Market Tower sits at the corner of Illinois and Market streets in downtown Indianapolis. At the time of its construction in 1988, it was the largest privately financed speculative office project developed in the city center.

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Market Tower, ca. 2010 Credit: Banayote Photo Inc., Indiana Historical Society View Source

The 570,000-square-foot, $92 million project replaced the structure housing Harry Levinson, Joseph’s Shoes, The Peanut King, and the Clique Lounge. Other office buildings built in the same time period include One American Square (One America Tower), 300 NORTH MERIDIAN, First Indiana Plaza (BMO), 101 West Ohio, and Bank One Tower (Salesforce Tower).

Mansur Development Corporation, architects Lohan Associates, Inc., Chicago, consulting architects RATIO Associates, Inc., Indianapolis, and contractor Huber Hunt & Nichols, Inc. strove to preserve the surrounding architectural integrity in the design and construction of Market Tower. Clad in Mondariz flame-finished granite from Brazil with a copper roof and tinted glass, the design pays homage to surrounding landmark buildings on Monument Circle, notably the Columbia Club (copper roof), Guaranty Building (arched entry), and Circle Tower (stepped facade).

The 32-floor tower is the fourth-tallest building in Indianapolis and the second-tallest reinforced concrete building in the state of Indiana. Used primarily as office space, the building features a three-story atrium that opens to Market Street. The atrium’s striking two-story fountain was removed in 2014. The tower has three levels of below-grade parking as well as shared-garage parking with 120 Monument Circle.

Recognized for excellence in construction and design, Market Tower received the Associated Builders & Contractors of IN Excellence in Construction award, a Monumental Affair Excellence in Design & Development Honor award, and the Indiana Concrete Council Outstanding Concrete Construction award, all in 1989. Two years later in 1991, the commercial real estate industry honored Market Tower with a Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Outstanding Office Building Over 500,000-square-feet award in 1991.

Revised December 2022
 

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