama like this is to fire up Google Maps and try to find things that are still there.

Other than the obvious stuff like the state capitol and the soldiers' monument, there is a block of nearly unchanged small stores along Delaware Street just north of Market, and a large building now called the "symphony center" at 29 East Washington.

A walk around the monument circle in street view reveals a couple of buildings that might have been extant in 1907, unfortunately they are obscured in the panorama. There are certainly many more I've missed.

I moved to Indy from elsewhere and recognized a number of the buildings. The view is to the North, the Soldier's and Sailor's monument is in the right, the Indiana Statehouse with flag is visible past that. I'm trying to figure out where it was taken from, but can't think of what tall buildings are located in the right spot that would have been around at that time. I'll post to some of the native Hoosiers I know and see what they recognize. What a great photo!

(from http://www.in.gov/library/2489.htm)

WHEN? in large letters was all that people of Indianapolis saw in the windows of a building located at 30-40 North Pennsylvania Street for several months. In order to pique the public's interest, before the clothing store opened in 1885, owner John T. Brush, initiated a teaser campaign. For several months he advertised in the newspaper the store's arrival by simply printing the word "When" in full page ads in large block letters.

He then went on to print "Where," and had plans to print "What", which he never used. At some point during the advertising campaign he added "When" to the windows of the store. By the time the store opened, "When" stuck. The public did not like any other name chosen, so Brush named his new clothing store, "When Store."

He was born in Indanapolis, possibly related somehow to the Vonnegut Hardware Co?

[Founded by his great-grandfather, Clemens Vonnegut, Sr. - tterrace]

If this was from four plates, it sure doesn't show it. I couldn't find a stitch point.

Also, the "Cut rate drugs" sign made me chuckle!