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In 1867, following his service in the military, Harrison returned to Indianapolis to reestablish his law practice. He bought a double lot from an auction, on what was then the outskirts of town. In 1874 construction of a house on the property began, and was completed in 1875, at the cost of $24,818.67 (equal to $518,861 today). Except for the time he served as United States Senator from Indiana (1881-1887), and his time as President of the United States (1889-1893), Harrison lived at the home for the rest of his life. While running for president in 1888, he made campaign speeches to listeners on the street outside his home, in what were called "front-porch speeches". The actual front porch would not be built until 1896, 3 years after he left the presidency. Benjamin Harrison died in the master bedroom of the house on March 13, 1901.
After Benjamin Harrison's death, his widow Mary Lord Dimmick Harrison owned the property. In 1939 Mary Lord Harrison sold the house to the Arthur Jordan School of Music (now located at Butler University as the Jordan College of Fine Arts), on the grounds that the house would always serve as a memorial to Benjamin Harrison. The school renovated the house, turning the second and third floors into a dormitory for the female students. In 1974 the Arthur Jordan Foundation once again renovated the house, making it a house museum. Today the Arthur Jordan Foundation leases the house to the Benjamin Harrison Foundation, who run the museum.
The red brick house has sixteen rooms. Interior features include an oak-trimmed walnut staircase, butternut woodwork, and parquet floors. Many renovations took place in 1896, which included electricity and the front porch. Today the house is open for tours. Ten of the sixteen rooms are open for visitors, all decorated in the Victorian style typical of Benjamin Harrison's time at the residence. Three-quarters of the 3,700 pieces of memorabilia actually belonged to Benjamin Harrison and his family.
Behind the cut are some pictures I took when I saw the house in 2010. Sorry some of them are so dark, but I couldn't use a flash inside.
1-3. The exterior of the house, including a plaque on a rock outside of the home.
4-7. Inside the entrance on the first floor is a parlour containing this memorabilia.
8. Harrison's desk, with a walking stick with the heads of all previous presidents carved on it. The carver was good with the carving knife, but not so good at spelling. Several of the names of the presidents carved on it are misspelled.
9. The dining room with a collection of white house china and formal invitations to white house dinners.
10. A painting of Harrison as a brigadier general during the civil war.
11. The bed from the master bedroom in the home. This is the bed in which Harrison died.
12. A campaign poster from Harrison's first election.
13. The top floor had an exhibit on Presidents and train travel, in which our host invites all aboard.
Website: http://www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org/
Location: 1230 North Delaware Street, Indianapolis, Indiana
Hours of Operation: Monday through Saturday- 10am to 3:30pm; Sundays (June and July only) 12:30pm to 3:30pm
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Benjamin-Harrison-Presidential-Site/177105049004525