Kreuzberger's Park and Saloon

Kreuzberger's Park

This park is sisuated [situated] upon the west side of Maxinkuckee Lak [Lake], and presents a grand panoramic scene in nature and art. The park grounds are covered with magnificent shade trees and pleasure seekers can enjoy the cool breezes of the lake while reclining upon rustic seats, hammocks, etc. On the grounds are situated Kreuzberger's wine pavillion [pavilion], beer garden, pool, billiard room, and bowling alley. This is one of the finest places on the lake, and is visited by the elite of all cities. Here can be found Kreuzberger's celebrated wine room, where nothing but a first class article can be had. The business is carried on under the able management of J. R. Watson, a man of years of experience as a caterer. Behind the bar can be seen daily, William Knoeble, of Indianapolis, who has an enviable reputation as an expert bar tender. No card playing or gambling is allowed at this place, and everyone is assured of the most courteous treatment.

D. A. Bradley has vacated the Kreuzberger Building and has a lot of furniture, dishes, tableware all good as new for sale call and see it.

The below is to be in Robert Kreuzberger's handwriting; some of the words are missing - on the right hand side - it reads:

This addition to the town of Culver City, formerly Uniontown, Marshall co[unty], Indiana is laid out in part of outlot number three (3) in the Vandalia addition t [o] Uniontown, Marshall County, Indiana and also a piece of ground adjoining th[e] same on the East, commencing at the North east Corner of Lot Number three (3), and runnin[g] thence East 132 feet to a sixty [60] foot street; thence south along said street one hundred [twenty] (120) feet; thence west one hundred thirty-two (132) feet, to the East line of said outlot three [(3)], thence North along the East line thereof one hundred twenty (120) feet to the place of beginnin[g]. to Robert Kreuzberger March 23, 1894 recorded in deed record 52 page 231, in the Recorder's Office of Marshall County,Indi[ana].

The Lots from number one to five are each forty by one hundred twenty feet; Lot [3] is 37 feet wide by 120 feet deep, and all front Toner Ave. The streets are laid out on the plat, Fifteen feet is dedicated fo[r] street purposes on the west making that street f--- wide The alley on the South is ten (10) feet wide.

I Robert Kreuzberger do certify that I am proprietor of this addition and the same was platted and laid out under my direction for the purpose of deposing of the same.

1907 - the town of Culver went dry - and the hotel was turned into a rooming house.

The following in the 1908 and 1922 plat maps for this section of town - showing the same plat as drawn out and described above. The 1908 map does not show the location of the hotel - but it is shown on the 1922 plat map.



Sometime before 1908 the property was sub-divided - the following give more details to the plat map of 1908 shown below.

1908 The Kreuzberger property at Culver was bought from the Kreuzberger estate by T E Slattery. The account is found in on pg. 1 in the Logansport Journal dated Apr. 10, 1908:

Former Oasis is now a Desert
The Old Kreuzberger property at Culver, the object of many Logansporters when they paid visits to Lake Maxinkuckee before that place became dry, has changed hands. The property formerly consisted of a combination summer garden, bowling alley, pool and card room and saloon, but since Prohibition closed all drinking places at the Lake has been vacant. It was bought from the Kreuzberger estate by T. E. Slattery for a consideration of $1,500.

In March 1910 S. E. Medbourn purchased the Kreuzberger property for $5,000. This included the hotel, a block of will timbered high ground overlooking the lake, with the exception of the lot and building owned by T. E. Slattery.

The old Kreuzberger beer garden at Culver was sold yesterday to Samuel Medburn of Culver for a consideration of $5,000. 4 March 1910 Saturday Logansport Daily Reporter.

Sep 24, 1910 Logansport Pharos pg. 4

Notice to Heirs, Creditors etc.
In the matter of the estate or Robert Kreuzberger, deceased.
In the Cass Cricuit Court Septmeber term 1910
Notice is here by given that Carl Rees as executor of the estate of Robert Kreuzberger, deceased has presented and filed his account and vouchers in final settlement of said estate, and that the same will come up for the examination and action of said circuit court on the 18th day of November 1910 at which time all heirs, creditors, or legatees of said estate are required to appear in saind court and show cause if any there be, why said account and vouchers should not be approved, and let all heirs, creditors, legatees and other persons interested appear and make proof of their heirshiop or claim to any part of said estate. - Carl Rees, Exectutor

Witness my hand and seal of said court at Logansport, Indiana, this 21st day of October, 190 (Seal) Edward Hankee, Clerk

Attorney for estate M. Winfield.

1914 - Pool Hall - by the 1914 Sanborn Map; and this is the area by the 1914.

Janet Lynn Hand writes: We always stayed at the big house on the end of state street, near the railroad tracks, managed by the Mawhorters (sp.?). A very nice old couple, man's name was Rex, I think. this would be in the 1950's and 1960's.

1950's.,1960's, 1970's - Jack & June Spencer

Sara Bramfeld Gedrimas writes:
It's the house right next to the park and next to Spencer's, with the white pillars. It was in disrepair but it was awesome! We rented with the Peterson's and it had 3 cabins on the west that came with it. Someone else bought it 30 years ago and it is now a private residence. Their pier is down the hill by the pipe with the spring and that property used to be owned by the RR. The tracks ran right through the yard on top of the hill and the bridge was just to the west and headed into town. The bridge was about 30 feet off the ground and you had to walk on the ties and could see the ground between them. It was scary and I can remember what it was like as though I was on it yesterday!"

In the late 1970's Harry and Donna Dale bought it and started to restored it. This is recorded by the Culver Citizen - of August 4, 1976 By JAN GARRISON, Special to the Citizen :

What was once a combination saloon, bowling alley, billiard hall and haven for "fancy ladies" is now the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Dale.

