Ever spend a late night out with friends and find yourself yearning for a burger and fries in the wee hours? Since 1927, many Hoosiers have satisfied those cravings with a stop at the neighborhood White Castle, a ubiquitous fast food chain in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Last month, Indiana Landmarks took ownership of the state’s oldest remaining White Castle. Now we’re looking for a preservation-minded buyer who will revive the tiny landmark.

Indianapolis White Castle #3 opened in 1927 and is believed to be the third oldest surviving building constructed by the national chain. When it served its last burger in 1979, it was the oldest continuously operating White Castle. Since then, the building housed a real estate office and a National Guard recruiting center.

The White Castle company originated in Wichita, Kansas and relocated its headquarters to Columbus, Ohio in 1934. Between 1920 and 1924, the restaurants were located in simple whitewashed cement block buildings. In 1929, the company introduced a steel and porcelain construction system produced by the Porcelain Steel Buildings Company – a subsidiary of White Castle itself. Per the vision of founders “Billy” Ingram and “Walt” Anderson, the name and design were intended to convey a sense of cleanliness and stability.

Although White Castle is now one of countless fast food institutions in our country, it predated many of its rival chains. It was the first to offer hamburgers in a standardized take-out environment, a revolutionary move that paved the way for the fast food industry and shaped the culture of American dining.

Indianapolis’s diminutive fast food fortress embodies twentieth-century functional design with a medieval twist. In his history of the White Castle System, founder Billy Ingram claimed that he modeled his buildings on the Chicago Water Tower, with battlements and turrets. Its crenellated parapet is similar to later White Castles, but its glazed white brick facades are rare, representing a brief segment of the chain’s design history between 1924 and 1929.

White Castle #3 held only five stools for customers. A 1930 renovation added four more. At one time, the building featured “White Castle” spelled out in stained glass in transom windows. The castle-like structure requires specialized masonry repair to match the white glazed brick.

Indiana Landmarks waged a rescue campaign in the early 1980s when White Castle #3 faced demolition for a 6-car parking lot. In 2009, we nominated the former restaurant to the National Register of Historic Places.

When the National Guard no longer needed the building, the state transferred ownership to the City of Indianapolis’s Department of Public Works (DPW). DPW sold it to Indiana Landmarks for one dollar under an agreement that we will sell the building with the preservation covenant.

For more information, contact Mark Dollase, 317-639-4534 or mdollase@indianalandmarks.org.