John Dillinger was front-page news in 1934—bold, fearless, and one hundred percent Hoosier. His deadly crime spree began in the summer of 1933, but he wasn’t a superstar until he made daring escapes from jails in Lima, Ohio, and Crown Point, Indiana, and foiled FBI dragnets in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin.
Dillinger seldom operated alone. He and his fellow thugs were nicknamed the Terror Gang. At one point, the Indiana governor and National Guard proposed using tanks and poison gas to fight them. In retrospect, it might have made the fight more balanced, for it was later learned the gang had once planned to raid the Fort Harrison Arsenal in Indianapolis for mortars and even more powerful weapons.
The American Legion offered to deputize 30,000 of its members for roadblocks and posses to stop him. Though the plan was never implemented, vigilante groups did set up roadblocks around the state in a haphazard way. Locals were warned in 1933 to not dress up as gangsters for Halloween.
Still, as deadly as his spree became—some believe as many as 16 died by his hand alone—Dillinger won the hearts of many citizens. At the height of the Depression, he took on the persona of Robin Hood, sticking it to the fat-cat bankers while acting with courtesy toward bystanders … just as long as they behaved.
His brief, violent life still fascinates the public almost 80 years after his death outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater at the age of 31. If you’re intrigued by this native prodigal son, come along on a tour of Dillinger sites in the state he called home. But take the back roads, and watch out for the coppers; they’re everywhere, I tell ya’—everywhere!
John Herbert Dillinger was born on June 22, 1903, in the Oak Hill neighborhood of Indianapolis. He was a normal baby and did not emerge from the birth canal with guns a-blazing. At the time, Dillinger’s father ran a grocery store (2210 Bloyd Ave., torn down) and was a deacon at Hillside Christian Church (1737 Ingram St., (317) 632-4988), which still holds services to this day. John’s mother, Mollie, died when he was only three years old, and his father remarried in 1912, to a woman named Elizabeth “Lizzie” Fields.
There is little left of the Dillinger birthplace. A new home sits on the lot, but the curbside retaining wall is original. It’s not hard to imagine little Johnnie playing marbles on the sidewalk along this wall.
Dillinger attended Public School No. 38 just a block away, and later Public School No. 55 (17th & Sheldon Sts.). Only the first of these buildings still stands. Today it is the Greater Love Temple Apostolic Church (2050 Winter Ave., (317) 926-9224). At 16, just before high school, Dillinger dropped out and eventually went to work in a plywood mill.
Dillinger Birthplace, 2053 Caroline Ave. (formerly Cooper St.), Indianapolis, IN 46218
No phone
Hours: Torn down; a new home stands on the site
Cost: Free
Directions: Exit I-70 at Keystone Ave./Rural St., south to Bloyd Ave., then west seven blocks to Caroline Ave.
The Dillinger family moved to Mooresville in March 1920, shortly before John turned 17. He joined the US Navy in 1923 but turned up back in Mooresville five months later, absent without leave from the USS Utah, then docked in Boston.
Still AWOL in 1924, Dillinger married 16-year-old Beryl Hovious. He didn’t seem as interested in spending time with her as he did hanging out in a Mooresville poolroom with the guys. There, he met up with Edgar Singleton, the town’s resident hoodlum. Singleton enlisted Dillinger to help him mug a local grocer, Frank Morgan, on the night of September 6, 1924. The pair drank and waited near the side entrance to the Mooresville Christian Church. When Morgan passed by heading south, walking home after closing, Singleton hit him over the head with a large bolt wrapped in a handkerchief. After being struck twice, the grocer got back up and smacked the gun out of Dillinger’s hand, causing it to discharge. The muggers got $150, but not for long.
Morgan gave the Masonic distress signal, which, along with the gunshot, woke the neighbors. Singleton drove off without Dillinger, who then fled to the local pool hall covered in blood. Soon both were apprehended. Morgan could not positively identify Dillinger, though the cops tricked him into confessing on an empty promise of leniency. The judge sentencing Dillinger reneged on the offer and packed him off to jail for 10 to 20 years. Singleton pleaded not guilty, his case went to trial, and he drew only 2 to 14 years.
