Lafayette

The Knight-Loeb House was completed in 1882 by Emerson P. Knight of New York City.  Mr. Knight moved to Lafayette to establish a grain business and built his home at the corner of 7th and Cincinnati St.

The house, which is Italianate in style, is built entirely of brick with 14 ½ inch thick exterior walls and interior hall walls.  The other interior walls, which are also brick, are only 9 ½ inches thick.  He built into his house the latest technology for 1882.  Three particular things make this house unique for its day and time: 1.  Indoor water closet (toilet), which was located on the second floor at the top of the main stairway. 2. Central heat.  There was a large coal fired stove in the basement that carried heat to all rooms of the house (except the maid’s room) via air ducts that were built into the very thick walls of the center hall. 3.  A burglar alarm system.  The alarm system was wired to all windows in the house as well as the doorways.  The system was battery operated and set off an alarm if a window was raised.  It was, however, ineffective if a window glass was broken.  The woodwork and doors of the house are black walnut.  The front doors are butternut.  Please note the elaborate hinges and door hardware, which were originally nickel-silver plated.

Mr. Knight by 1895 had moved back to New York City and sold his home to Solomon and Carrie Loeb.  Mr. Loeb was in the dry goods business with his brother Julius, who lived at the corner of 8th and Cincinnati St.  Mr. Loeb’s business capabilities created Lafayette’s own Loeb’s department store. The Loeb family was one of Lafayette’s greatest philanthropists, giving a fountain and a theatre to Purdue University, a sports stadium to the city at Columbian Park plus many contributions to hospitals, schools, scholarship funds, etc. The Loebs lived in the house for over 50 years.

In 1950 the house was converted into 6 apartments. Being the 50’s, the emphasis was to make the house “modern” and the ceilings were lowered to eight feet, windows shortened and bricked in by one third of their original height. The heating system was changed to hot water.  The modernizations came at a great cost to the original plaster crown moldings, ceiling medallions, and woodwork throughout the house.

In 1995 the house was restored to its original style and floor plan.  Plaster ceiling medallions and crown moldings were restored. Window and ceiling heights returned to their original dimensions, period chandeliers or original fixtures were returned to the house.  It now serves as a historic landmark and bed and breakfast inn.