250 East Harrison Street - The House that Goldfish Built

I was fortunate to grow up in a unique house. Built in 1931 by my Great-Grandfather, Harry DeTurk, it was featured in an Indianapolis Star article in February 1932. I still have a copy of the original article. The ads surrounding the article are primarily about the house as well. My parents sold the home in 1998. The article text is below the pictures:

Ben & Emmah Keller, great-great-grandchildren to Harry and Anna DeTurk

Harry A DeTurk

Anna, Harriett, and Harry DeTurk

From the Indianapolis Sunday Star, February 7, 1932

One of the most beautiful residences in Martinsville is the home of Mr. & Mrs. Harry DeTurk located at 260 E. Harrison Street. Mr. DeTurk is secretary and treasurer of the Grassyfork Fish Hatcheries, one of Martinsville’s principal industries. Fermor S. Cannon, Indianapolis architect, designed the house, which was built by Robert K. Cordill, Indianapolis contractor.

The house is of formal French design. It is constructed of “Rainstruck” ashlar brick manufactured by the Martinsville Brick Company. This brick is not of standard size and had a rough surface and is in the autumn foliage colors.

Terrace Across Front.

The center entrance is fashioned in the cutstone and the roof is of dark slate. An open terrace extends across the front.

The entrance is into a foyer set with random ashlar slate. A stairway is opposite the entrance. At the west end of the hall double doors open into a den. The foyer joins an east hall which leads past dining room and into the living room.

The den is paneled in birch. It contains a fireplace, built-in bookshelves and double French doors opening unto the terrace. The east hall also has French doors.

Two steps lead down from the hall into a spacious living room. There are two French windows and two French doors in this room. One door is at north end and opens upon the covered porch. The other door is on the west and opens upon the front terrace. The two windows are on the east.

Fireplace of Stone.

A fireplace of plain stone design is in the middle of the south end of the room. The walls are in tiffany finish and paneled. The panels contain tints of green which blend with the general color scheme. The wall lights are designed in bronze and were supplied by Goldstein Bros. Built-in bookshelves are on each side of the fireplace.

The entire floor of the living room and hallway is carpeted in a pleasant walnut shade. The drapes at the doors and windows are in light green with a gold pattern. These colors are emphasized in the upholstering of the furniture. The Sander & Recker Furniture Company furnished the draperies and floor coverings.

Dining Room Decorations

The dining room also is decorated delightfully with paneled tiffany walls. It has a row of windows on the north side and a chandelier designed in glass. The floor is also carpeted. A west door opens into the butler’s pantry which connects with the kitchen. The pantry has ivory cabinets and walls.

The kitchen is one of the most unusual of its kind. The McDougall cabinets, wood trim and doors are decorated in silver with a black trim. The walls are in light green. Modern conveniences include the tiled sink, large Frigidaire, built-ion ironing board, closets, extra cupboards and ventilator. The linoleum on the pantry and kitchen floors is in dark marbleized pattern. The breakfast nook is reached off a rear hall and has stippled walls. The rear hall contains a guest closet, telephone booth, clothes chute, a tiled lavatory with a vanity and basement stairway. A brown patterned linoleum covers the floor. The Capitol Lumber Company supplied the lumber and millwork, insulation, ironing boards and kitchen units.

Four Bedroom Upstairs

The upstairs hall is also carpeted in walnut and gives access to four bedrooms. The master room is at the east end. The walls are papered in ivory and the wood trim in blue and silver. This room has a north deck, twin closets, and a dressing room and wardrobe. IT has a private entrance into the bathroom. The bathroom is tiled in orchid.

A front bedroom on the east is in blue and ivory. There are two other bedrooms at the west end of the hall.

The front room has green papered walls and gold wood trim, and the north room has a French door opening upon a deck. It also is served by another tiled bath with a shower booth. The tile is in green and black. There are also two closets in the upper hall. The medicine cases and wardrobe cabinets came from the Capitol Lumber Company.

The basement contains a social, storage room, laundry room, heating plant, and fuel room. The heating plant is a Pacific steel boiler with a Gregg silent automatic vacuum steam unit. There also is a Puritan water softener. Roland M. Cotton, plumber, installed the plumbing and heating fixtures.

The attic is reached from the upstairs hall. It has a large cedar closet as well as ample storage space. The house is completely insulated with rock wool insulation. All of the windows and doorways are weatherstripped.

Mr. Cordill and Mr. DeTurk were particularly desirous of just the proper heating equipment for the this beautiful mansion type home and selected intermediate sized silent automatic oil burner for its quiet, efficient and economical operation. This oil burner is sold, installed and serviced by the Gregg Silent Automatic Sales Company located at 538 North Meridian street in Indianapolis.

A two-car garage is located to the west of the house.