Heritage Christian Church (former Mooresville Christian Church), 61 W. Harrison St., Mooresville, IN 46158
Phone: (317) 831-3860
Hours: Always visible
Cost: Free
Directions: Two blocks north of High St. (Rte. 42) and two blocks east of Monroe St. (Rte. 267), on the southeast corner of S. Jefferson and W. Harrison Sts.
The start of something big.
Dillinger’s first prison home was the Indiana State Reformatory at Pendleton, northeast of Indianapolis. Shortly after arriving, the new con tried to escape by hiding in a pile of excelsior but was flushed out after the quick-thinking guards set fire to it.
After Dillinger’s fifth year in prison, Beryl filed for divorce. Not long after that, on July 25, 1929, he asked to be transferred to Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. It was not to mend his broken heart; it was because Michigan City had a baseball team.
As Inmate #13225, he started hanging with a much rougher crowd. During his nine years of incarceration he joined a plot to break out. According to the plan, the first conspirator released would launch weapons over the wall, into the prison yard, and they would be retrieved by gang members who were still locked up. Those on the inside would then shoot their way out.
Meanwhile, back in Mooresville, folks were trying to get Dillinger’s harsh sentence reduced. Johnnie was eventually paroled on May 22, 1933, on an order signed by the governor. The governor had been persuaded by a petition signed by victim Frank Morgan and trial judge Joseph Williams (among others), and compassion for the imminent death of Dillinger’s stepmother. As bad luck would have it, the Dillingers’ car broke down on the way back from Michigan City, and the ex-con arrived home a few hours after she died of a stroke.
Though there is no conclusive proof, many believe Dillinger later had weapons smuggled into the Michigan City prison that were eventually used by 10 inmates to escape on September 26, 1933. Their actions immediately following the jailbreak make that theory all the more convincing: they headed to Lima, Ohio, to spring Dillinger where he was then being held.
And how did Johnnie end up behind bars in Lima? That’s the next part of the tour.
Indiana State Reformatory, 4490 W. Reformatory Rd., Pendleton, IN 46064
Phone: (765) 778-2107
Hours: Always visible, view from street
Cost: Free
Website: www.in.gov/idoc/2411.htm
Directions: Just northwest of Rte. 36 at Pendleton Ave. (Rte. 9).
Indiana State Prison, 1 Park Row, Michigan City, IN 46360
Phone: (219) 874-7258
Hours: Always visible, view from street
Cost: Free
Website: www.in.gov/idoc/2413.htm
Directions: Where southwest-bound Chicago St. ends at Woodlawn Ave.
When he wasn’t working to spring his Big House buddies, Dillinger was robbing banks all over the Hoosier state. The first hit was less than a month after his release from Michigan City, and in less than four months he would be back behind bars.
The events listed below reflect only major Indiana crimes. Dillinger and his cohorts robbed many establishments around the Midwest, as well as groceries and filling stations here and there. There are certainly more crimes attributed to Dillinger than he committed. Some could argue for additions or deletions to this list, but for the most part, these are definite Dillinger jobs.
Assisted by “Handsome Harry” Copeland and Hilton Crouch, the trio was able to walk away with $3,500 and a pile of jewelry from the Commercial Bank of Daleville. The former bank has a carved split log over the old vault proclaiming DILLINGER WAS HERE.
The Closet Thrift Store, 7850 Walnut St., Daleville, IN 47334
No phone
Hours: Always visible; open occasionally
Cost: Free
Directions: At the intersection of Main St. (Rte. 32) and Walnut St., two blocks north of Daleville Rd.
