Location: McCurdy-Sears Building is located at 101 NW 4th Street. The marker is situated at 5th & Sycamore Streets at a parking lot entrance behind the building, Evansville. (Vanderburgh County, Indiana)
Erected 1999 Indiana Historical Bureau, Vanderburgh County Historical Society, and Old National Bancorp
ID# : 82.1999.1
Text
Side one:
Built in 1920 for financier and philanthropist William H. McCurdy (1853-1930), president of Old National Bank. Constructed of reinforced concrete with poured concrete floors, employing architectural developments newly pioneered for industrial buildings. Building leased by Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1925 for retail use.
Side two:
This very successful store was Sears' first retail outlet located outside a mail order city. Sears' expansion to department stores was prompted by population shifts from rural to urban areas. Building was remodeled and enlarged 1937, 1943, 1946. Store closed 1975. Renovated and restored 1991. Building listed in National Register of Historic Places 1979.
Keywords
Business, Industry, and Labor, Buildings and Architecture