The Dales bought the old Kreuzberger's Park and Saloon 21-2 ago. known as "Old Brick," it had been converted into an before the Dales apartment complex for two families bought it and before that it was used as a boarding house.

Restoring the house has been the Dales' plan . Mrs. Dale said when they first bought the house they figured it would take five years to restore it and make it comfortable. After two years, they have come a long way.

"We're going to beat the five-year plan; we're getting down to just decorating and some electrical now," Mr. Dale said.

The first major accomplishment the Dales achieved proved to be their first major setback. When they bought the house, there was no heating unit. So they installed a baseboard heating system and started drying the house out, said Mrs. Dale.

"We thought the ceilings were in good condition but when the house dried out, the upstairs ceiling fell in," she said.

They have also had to replace most of the windows . After close inspection, they found many had beebee holes in them or had weathered so badly a person couldn't see through them. All the windows had to be reglazed and caulked.

Doors also proved to be a problem. They are all oversized, and it was impossible to find replacements or storm doors. "You just don't go into Sears and buy one like that," Mr. Dale said. Finally, they had to have special doors made from converted screen doors.

In restoring the house, the Dales have knocked out six walls put in while the house was being used as an apartment building. They have also started stripping the varnish and paint off the old oak wain­scotting and woodwork.

Matching the original oak's color was a problem when they put in the stairway to the upstairs, Mr. Dale said.. New oak is white and it took several coats of stain before they got a color similar to the original, he said.

The stairway itself proved to be a major operation which included architectural, drawing and major carpentry work. The family moved out of the house for five weeks while the project was being Mrs. Dale said. done this winter,

The Dales had to replace three walls damaged by water over the years. They discovered the walls' condition while pulling off the old wallpaper, Mr. Dale said. "There must have been 20 layers of paper. I think it was holding the walls together. We'd rip off some paper and a chunk of plaster would be stuck to it," he said.

Mr. Dale said that after putting in some electrical wires, they will lower the ceilings six inches. That will be just enough to cover pipes and wires. "The ceilings will be 11 feet upstairs and 13 downstairs," he added.

Mrs. Dale said after they bought "Old Brick" she dreamed of finding all sorts of treasures in the attic. They were in for a rude shock, though.

"Harry told me to go up and look in it first. When I got up there I said, `Harry, you know what I found up here?' He said, `What?' I laughed.

The Dales have one advantage. They will never need air-conditioning. The house sits on a hill, and a steady breeze is always with shade trees surrounding the house, the Dales have a huge amount of window space which includes working transoms. "With the breeze blowing and all the window space, we'll never need a air-conditioning," Mr. Another hilltop advantage and having all that window space is the magnificent lake view. In fact, the lake is what brought the Dales here from the Chicago suburbs. "We would have never tried this if we didn't love the lake so much," Mrs. Dale said.

The Dales have heard many stories about the house since moving here. One favorite concerns the upstairs being used by ladies of the evening during the 1880's and 1890's while the building was still the original saloon. A back stairway was supposedly built leading to the women's quarters, Mr. Dale said.

Their son once was asked where he lived by an old man, she said. When he told the man, the man's eyes widened "They and he said, used to keep fancy ladies there"' she laughed.

Other stories include the existence of a duck pin alley in the house. Mr. Dale said he has been told the picnic tables in the town park were made from wood which was used in the alleys. Another story concerns a beer garden in the back. Mr. Dale said the design of the structure in back and a solid cement floor makes it look like the garden did exist. Somebody built small apartments on the cement and rented them to fishermen after the tavern was closed. The Dales have taken the structure and turned it into a guest cottage.

A special doorway to the basement proved to be the spot where the beer was taken downstairs and placed in a large tank, Mr. Dale said. The tank was filled with water fed by an artesian well. After the tavern was forced to close, when the town went dry in 1903, the new owners capped the well and diverted the water into the drain which empties into the lake. "It runs all year round, the same temperature... he said.

Mrs. Dale said they have no idea how old the building is, but they know the place was built before 1872 because of the land abstract they have. The place has had several names. They include the original name, Kreuzberger’s Park and Saloon, and Lakeview Place. The name most often used is “Old Brick,” Mrs. Dale said.

There is a pipe which sticks out above the front door where they believe signs were hung. Mr. Dale said after they have the house finished he will hang a sign from it which says, "The Old Brick."

The building's construction is unusual. The walls are more than one foot thick. They consist of three layers of bricks with some air space between each layer. The floor joices, which are two inches by 12 inches thick, are built into the walls, so no supports are needed inside the hou se. The plaster was placed right on to the brick wall, Mr. Dale said. The place is absolutely still, even during the hardest storms, his wife added.

In 1984 the Marshall County Historical Society recognized it as a historical structure. Below are photographs of it while the Dale's had it and recent times.


303 State - Kreuzberger's Park & Saloon - "Old Brick" 1876 - J. Castleman
1880 - E. Parker
1908 - Lot 8
1910 - March S. E. Medbourn

The purchase was for $5,000. It included the hotel, a block of well timbered high ground excluding the lot and building owned by T. E. Slattery.

1922 - Kreuzberger Hotel or Tavern & Inn
          1979 -     Harry & Donna Dale
         19__ -1987?     Donna Dale

Split off PRC SW1/4 INT WLN STSTE ST WLY R/W LN in 1987

         1989-93 -     Doug Coursey
         ?-9 Dec 1999 -     RObert B. & Joan Volkert
         9 Dec 1999-2007     Jim and Diane Greene

GREEN DIANE TRUSTEE DECLARATION TRUST
101.5' S SE COR LOT 1 KREUS ADD S 48'