No, it wasn't a tiny White Castle. So what was in the little brick building on East 10th Street?
A little building on the east side of Indianapolis has generated big interest recently on Facebook.
More than 600 people commented on a post about the micro-sized structure at 2223 E. 10th St., marveling at its small stature and wondering what on earth it once housed. Dozens more shared the post.
Many speculated it may have been an old White Castle — which turns out to be close, but not quite correct. Others recalled the Peanuts-themed mural that cleverly covered its boarded up windows until a couple years ago.
But it's not nostalgia alone driving interest in the pint-sized building. Recent developments are playing a role, too.
Small brick structure set to be demolished. Can it be saved?
Earlier this year, the city issued a demolition notice for the property. Although the structure survived a fire that destroyed a house that once stood on the same lot, inspectors noted that the tiny storefront's load-bearing walls are leaning and the roof has holes and is in danger of collapsing.
The building's sad shape has divided neighbors, said Melissa Benton, who refers to the structure as "the little Snoopy building." She is community development officer for the John Boner Neighborhood Centers, which is just across the street.
"Some people would want to take it down so you'd have a clean lot to really do some kind of development with," she said, "and other neighbors think that anything that's historical should stay."
The threat of demolition may yet be averted — at least for the time being.
A hearing on the issue was continued in July at the request of Derek Naber, a 36-year-old vice president of acquisition for New City Development.
Naber purchased the property on East 10th Street at a county tax sale auction last year. The process requires a one-year waiting period to give the original owner a chance to pay what they owe the county in taxes and fees. The waiting period is over, but the deed transfer is still in the works, Naber said.
Given the uncertainty of the process, he said he hasn't made any firm plans for the property. But he thinks the little building is salvageable.
"It's such a unique structure. We don't build 12 by 12 glazed brick buildings anymore," he said. "It's buildings like this that add true value" to neighborhoods, he said.
He said he could envision any number of uses for the building: micro-retail, a small restaurant, a little flower shop.
"It's pretty cute," he said. "That's for sure."
So what was in the tiny brick building on East 10th Street?
The building hosted many businesses in the past, city directories and newspaper archives show. In the 1940s, it was home to a repair shop for radios, toasters and irons under names Radio Home Appliance Service and Clark's Radio Service.
In the 1950s, it was briefly a Hoffman's package liquor store, then a burger joint with various names: George's Grill, White Steamer, Bud's Grill and Ed's Grill.
Patty Wise Agraz of Shelbyville grew up in the neighborhood and remembers eating in the little building as a kid.
"I used to walk there from School 15, which is up at the corner of Beville and Michigan. I'd go in there and eat and my mom would stop and pay him on her way home from work," she said. "I just remember hamburgers and cherry pie and french fries."
Agraz said the room was divided by a small counter. There were about six stools one side, on the other was the flat top grill and "kitchen" area. She can't remember the name at that time, which she said was probably in the early 1960s.
"It was a dad and and his son. I can still kind of picture what they look like," she said. "I think they might have been maybe Greek, possibly, and both of them were heavy. I never knew how they fit behind the little space back there to be honest."
Agraz moved away in 1973 but is still gets nostalgic when she visits the area.
Bonnie Bull, a neighborhood resident for 50 years who made the initial post about the building on the Indy Nostalgia Facebook group, said she couldn't believe how much interest it received.
"I guess because its been there forever, a lot of people were curious about its history," she said. "It’s just a unique little building sitting there on the sidewalk."
Initially, Bull was skeptical a restaurant could operate out of the tiny space. But after Agraz recounted visiting the establishment often in grade school another commenter posted an undated photograph of the building with a sign advertising seven burgers for $1.
Bull, who works in the county assessor's office, said she asked a colleague to look into the building's age. They found it dates back to at least the 1940s, but it's probably older.
Some who commented on Facebook speculated it may have been a newspaper stand. IndyStar couldn't find any evidence of that, but the address — if not the building itself — was listed in a help wanted ad in the Indianapolis Journal in 1903 as a substation where newsboys could pick up papers to sell for a profit of two cents each.
Kurt Christian, a spokesperson for the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, said the next step in determining the site's future will be an Oct. 25 hearing on the demolition orders.
Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @IndyStarTony.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: East 10th Street: Tiny brick building generates big interest