Two days after the Daleville holdup, Dillinger and Copeland robbed the National Bank in Rockville. A son of the bank’s president was in another room when the commotion started, and fired a shot that just missed Copeland. Dillinger rushed the shooter and tried to fire his gun point-blank into the man’s stomach, but his weapon misfired. The pair fled with only $140.
For Dillinger tourists, this is one of the few holdup sites that still operates as a bank, today known as the Old National Bank. If you’re hungry, stop on by the nearby Jailhouse Café.
Old National Bank, 128 W. Ohio St., Rockville, IN 47872
Phone: (765) 569-4270
Hours: Always visible; Lobby, Monday–Friday 9 AM–5 PM, Saturday 9 AM–Noon
Cost: Free
Website: www.oldnational.com
Directions: At the northwest corner of town square.
Jailhouse Café, 123 S. Jefferson St., Rockville, IN 47872
Phone: (765) 569-2233
Hours: Daily 8 AM–8 PM
Cost: Free; Meals $7–10
Website: www.jailhouse-cafe.com
Directions: One block south of Ohio St., one block east of Market St., on Courthouse Square.
Today your deposits in Montpelier are insured.
Copeland and Crouch were again involved in a Dillinger heist that netted $10,110 and a .45-caliber gun from the First National Bank of Montpelier. The gang then headed to Bluffton, Ohio, for another bank job before returning to the Hoosier state.
As with Dillinger’s previous bank robbery, this location still operates as a bank.
Citizens State Bank, 110 S. Main St., Montpelier, IN 47359
Phone: (765) 728-2411
Hours: Always visible; Lobby, Monday–Thursday 10 AM–4:30 PM, Friday 9 AM–5 PM, Saturday 9 AM–Noon
Cost: Free
Website: https://citizensstatebankindiana.com
Directions: One block north of Huntington St. (Rte. 18) on Main St.
Dillinger, Copeland, and Crouch robbed the Massachusetts Avenue State Bank in Indianapolis of $24,000. The bank was located near the then headquarters of the Indiana State Police, and because of this false sense of untouchability, security was lax. Some believe the gang buried the loot in Oak Hills, just west of town, and that it is still there for the finding.
The old bank building is still around and open to visitors, though these days it’s an art gallery. Some of the bank fixtures, including the vault, are still intact.
Art Bank Gallery, 811 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (317) 624-1010
Hours: Always visible; Gallery, Wednesday–Friday 1–8 PM, Saturday 1–9 PM, Sunday Noon–4 PM
Cost: Free
Website: www.artbankgallery.com
Directions: Just north of St. Clair St. on Massachusetts Ave., southwest of the I-65/I-70 interchange.
Dillinger was captured in Dayton, Ohio, on September 22, 1933, at the apartment of Mary Jenkins Longnacker, sister of jailhouse buddy Joseph Jenkins. At the time, he was carrying a map of the Michigan City prison. The significance of the map became more apparent five days later when 10 armed inmates broke out of the facility. Officials didn’t realize it at the time, but the gang was headed for the Allen County Jail in Lima, Ohio, to spring their helpful pal.
Meanwhile, Dillinger had confessed to robbing the Bluffton bank on August 14. His statement was never used in court since he was liberated by the outlaws on October 12. In the jailhouse shootout, Allen County Sheriff Jesse Sarber was killed.
Back in business, the Terror Gang’s crime spree resumed operations two days later.
Fresh out of prison and needing arms and ammunition, Harry Pierpoint, Walter Dietrich, and Dillinger marched into the Auburn Police Station Arsenal, guns drawn, and asked, “Have you got any guns?” The police did. The Terror Gang walked out with two Thompson submachine guns, eight other firearms, three bulletproof vests, and plenty of ammo.
Ninth & Cedar Sts., Auburn, IN 46706
No phone
Hours: Always visible
Cost: Free
Directions: One block east of Main St., two blocks south of Seventh St. (Rte. 8).
