Oppenheimer Building

OPPENHEIMER BUILDING White jewelbox of the Courthouse Square Lafayette, Indiana Historic District.

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PHOTO 4 WEST ELEVATION SW CORNER BEFORE

PHOTO 1 WEST ELEVATION NW CORNER BEFORE

PHOTO 2 WEST ELEVATION NW CORNER AFTER

PHOTO 3 WEST ELEVATION

PHOTO 5 WEST ELEVATION SW CORNER AFTER

THE OPPENHEIMER BUILDING was built in 1914 to replace an 1870 struc-

ture on the same site. A high-quality retail clothing establishment held continuous occupancy from 1870 until 1986 when the building sold. The new owner redeveloped portions of interior areas for a bank on the first floor with office uses above.

Located on the Courthouse Square, the Oppenheimer is designated contributing to the Downtown Lafayette Historic District. A National Park Service certified rehabilitation project was carried out in 1993 to repair deteriorated structural steel framing, embedded iron elements, brick masonry walls finished in glazed brick and decorative terra cotta.

PHOTO 6 SOUTH ELEVATION NW CORNER DEFORE

PHOTO 7 SOUTH ELEVATION SW CORNER AFTER

Although relatively small in scope, the project required considerable detailed knowledge and experience with archaic materials and construction technologies while meeting modern building codes, National Park Service requirements, and the application of modern materials where repair of original materials and assemblies was infeasible.

The project eventually received certification from the National Park Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the State of Indiana. It also received two historic preservation awards, one from the Lafayette Preservation Commission and the other from the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation of Archaeology.

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