(Sept. 2, 1796-Nov. 3, 1857). Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Elder was one of the contractors for the Juanita division of the Pennsylvania canal. In 1831, he submitted drawings in the competition to design the Indiana . Although his design was not a winner, he came to Indianapolis in 1833 to take up permanent residence, becoming the first professional architect to make his home in the Hoosier capital.
Elder designed ‘s Washington Street retail buildings, ‘s original store building, ‘s home, the Bank of Indiana Building (1840), the first Hospital for the Insane (later , 1848), and the Palmer House, one of Indianapolis’ finest hotels. He drew the original plans of the Institute for the Blind, although later embellished Elder’s design (see ), and was a contractor for the .
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