The Admiral

The Admiral

An Art Deco era landmark in Indianapolis is The Admiral (sometimes called the Admiral Apartments). This building was built in 1929 and was designed by one of Indianapolis’ most famous architects, Robert Frost Daggett. The architectural firm of R.P. Daggett & Company, founded in 1880, designed many public buildings and prestigious homes in Indianapolis.

The Admiral was part of explosion of development on North Meridian in the boom times of the 1920s. City fathers envisioned an “Uptown” section of the city, which was to have featured numerous skyscrapers and create a second skyline for Indianapolis. The luxurious Marott Hotel (four blocks south of The Admiral) is perhaps the best known building from that era. Unfortunately the Great Depression largely ceased development and Indy’s Uptown was never fully realized.

The Admiral retains many of the original 1920s elements such as stained-glass windows, brass railings, oak parquet floors and arched doorways.

Here’s what former resident David Grady had to say about The Admiral.

When I was a kid I loved this building and when we drove downtown I would hope we would have to stop at the light on 30th Street and I would stare at this out the window. When I graduated from college I could not think of living anywhere else and got my first apartment there and loved every day I lived in this Art Deco monument to pre-depression luxury with such craftsmanship and detail. It is still to this day my favorite apartment I lived in.

The Admiral is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive buildings in Indianapolis.