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All shot in this building

Gallery

No staged shoots and no stock photography. Every picture below is a real event that happened at 1305 North Delaware Street, shared with us by the people who held it.

Weddings

A couple dancing their first dance while guests watch from round tables in the Grand Hall — First dance on the original 1922 maple floor.

A bride and groom in a close portrait under warm bokeh lights — Portraits under the string lights in the Grand Hall.

A bride with five bridesmaids in deep red dresses beside the tall arched windows — The arched windows on the main floor, a favourite with photographers.

A couple cutting a naked wedding cake at the head table — Cake cutting at the head table.

Black and white photograph of a couple embracing on the stairwell landing — The stairwell landing. Photographers find this one on their own.

A father and daughter dancing while seated guests watch — Father and daughter, floor cleared in the centre of the room.

The Grand Hall, set up

The same five thousand square feet, dressed six different ways. Uplighting does more to change this room than anything else you can hire.

Long banquet tables under blue and green uplighting — Long tables with blue and green uplighting along the walls.

Round tables set for a reception with string lights overhead — Rounds and string lights, the most common set up here.

The empty Grand Hall lit deep blue before guests arrive — The room before doors, lit entirely in blue.

Reception tables with draped fabric along the walls — Drape hired in by the couple, run the length of the walls.

Round tables with pink chair sashes set for a quinceañera — A quinceañera set with pink sashes and rounds.

Overhead view of guests around a round table on the maple floor — Looking down from the balcony onto the floor.

Music, theatre and the lounge

The hall has a stage and a balcony, and downstairs there is a bar with a jukebox. Both get used properly.

A full audience on the floor and balcony watching a performance — A full house, floor and balcony, for a concert.

Cast on stage during a theatre production in the Grand Hall — A theatre production on the permanent stage.

A saxophone, drums and upright bass trio playing in the Bar Lounge — First Friday jazz in the Bar Lounge.

The long wooden bar with stools in the Bar Lounge — The bar downstairs. Nothing about it needed updating.

Card table and dark wood seating under wall sconces — The seating end of the lounge, sconces and original woodwork.

A bassist playing under red light during a live set — Live music in the lounge is close quarters, which is the point.

The building, and its archive

The brick front of McGowan Hall with a vintage black car parked at the steps — The Delaware Street front, with the carved lettering above the doors.

The brick exterior of McGowan Hall against a blue sky — The hall from the corner on a clear afternoon.

A 1908 postcard of the Romanesque McGowan residence — The 1874 chateau in 1908, demolished in 1963.

Black and white photograph of couples at a servicemen's dance in 1942 — Servicemen's dance, Grand Hall, 1942. Same floor.

Newspaper page from 2 September 1923 announcing the hall's dedication — The Indianapolis Sunday, 2 September 1923.

Portrait of Hugh J. McGowan from a newspaper of the period — Hugh J. McGowan, who bought the chateau in 1903.

Read the hall's history

Photographs only go so far

Come and see the room itself

A five thousand square foot room does not photograph at its real size. Twenty minutes standing in it settles the question.

Book a Tour Call (463) 842-1265

Seen enough?

Where people go from the photographs

The big roomInside the Grand HallThe room in most of these pictures, with its measurements and what it includes.The numbersWhat a date costsPublished rates for every room, plus bar packages and the deposit schedule.In personCome and stand in itPhotographs flatten a room this size. Twenty minutes here tells you more.