Washington Terrace was one of Bloomington’s earliest upscale apartment buildings on the southeast corner of 8th and Washington Streets. Indianapolis architects, Ross and George Caldwell, designed Washington Terrace, including two additional Bloomington properties, Willow Terrace and Graham Hotel (now known as Graham Plaza). The Colonial Revival style apartment building was built in 1929 with a limestone façade, a palladian window at the top of the entrance, and its shutters feature various cutout designs such as half-moons, circles, and triangles.
William H. Sears, a Showers Brothers Factory Superintendent, was one of Washington Terrace’s residents. The Showers family history in Bloomington dates to 1856, when Charles Showers began his furniture-making career. The successful family was responsible for several subdivisions in Prospect Hill and purchases in the Bollman addition, which later became the North Washington Street Historic District. Washington Street is considered one of the best examples of a neighborhood that was built for the entrepreneurial class in the city’s early development. The area housed influential business leaders such as the Buskirks, Dr. Burton Myers, Grahams, Matthews, and Nellie Showers Teter.
CFC Properties, a real estate development and property management company, purchased Washington Terrace on June 21, 1995, and shortly after sold the property.