A week later, the same trio walked away with two Thompsons, eight other guns, a tear-gas launcher, and six bulletproof vests from the Peru Police Station Arsenal. One of the machine guns was later recovered and today is in a display case at the town’s new police station. (You have to ask the on-duty clerk to see it, and there’s no guarantee somebody will be able to escort you inside, but it’s worth a try.)
21 E. Third St., Peru, IN 46970
No phone
Hours: Always visible
Cost: Free
Directions: Across the street, to the south, from the new police station.
Peru Police Station, 35 S. Broadway, Peru, IN 46970
Phone: (765) 473-5522
Hours: Monday–Friday 8 AM–4 PM
Cost: Free
Website: www.cityofperu.org/peru_police_department.html
Directions: One block southeast of Main St. (Rte. 24 Business) on Broadway.
The old Peru Police Station Arsenal.
Unable to eat bullets, the Terror Gang next planned an armed withdrawal from the Greencastle Central National Bank and Trust on the southeast corner of Washington and Jackson Streets in Greencastle. Dillinger and seven others got $75,346, enough to keep them fed for a while. The gang headed for Daytona Beach and spent the New Year’s holiday in the Florida sun.
Putnam County Family Support, 20–24 W. Washington St., Greencastle, IN 46135
Phone: (765) 653-4820
Hours: Always visible
Cost: Free
Website: www.pcfss.net
Directions: Where Rte. 231 turns from westbound Washington St. to northbound Jackson St.
The first Hoosier holdup of 1934 took place at the First National Bank of East Chicago, netting $20,376. During their getaway, Dillinger shot and killed patrolman William Patrick O’Malley with a machine gun. The gangster was also hit by gunfire—four slugs to the chest—but he was wearing a bulletproof vest. John “Three Fingers” Hamilton and Harry Pierpont assisted Dillinger on the job. Hamilton was shot seven times but escaped with Dillinger and was patched up in Chicago.
Indianapolis Blvd. & W. Chicago Ave., East Chicago, IN 46312
No phone
Hours: Always visible
Cost: Free
Directions: Where Indianapolis Blvd. (Rte. 20) intersects with Chicago Ave. (Rte. 312).
John Dillinger’s bold exit from the Crown Point Jail on March 3, 1934, established his reputation as a cool-headed, confident hoodlum. However, the tales surrounding the event are often fuzzy and inaccurate, from how he got there to how he escaped.
Here’s what happened. Following the East Chicago job, Dillinger and company headed to the Southwest, ending up in Tucson, Arizona. The gang had just checked in to the Congress Hotel on January 22, 1934, when the building caught fire. Flush with cash, they tipped the firemen who rescued their luggage a little too generously, raising suspicions. They were captured three days later. Though many states wanted him, Dillinger was extradited to Indiana on January 30 to face murder charges on the killing in East Chicago. (Gang members Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley, and Russell Clark were sent back to Lima, Ohio, to faces charges in the murder of Sheriff Sarber.)
Dillinger was housed in the Crown Point Jail where he entertained a parade of private investigators, shifty lawyers, fawning press, and then-girlfriend Billie Frechette. According to legend, he used his spare time to carve a wooden gun out of an old washboard, then coated it with shoe polish to make it look like a real pistol. Not true. More likely, the weapon was carved in Chicago and slipped to him by a guard, Frechette, or private investigator Arthur O’Leary. Dillinger then dumped wood shavings in his cell to throw suspicion off his accomplice.
On Saturday morning, March 3, Dillinger pulled the fake firearm on a guard in the second-floor exercise bullpen and, one by one, captured and incapacitated the jail’s remaining officers and a civilian visitor, fingerprint expert Ernest Blunk. Assisted by murder suspect Herbert Young-blood, Dillinger stole two machine guns and a .45 automatic not made of wood, ducked out the rear kitchen entrance with “hostage” Blunk, and drove off in Sheriff Lillian Holley’s car. He found her vehicle in the Main Street Garage, two buildings north up East Street, and ordered the all-too-willing Blunk to act as getaway driver. The pair also took a mechanic from the garage, Edwin Saager.
