The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-04-18
Our
Town
By
ANTON SCHERRER
ANTON SCHERRER

L n annapolis architects, was born
in Louisville, which Immediately
raises the question whether a good
architect can come out of Kentucky.
Offhand, we should say the SOON
er he came the better. Which is exs
actly what Mr. Bonn did. He didn't
come, though, until he had learned
to read. His Louisville training was
so good that he now Subscribes TO
Sc periodicals and knows what is in
all Of them.
To be sure, some of them are pic
ture books, but it all takes times
and one wonders where Mr.. Bohn
finds the time to do all the things
he does. Even now he keeps up
habit, contracted in Kentucky, of
reading the dictionary for Is min
utes every morning before break
fast.
To dc all this, he uses seven pairs
of Spectacles. -Four are scattered
around his office, the rest in his
home.
MIR. BONN started his career in
lV1 the Office of Diedrich August
Bohlen at the time Tomlinson Hall
was designed. Mr.. BONN was just
a craftsman then, along with Bern
hard Vonnegut (kurt's father and
Oscar Bohlen (Augusts father, but
even then he showed signs of be-
coming an architect.
Fact is, all of them gave a good
accounting. Mr.. Vonnegut became
Mr.. Bohns partner and Mr.. Bohlen
succeeded to his fathers business
which is now rs years old and shows
no signs of dying out.
Mr.. Bohn saved up enough money
in Bohlens Office to get him to
Europe. He settled down in Karls-
ruhe and studied under Prof. Durm,
who is still memory because of
his big Dictionary of Architecture. !"
Durms dictionary stops with specu-
lations as to how to mouse a steam
locomotive, but Mr.. BONN kept right
on.
Prof. Dunn wanted Mr.. Bohn to
stay and participate in Germany
future, buG he couldn't see it. Mr..
Bonn compromised, however, and
married a German girl. They got
married in the Court Chapel of the
Kings Palace. Nobody knows how
Mr.. Bonn managed it, but he has
a way about him.
= II
a FTER that, Mr. BONN got inter
L Y eSted in America, although to
this day he has never seen a game
of professional baseball. He could
design stadium, however, if any
body asked him.
He has designed everything else
and there isn't question about sky
scrapers or department stores that
can stump him. He knows more
about escalatorS, for instance, than
any other architect in town. For
the very good reason that he has
designed all of them.
Mr.. Bohn says everybody will get
around to eScalatorS sooner or later.
Even people like Marshall Field,
Filene's and Altman's had to come
to it, not because they wanted to.
but because the elevators are
breaking down. Figuratively speak
ing, of course.
It's nothing, for instance, for
10000 people to visit an Indianap-
oils store in a single day. Like as
not, that is the day the wife comes
home late and entertainS us with
stories about the behavior of down.
town elevators. Something just had
to be done about it, says Mr.. Bohn.
MONT get the idea, however,
~ that escalators compete with
elevators, because, as matters stand,
the same people make both. The
Otis company, for instance, turned
out the escalators for both Ayres'
and Blocks, and Mr.. Bonn won't
say who got the better job. Both
move at the rate of 80 feet a minute.
The Otis people, we learned, are
awfully busy just now turning out
escalators for the Soviet Republic.
Russian escalatorS, it leaked out,
run at the rate of 100 feet min
ute.
Escalators take up lot of room,
we learned, but merchants have be-
come reconciled to that. too.
For two reasons: Cd Because
they make the upper floors as valu-
able as the street floor, and ca be-
cause they create "hot spots" which
is what you've been waiting to hear
about. A hot spot in department
store is place which for some rea-
son, or no reason at all. attracts
trade. The Ayres and Block people,
it seems, expect to do lot of new
business around their escalators and
it sounds reasonable enough.
Makes up for all their trouble,
r.. ~.