916 West Trinity Ave. - Ambassador House Apartments

THIS FIRST ENTRY STATES THAT THE AMBASSADOR HOUSE HAD 19 APARTMENTS, BUT IT HAD ONLY 18.  IT HAD AN ENTIRELY SYMMETRIC INTERIOR. WITH 3 IDENTICAL FLOORS, EACH WITH 3 APARTMENTS ON THE EAST SIDE AND THEIR MIRROR IMAGES ON THE WEST SIDE.  THE APARTMENTS WERE NUMBERED 1 THROUGH 19, WITH 1 BEING THE FRONT FIRST FLOOR WEST SIDE APARTMENT, 2 BEING THE FRONT FIRST FLOOR EAST SIDE APARTMENT, ETC.  APARTMENT 13 WAS NUMBERED 14, AS BUILDINGS GENERALLY DID NOT HAVE FLOORS OR APARTMENTS, OR OFFICES NUMBERED 13 UNTIL MORE RECENT TIMES.  THE BOILER AND EXTRA RADIATORS WERE  HOUSED IN THE CELLER, VISIBLE FROM AND ENTERED FROM THE BACK OF THE BUILDING.  SOME OF THE WORST CRACKING IN THE BUILDING WAS UNDER WINDOWS AND HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR MANY YEARS, THUS THE FANCY WOOD WORK UNDER MANY OF THEM TO HIDE THE HEAVILY PATCHED BRICKWORK.  THE CRACKS WERE GENERALLY STRUCTURAL, GOING CLEAR THROUGH (ARMS AS WELL AS DAYLIGHT) THE MULTIPLE BRICK THICK WALLS.  TIE RODS (WITH IRON STARS ON THE EXTERIOR) FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER HELPED HOLD THE BUILDING TOGETHER (RUNNING THROUGH THE SECOND-FLOOR MIDDLE APARTMENTS AND BEING USEED IN SOME CASES FOR HANGING CLOTHES -- THE CLOSETS WERE TINY AS APPROPRIATE TO THE PERIOD OF THE BUILDING).  THE WOOD FIRE ESCAPES AT THE SIDES AND BACK OF THE APARTMENTS WERE ROTTEN AND FALLING OFF OF THE BUILDING, SO THE BUILDING WAS CONDEMNED ABOUT 1970ISH UNTIL THE ESCAPES WERE REPLACED WITH GOOD QUALITY STEEL ONES.  THE FRONT (AND LARGEST) APARTMENTS HAD HANDSOME WOODWORK AND LOVELY ARCHED PASSAGEWAYS FROM THE LIVING ROOMS INTO THE DINING ROOMS.  THE APARTMENTS HAD RADIATOR HEAT.  ALL UTILITIES WERE INCLUDED IN THE RENT, WITH KITCHENS ORIGINALLY HAVING GAS STOVES, BUT LATER HAVING SOME GAS AND SOME ELECTRIC STOVES.  THE KITCHENS ALL ORIGINALLY HAD REAL BUILT-IN ICE BOXES SO THE ICEMAN COULD PUT THE BLOCK OF ICE INTO THE BOX FROM THE EXTERIOR.  THESE WERE SOLID OAK AND SOME WERE REFINISHED BY TENANTS.  THE KITCHENS ALL HAD A BUILT-IN UNIT OF DRAWERS ON THE BOTTOM AND GLASS-DOORED SHELVES ABOVE A BIT OF COUNTER SPACE -- MUCH LIKE A HANDSOME HOOSIER BUILT-IN CABINET.  ALL APARTMENT FLOORS WERE SOLID OAK, WITH BATHROOMS TILED IN WHITE HEXAGONAL (?) TILES WITH BLACK TILE TRIM.   ALL LIGHT FIXTURES WERE STILL ORIGINAL.  THERE WAS PARKING IN THE BACK OF THE BUILDING AS WELL AS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TRINITY AVENUE.   MY APARTMENT, BEING BY FAR THE MOST ATTRACTIVE AND LIVABLE IN THE BUILDING AT THE TIME, WAS USED IN ENTICING APPLE REALITY TO CONSIDER PURCHASING IT.  AFTER THE BUILDING WAS PURCHASED BY APPLE ABOUT 1995, THE RENTS WERE DOUBLED, THE BUILDING FELL INTO DISREPAIR, AND IT WAS EVENTUALLY CONDEMNED AGAIN.  I LIVED IN THE THIRD FLOOR, EAST-SIDE BACK EFFICIENCY FOR 6 MONTHS IN 1968, AND LATER LIVED IN APARTMENT 8 (SECOND FLOOR EAST SIDE FRONT) FROM ABOUT 1982 UNTIL THE SPRING OF 1996.  I WAS ALLOWED TO RENT AN OTHERWISE UNRENABLE #8 BECAUSE I COULD REFURBISH THE KITCHEN, PATCH PLASTER, REMOVE THE SMALL AMOUNT OF PLASTER LEFT ON 1 BEDROOM WALL ETC.  AND BECAUSE  NANNIE MAE HERNDON, THE OWNER, LIKED ME  (AND I HER).  [FREE RENT FOLLOWED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.] THE CURRENT INTERIOR OF THE BUILDING IS QUITE SAD TO SEE, WITH THE EXTERIOR ABOUT AS BAD.  THE ORIGINAL BUILDING WAS ATTRACTIVE (A BIT ELEGANT) AND PROPER BOTH INSIDE AND OUT.  

THE BUILDING IS A SOLID BRICK BUILDING WITH A LATER PARTIAL STUCCO EXTERIOR APPLIED TO COVER MAJOR STRUCTUAL CRACKS CAUSED BE SETTLING (A NOT UNCOMMON PROBLEM IN PARTS OF THE TRINITY PARK AREA.)