We predict that Edinburgh may be the next “hot” small town. Johnson, Bartholomew and Shelby County each lay claim to part of the town of 4,500. Indiana Landmarks helps manage the community’s façade improvement program, and we have a wonderful live-work opportunity for sale on a Main Street corner in the charming downtown historic district. We restored the exterior of the 1854 Thompson Building, and the interior is yours to create.

Indiana Landmarks bought the three-story commercial building through our Efroymson Family Endangered Places Fund, with additional help from the Conover Foundation, a Johnson County philanthropic organization. The Thompson Building has a new roof, repaired and freshly repainted masonry, and restored original windows.

Odd Fellows. Knights of Pythias. Freemasons. Back in the day, movers and shakers belonged to one or many of these fraternal organizations and by the 1880s, the Thompson Building housed local lodges of the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows on the upper floors. You can still see faded classical murals from this period. By 1910, the Knights of Pythias replaced the Freemasons on the west side of the building. The ground floor, after originally serving as the Thompsons’ dry good store, accommodated a number of different uses. Danner Brothers department store occupied the space for 50 years, beginning in 1929.

The two ground-floor retail suites—each about 1,450 square feet—share access to rear restrooms and storage space. A photography studio rents one of the spaces and the other is currently unleased. Both spaces have hardwood floors, large display windows, and flexible floorplans.

The unused upper two floors need restoration, and could become offices, apartments, or art studios. Because of the building’s National Register status, the buyer could apply for federal Historic Tax Credits for the restoration.

You’ll find other recently improved commercial buildings in Edinburgh, thanks to the Downtown Façade Restoration Program—a Conover Foundation initiative administered by Indiana Landmarks. The program has revitalized and added value to buildings on the city’s main thoroughfare. The Town of Edinburgh won a $400,000 grant from the state’s Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) to rehabilitate two vacant and deteriorated buildings across from the Thompson Building as a community center.

We’re selling the Thompson Building for only $75,000. Indiana Landmarks’ protective covenants attached to the deed will protect the exterior only—the interior finish and design is entirely up to the buyer.

If you’re interested in buying or leasing space in the Thompson Building, or learning more about the collaboration between the Conover Foundation and Indiana Landmarks, contact Mark Dollase or Sam Burgess at Indiana Landmarks, 317-639-4534, or central@indianalandmarks.org.