The four headed west but ran off the road at Lilley Corners, just east of Peotone, Illinois. It took half an hour to put chains on the tires and get the vehicle out of the ditch, yet Dillinger reportedly was calm through it all. He dumped Blunk and Saager near Peotone and gave them four dollars each for carfare back to Indiana. “It’s not much, but it’s all I can spare,” Dillinger told them. “Maybe I can remember you at Christmas.” (Blunk would regret ever returning; he was eventually thrown in prison for being a little too helpful to the bank robber.) Youngblood and Dillinger then parted ways. (Youngblood parted with the living two weeks later in a shootout in Port Huron, Michigan.)
By crossing state lines to avoid capture, Dillinger committed a federal offense. The FBI became involved, and within months he earned the moniker of Public Enemy #1. While Dillinger’s reputation grew, Crown Point’s image fell. The press dubbed the town Clown Point—some even suggested changing its name to Dillinger, Indiana—and Republican politicos gleefully passed out souvenir wooden guns to mock Sheriff Holley, a Democrat.
Today, the jail from which Dillinger escaped is a restored landmark open for guided tours, including spooky night tours. Check the building’s website for more details.
Old Sheriff’s House, 226 S. Main St., Crown Point, IN 46307
No phone
Hours: Always visible; Tours, April–September, Thursday 5:30–7:30 PM, Saturday 9 AM–1 PM
Cost: Adults $5, Kids (6–12) $2
Website: www.oldsheriffshouse.org
Directions: Two blocks south of the Lake County Courthouse on Rte. 55 (Main St.).
Amazing as it sounds, John Dillinger returned to Mooresville for a family reunion on April 8, 1934, hiding out for a couple days in plain sight of authorities. The whole clan got together for a Sunday picnic with fried chicken and coconut cream pie, Johnnie’s favorites, and the gangster was spotted walking around town. Dillinger posed with his infamous wooden gun by the side of the house, then left the fake weapon with his father.
Johnnie must have done some lobbying around town, because residents soon began circulating another petition for the governor to pardon Dillinger if the criminal promised to walk the straight and narrow. The once-bitten governor didn’t bite a second time, and the locals were widely criticized for even suggesting such a plea bargain.
The FBI believes Dillinger buried $600,000 in stolen cash on his father’s farm during the visit, but others put the loot’s sum closer to $1 million. It would be rather difficult to locate the cache today, for the farmhouse was eventually torn down and the land turned into a housing development.
Some people claim the ghosts of those who attended the picnic can still be heard, laughing, on the get-together’s April 8 anniversary each year. Others have smelled the faint odor of fried chicken.
Dillinger Farm, 535 Rte. 267, Mooresville, IN 46158
No phone
Hours: No longer there
Cost: Free
Directions: On the east side of Monroe St. (Rte. 267) at Carlisle St., where the housing development now stands.
John Dillinger didn’t spend too much time in his home state following his Crown Point escape, though he did return for two more heists.
Homer Van Meter helped Dillinger bump off his third Indiana police station. In Warsaw the pair got two handguns and three bulletproof vests, despite an officer’s attempt to stall the holdup. Today the building houses the Kosciusko County Jail Museum.
Kosciusko County Jail Museum, 121 N. Indiana St., Warsaw, IN 46581
Phone: (574) 269-1078
Hours: Always visible; Museum, March–December, Wednesday–Saturday 10 AM–4 PM
Cost: Free
Website: http://kosciuskohistory.com
Directions: One block north of Center St., two blocks west of Detroit St. (Rte. 15).
In what would be his last Hoosier holdup, Dillinger, Van Meter, John Paul Chase, and “Baby Face” Nelson hit the Merchants National Bank in South Bend for $29,890 and murdered policeman Howard Wagner in the process. Wagner had been directing traffic near the bank when he heard gunshots and went to investigate; Van Meter killed him before he even got inside. Nelson was shot by a jeweler who came out of a storefront, but was wearing a bulletproof vest and survived. The bullet-riddled bank was later torn down and replaced with a nondescript commercial office building called Center City Place.
