Owen Block
4 April 2015
Work on the
Owen Block has begun. Judging by the number of trucks on Chestnut Street and
the noise from hammers and saws, no time is being wasted in stabilizing this
beautiful old building. Fire escapes go from upstairs windows down to
the ground, but there are no rear doors to the outside. A workman told us the
fire escapes are all being removed, but he did not know if this was a temporary
situation or not.
In the above
photo, note the door. It's hard to say if this door was from the time the
building was constructed, but it certainly appears to be old. I wonder if it
was in use when Sidney W. Douglas moved to the Owen Block in 1894.
Douglas, a
professional photographer, moved his
family from New York to Evansville in 1878. For a time in the early 1890s, he
lived at 1002 Upper Water Street, but moved to 125 Chestnut Street in 1894. The
Douglas family consisted of S.W. and his wife, Lucy Ellen Tucker, and their
three sons, James, Dallas and Kenneth. The second son, Dallas, had worked on
steamboats as a cub pilot and later as a freight clerk and shipping clerk
before becoming a traveling salesman for the Crown Baking Powder Company of
Chicago. He contracted typhoid fever and
passed away 26 May 1895. The funeral took place at nearby St. Paul's Episcopal
Church with burial at Oak Hill Cemetery.
The Douglas
family continued to live at the Owen Block from 1894 until at least 1901. In
1904, they were living at 426 Upper 1st Street.
S.W. Douglas
was initiated into Masonry in May 1877 and at his death was the only past grand
master living in Evansville. Douglas
suffered a blow in 1910 of his photographer's studio on the third floor of the
old Bray building on First Street, between Main and Locust Streets, in the fire
that originated in the Fendrick building.
In this fire the negatives collected in a
career of 40 years were destroyed. Rather than reopen a gallery, Mr. Douglas
retired.
In addition
to being one of the most prominent Masons in Indiana, Douglas was president of
the Board of Children's Guardians. He helped bring about its organization in
1898 and became president of the board in 1900. It was through his efforts that
the home on Lincoln Avenue was built in 1904.
On the first
day of January 1916, both S.W. Douglas and his wife contracted "the
grip." Douglas became a victim while on an inspection trip to a Masonic
commandery in Aurora, Illinois. Mrs. Douglas became ill at their home at 816
Upper 1st Street. Just seven hours after Mrs. Douglas died on 10 January 1916,
her husband passed away. The funeral was held at the home with the Rev. A.L.
Murray of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in charge. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas were
buried beside their son, Dallas, at Oak Hill Cemetery.