Pythian Building

The Pythian Building, also known as the Knights of Pythias (or “K of P”) Building, stood at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Pennsylvania Street from 1907 to 1967. The structure’s flatiron shape made it a prominent landmark and, for a brief time, the city’s tallest building.

The architectural firm J. F. Alexander & Son designed the 11-story, stone and terra cotta, Neoclassical Revival structure in the flatiron style to accommodate the triangular intersection where it stood. That distinctive streetscape feature, in turn, resulted from the layout schemes of Indianapolis city planner Alexander Ralston.

The Pythian Building’s footprint shape was not entirely unique in Indianapolis: other flatiron buildings, occupying similar triangular intersections, included the Lincoln Hotel, the Madame Walker Theatre Center, and the Vance Block and Hammond Block buildings. What distinguished the Pythian Building was its status as the second-tallest flatiron structure in the nation (trailing only Daniel Burnham’s 22-story Flatiron Building in New York City) and as the tallest building in Indianapolis when unveiled in 1907. 

The Pythian Building housed the Indiana headquarters of the Knights of Pythias, a secret fraternal organization founded in Washington, DC, in 1864. Membership in fraternal organizations such as the Odd Fellows, Freemasons, the North American Freemasonry for African Americans, and the Ku Klux Klan peaked during the Golden Age of Fraternalism, from the latter third of the 19th century through the first part of the 20th century. 

In addition to the Knights of Pythias, the building housed various doctors’ offices, a milliner, a barber, secretarial schools, and the Glenalba Cafe from 1907 to 1967. The building also contained a large auditorium and modern sound equipment for organizational meetings. Over the years, the Indiana Republican and Democratic parties, the Pythian Sisters of Indiana, and assorted labor unions made use of the space. The Indianapolis College of Law (see Law Schools) and its successor institutions hosted commencement exercises in the space.  

In 1950, overcrowding in the State House forced state agencies to seek office space in the Pythian Building, among others. The Board of Medical Registration and Examination, the State Nurses Board, and the Board of Podiatry Examiners all moved into the structure. 

Though the Pythian Building temporarily served the needs of the downtown area, post – World War II suburbanization slowly depleted the city center of its population, retail sector, and office tenants. As newspaper advertisements confirm, the building became increasingly vacant across the decades, with one empty premier spot on the main floor topping 6,000 square feet. 

In 1958, the then-new Marion County Metropolitan Planning Department (MCMPD) (see Zoning) developed a master plan to redevelop Indianapolis’s central business district. The plan called for demolition of numerous structures dubbed “impractical” and “outdated,” thereby making room for buildings with minimal ornamentation, functional design, open floor plans, and large expanses of glass for natural light. Aiming to turn the formerly thriving downtown into a modernized commercial center, the MCMPD slated numerous historic buildings for demolition. 

The Pythian Building and a dozen other structures met the wrecking ball in June 1967 to accommodate the Indiana National Bank Tower (Regions Tower). Demolition contractor Ed Zebrowski oversaw the razing from June 9 to June 11, 1967. Zebrowski also supervised the demolition of Indianapolis’s Old Marion County Courthouse, the Indiana Bell Building, the Lowe’s Theater, and the Atkins Saw Plant. Somewhat of a showman, Zebrowski arranged for an organist to play “music to demolish by,” while bleachers along the street allowed spectators to watch the wrecking of the Pythian Building. The loss of what was once the city’s tallest building made room for the newest tallest building in town.