Center City Place, 229 Michigan St., South Bend, IN 46601
No phone
Hours: Always visible
Cost: Free
Directions: Downtown, one block north of Wayne St., one block east of Main St. (Rte. 31 Business).
John Dillinger was gunned down outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater on July 22, 1934, and two days later his body was returned to his Indiana family (minus its brain, which was removed “for study”). It first rested at the E. F. Harvey Funeral Home in Mooresville (Harrison & Indiana Sts., since torn down), then was taken to the home of his sister, Audrey Hancock, in Maywood, just outside Indianapolis. The public viewing was halted after an hour when a drunken admirer tried to give Johnnie a swig from his flask.
Dillinger’s father was offered $10,000 by a traveling sideshow for his son’s body, but he didn’t accept the offer. The hucksters insisted the fee was just to rent the corpse and that the Dillingers would eventually get it back.
The gangster’s grave was lined with a three-foot-thick concrete vault and rebar to discourage grave robbers. Headstone thieves would find things a little easier; his gravestone has been stolen four times (to date), and its popularity shows no sign of waning.
Crown Hill Cemetery, 700 W. 38th St., Indianapolis, IN 46208
Phone: (317) 925-3800 or (317) 920-2644 (Tours)
Hours: April–September, daily 8 AM–6 PM; October–March, daily 8 AM–5 PM
Cost: Free; Heritage Tours, Adults $5, Seniors (55+) $4, Kids (18 and under) $3
Website: www.crownhill.org
Directions: Bound by 32nd St., Boulevard Pl., 38th St., and Dr. MLK Jr. St.; enter from 3402 Boulevard Pl.
What happened to the other members of the Terror Gang? Most ended up like Dillinger: dead. Charles “Fat Charley” Makley and “Handsome Harry” Pierpont were sentenced to the Ohio electric chair for the murder of Lima’s Sheriff Sarber. Makley was reported to have claimed, “I’d rather take the hot squat than see Johnnie caught.” He never had to make the choice; he died in a botched prison escape on March 27, 1934. On that day, Makley and Pierpont tried Dillinger’s fake gun trick, carving a replica from a bar of soap, but with less success. Guards shot both men. Makley died, but Pierpont survived, then was executed on October 17, 1934. He was buried in Indianapolis’s Holy Cross Cemetery (435 W. Troy Ave., (317) 784-4439, http://catholiccemeteries.cc). Homer Van Meter was gunned down by police officers in St. Paul, Minnesota, on August 23, 1934. He is planted in Ft. Wayne’s Lindenwood Cemetery (2324 W. Main St., (260) 432-4542, www.dignitymemorial.com/lindenwood-cemetery/en-us/index.page).
Many of the guns Dillinger used in his crime sprees were stolen from Hoosier law enforcement officials. It seems only appropriate that the main police museum in the state might get some of them back. But the Indiana State Police Historical Museum spends less time on its greatest foe than you might think—perhaps there’s still a little bad blood. They do have one display with a few firearms, a bulletproof vest, a replica of the wooden pistol, Johnnie’s death mask, a mannequin handing over some ill-gotten (fake) money, one of the gangster’s many stolen headstones, and other Dillinger-obelia.
But that’s not all—this museum also has a large stash of bongs and crack pipes, uniforms and squad cars, confiscated jailhouse weaponry, radar guns, smashed slot machines and stills, and Drunkometers. Be sure to bring a camera to get a gag “head-cutout” photo of yourself as a jewel thief, nabbed by the ever-vigilant Indiana State Police. Crime does not pay! At least not forever …
Indiana State Police Historical Museum, 8660 E. 21st St., Indianapolis, IN 46219
Phone: (317) 899-8293
Hours: Monday–Friday 9–3 PM, third Saturday of each month, noon–4 PM
Cost: Free
Website: www.in.gov/isp/museum.htm
Directions: Exit I-70 southbound at Post Rd., then west three blocks on 21st St.
