
The Martens
Apartments
The Martens was built in 1898 By Herman E. Martens. It is a pentagonal brick apartment building located near the intersection of Indiana and Senate Avenues, and West Vermont Street.
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We designed and restored the Martens for the professional seeking to live in a unique setting close to the excitement of the revitalized Downtown. With its multitude of new taverns and restaurants, its sports facilities, and its numerous cultural events, the Downtown is fast becoming the place to live in Indianapolis. Be a unique part of the Downtown Experience at the Martens
Indianapolis Apartments
PROPERTY INFO
Originally designed as a hotel/apartment building, The Martens is a unique structure in that it has two principle facades. The larger with six bays, faces Indiana Avenue and had six commercial shops facing the street with two stories of flats above the shops. The name Martens is carved in limestone in the center of the parapet wall. Distinctive on this facade are the two story projecting bay windows with recessed swag panels. The lintels and sills are limestone. Cast-iron pilaster posts with supporting "I" beam framing survive on the first story, street level.
Details of the Classical Revival style include the four limestone and brick oculus windows which are accented with quarry-faced keystones and recessed panel pilasters-like parapet wall finials
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The smaller Senate Avenue facade has a limestone semicircular arch entrance, which is supported on recessed panel pilasters. All three stories on this side of the building were planned as flats. On the Senate Avenue, only sightly-projecting bow windows were used, with lintels and sills of limestone. A small solid limestone lunette arch in the attic repeats the motif from the east facade.
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More Details
Number of Units
Size
Total Floors/Stories
Year Built
19
700 to 1,500 Sq. feet
3
1898

More Info
Herman E. Martens
Herman Martens and his family were representative of many German families who immigrated to the United States. This hard-working family owned a business listed in the 1898 City Directory as dealers in carpets, draperies, and wallpaper. Martens owned several pieces of real estate in Indianapolis which stayed in his family until 1924.
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