Christmas in Indy, Day 1: Architectural Antiques, St. Joseph Brewery, Thai and Crumbl

December 21, 2024

A lazy morning at the house. I woke up to find Stacey on the couch, watching some kind of Korean soap opera show on Netflix. Before I knew it, Liz was sucked in, and I was hanging on the peripherals avoiding whatever this was.

There was some Korean period piece (lots of actors, dressed in traditional garb). I never got into it, but was absolutely sucked in. She had the same look on her face as she has here, watching this show.

Today, we had no real agenda (beyond a late double-date dinner out with Shane and Stacey). On our list: hitting up Architectural Antiques of Indianapolis, a place that Liz has followed on Instagram for years… and had never gotten to visit… until today.

Which is crazy, because the place is like 10 minutes from my sister’s place.

On arriving, we parked by this building (one of several on site).

On walking in, the place was packed.

Liz, exploring one of many drawers filled with hardware and odds and ends.

There was a timeless feel to the place.

Something I always love finding: old letters/postcards. Oftentimes they’re blank, but I love when there’s actually written communication.

This was a delight to read (see this high-res image). I stopped after a few sentences, and was just awed at the author telling off the recipient. But then I kept reading. Hilarious!

I swear – I could have spent the next few hours, standing in this spot, looking over all the different correspondence. Old letters and photographs are like these tiny, perfect time machines. So captivating.

More buildings to explore: this was the main building on the property.

By the front desk. Once I spotted this, I knew this was a serious place.

And this building was also similarly packed with treasures.

Lights as far as one can see.

Spotted this small bit of nostalgia.

Liz, looking out for hardware pieces that match what we have in our house. She’s been on the hunt for literally years now.

So much to see, so much to search.

Liz spotted this piece, which matched our hardware design… which seemed to be for a doorbell buzzer.

It was amazing to find the design, but we let it go because we had no plans for a doorbell. Still – pretty amazing.

In the back area, we got permission to head up to the second floor to check out the large collection of glass light shades.

On walking up, I was immediately uncomfortable. It felt like one wrong move, and I would be out thousands of dollars.

It just kept going and going…

At the front desk, Liz and I both noticed this old photograph. For me, I noticed the kid smoking a cigarette first; for her, she noticed the chicken first. On brand, for the both of us.

All told, we got very lucky and found several door back plates that matched our hardware (a “rope” design/pattern). And we got an exterior doorknob, that was actually sitting in the display case at the front.

After we checked out, the owner was asking us for contact info… in case he came across anything else we might be after. Liz mentioned also being on the lookout for a mortise lock.

And you know what? Turns out, that was the very section the owner had organized, recently. And he thought he recalled what might be a match.

Lo and behold, he tracked down a mortise lock that worked for us, which we snapped up. As we were checking out (a second time), he asked if we wanted a key.

Liz said yes, and the owner enlisted the help of one of his coworkers to root through all the various old keys that had on file.

After a bit, the young man disappeared… and Liz and I were wondering if he was ever coming back. And then, we heard the sound of some machinery starting.

The owner then told us it was likely his coworker was making us a custom key, to fit the lock. And the next thing you know, we had lock and key in hand!

On our way home, we took a small detour and stopped at St. Joseph Brewery, for a quick beer and a snack.

Back home, we met up with Stacey and Shane and headed out for dinner at Thai Station Restaurant. We had a nice, relaxing meal… hanging out and catching up some.

Despite us agreeing ahead of time to split the bill, my sister snuck in and paid for the whole thing. I believe her words were “You snooze, you lose.” I never seem to learn my lesson.