So you say you don’t have the time to run around the state looking at crumbling banks, jails, and police stations. That’s where the John Dillinger Museum comes in handy. Sponsored by the South Shore Convention and Visitors Association, this fascinating hands-on collection (purchased from the estate of Dillingerphile Joe Pinkston) is probably the most entertaining museum in the state. Surprisingly, the curators are not shy about their town’s association with the most embarrassing tale in the Dillinger saga, the Crown Point jailbreak, but give accurate and complete information, even if it hurts.
The museum is arranged chronologically according to Dillinger’s short life. You start by visiting John’s early years on the farm, then BAM! you’re in prison. The small cell and looped recording of an angry guard have a distinctly Oz-like feel. Judge for yourself whether Dillinger’s sentence fit the Mooresville crime with an interactive game. Once in prison, see the faces of the Terror Gang formed in Michigan City.
Next, follow the gang’s crime spree as a witness to the East Chicago holdup—see how many details you can remember after staring down the barrel of a gun. Check out the 1933 Hudson Essex Terraplane, Dillinger’s getaway car of choice. And see a replica of the wooden gun that fooled Crown Point officials. (The original gun is part of the museum’s collection but is too valuable to put on display.)
Do you think a life of crime might be a glamorous career option? Think again—the next exhibit is an FBI lab where you are fingerprinted and booked. View the aftermath of the Little Bohemia shootout and the bloody end for Dillinger. The final, shocking displays include Johnnie’s “pants of death,” a bleeding wax dummy of Johnnie on the autopsy slab at the Cook County Morgue, and the undertaker’s basket used to transport his body.
Scattered throughout the museum are dummies of other Depression-era hoodlums, like Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Ma Barker, and Bonnie and Clyde, all of whom would die of acute lead poisoning. As a bonus, they’ve also got the Lindbergh baby kidnapper Bruno Richard Hauptmann strapped down in an electric chair, just seconds from death.
1 Courthouse Square, Crown Point, IN 46307
Phone: (219) 989-7979
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10 AM–4 PM, Sunday Noon–4 PM
Cost: Adults $4, Seniors (50+) $3, Kids (6–12) $2
Website: www.southshorecva.com/dillinger-museum/
Directions: At the intersection of Rte. 55 (Main St.) and Rte. 231 (Joliet St.).
In a move akin to shutting the barn door after the cows got out, the city of Goshen erected a bulletproof police booth along the transcontinental Lincoln Highway, five years after Dillinger was laid to rest in an Indianapolis cemetery. The octagonal limestone watch post was built by the WPA at a busy intersection in sight of three banks, one on each of the adjoining corners, and had gun portholes and impenetrable glass.
The Dillinger Museum is housed in the Lake County Courthouse, the “Grand Old Lady of Lake County,” which was long used as a place to get a quick hitch, for the county didn’t require blood tests or have a waiting period. Couples visiting Chicago would drive over the border to tie the knot. Ronald Reagan married his first wife Jane Wyman there in 1923. Rudolph Valentino, Joe DiMaggio, Red Grange, Tom Mix, and Muhammad Ali were also married at the courthouse, as were Michael Jackson’s parents. You can learn about all of it at the Lake County Historical Museum (1 Courthouse Square, (219) 662-3975, www.cpcourthouse.com) in the same building, which also contains a collection of 5,000+ pencils.
The booth was in 24-hour use until 1969. Though some laughed at the over-the-top effort while it was in operation, no bank robberies occurred at any nearby Goshen institutions.
Ready for anything.
Main St. & Lincoln Ave., Goshen, IN 46528 No phone
Hours: Always visible
Cost: Free
Directions: On Rte. 33 (Main St.) at Rte. 4 (Lincoln Ave.), on the southeast corner of the courthouse square.