1899 Events

Hi & Mighty distillery at the Indiana Beer on Tap event, they served amazing canned cocktails and had their gin for sale. My favorite was the Lemon Shake Up- I bought a four pack and can't wait to try it. Also loved their Slice Slice Slice Baby! This was such a unique piece venue for a tasting event, fun and open vibe!

The 1899 Event Hall is located at Central State Village on the near westside of Indianapolis on the former Central State Hospital grounds. The Village has two entrances off Tibbs Avenue or West Washington Street and just under two miles from 1-70. Built in 1899, this building was first used as the men's dining hall, and later as a recreation hall until the hospital closed in 1994. Central State Village has undergone a major revitalization and the few Central State Hospital buildings that remain are occupied along with new homes in the Village.There are two entrances into the 5,568 square foot building, one designed as the main entrance, by the fountain, and one at the other end, or back, of the building. Parking, including handicapped, is conveniently located on two sides of the building. The exterior has a nice fountain by the entrance, lovely landscaping, bench seats and surrounded by beautiful green space. Restorations took special care to preserve and restore as much of the original features as possible including the gorgeous tile floors, decorative tin ceiling and two large antique skylights. The interior features include round crystal chandeliers, two discreet private restrooms on both sides of the 400 sq. ft. foyer and two larger restrooms on both sides of the 600 sq. ft. warming kitchen. The very efficient, large warming kitchen has stainless steel counters and applicances. Very easy to work in. The open hall is a large rectangular shaped room with one row of support post down the length of the room. Not an issue with setup. While visting, the hall was set up for an event using their 5' round tables and white wooden chairs. Table and chair rental is $250 for 300 chairs and 35 5' tables with a $300 cleaning fee. The setup I saw was 10 chairs per table which allowed no room at all for a guest to sit comfortably or even pull up to the table. We would use 6 guests per table to allow for some personal space. They note up to 500 guests on the brochures but 500, in my opinion, would not be possible or comfortable even with a cocktail setup. Maybe 250, I would think unless you utilize the outdoor space with a tent. Current 2019 pricing is Monday through Thursday at $1,000, Friday/Sunday $2,200 and Saturday is $3,300. Note, 2020 Saturday pricing is $4,000. Table and chairs are the only amenities that come with the rental price. Linens, silverware, tableware, extra tables, audio/video and bartenders are all ala carte pricing with your caterer of choice. Also private food is not allowed. They have preferred caterer's but they allow you to bring in whomever you want. The building is perfect for those who love history, enjoy historical buildings and appreciate the restoration of old buildings. The location is beautiful with tons of history, ample parking and beautiful grounds.

I bartended for my girlfriend's sister at this 1899 venue and man was it an amazing event! The venue is Soo gorgeous with of course a great amount of history. The vintage look and the open concept creates a spacious venue both physically and visually. The venue has nice clean restrooms and a big kitchen. There are food warmers and a refrigerator for your use as well as a sink and a lot of kitchen room for prep work. The only thing I didn't see was something to cook on like a stove or an oven but that is just something to consider! The wedding was amazing and it could not have been as successful as it was without the venue. So thank you 1899 for the great time!!!

Communication was a bit of an issue as our original account manager left the company halfway through planning, and they have GOT to get rid of those broken lamp posts and the derelict basketball court on the grounds, so they lost a star for that. Everything else was truly wonderful. If you're adventurous and willing to explore, it's a fantastic outdoor grounds to take wedding photos. The venue itself is quite old and would probably feel a bit drafty without plenty of decoration, but as long as you know what you're getting it's a charming, magical place.I could see how it isn't everybody's style, but it's well worth checking out at least.

My husband and I attended a wedding here this past weekend. Ceremony was held outdoors and was lovely. However, a thought that never occurred to me was the fact that it is close to the airport. There were jets flying over to land at the airport throughout the ceremony. It was definitely hard to hear anything except jets even with microphones. Once we proceeded inside (we had to carry our chairs in for our tables), it was again, lovely. Wide open ballroom with large crystal round chandeliers hanging from a tall ceiling. The historic nature of the venue was beautiful. However, it didn't feel very quaint or cozy and while decorated very nicely by the wedding party, it did still seem slightly impersonal. The restrooms were nice as was the fountain outside. Just know if you're booking this place, you will have sound from jets landing at the airport and it will take some decorating to jazz it up.

This venue is beautiful! It is one large ballroom that features chandeliers and high statement ceilings. It is on the far westside and can be hard to find at night. It is perfect for a glamorous or vintage themed event or wedding.

The air conditioning system does not work correctly. Very Cold air blows on several tables located on the south west side of the facility. When we asked to have the temperature changed, we were told NO. This problem could be easily fixed by installing air distribution grills that direct the cold air up.

We booked this place for my daughter's wedding. The place is historic & vintage. The staff that handled our initial visits (10 months prior) was no longer with the company. So there was a hesitation on my part on how consistent & organize they will be. Unlike the other formal venue that we had used in the past. The staff in this venue is pretty new to the business & really not consistent enough with communicating planning & preparations for an event. But they are trying.The place itself is attractive, but being an old building it has it's negative side. Some bugs were found by our guests on the floor. The area is not well lid at night and NOT SECURE. Three of our guests lost personal items in their car. We called the police but they never showed up (this is after the party bet 2-4am).The place needs more visual directional sign from the main streets (washington & tibbs). Being on the campus of "Central State Museum" a building sign stating "1899" will be nice. In the inside, the building is beautiful with high ceilings & chandeliers (not really bright enough presentations/readings). The building echos a lot so sound system should be considered. We did not think about this & our dj is an amateur one, so the talking of the people overpower the music playing. But I think this is more of the DJ job than the venue itself. The fountain up front is beautiful at night with lights, but I wish the flow of water will be a lot higher than just 12 inches. It will be a lot prettier if it is a tall flowing fountain. They have a private bathroom at the entry- which they told us that this is their "bridal suite" IT IS MORE OF RESTROOM than a suite. One bench chair & a toilet. The place is huge, so space is not a problem. The outside wooded area is nice. But not maintain enough with broken post lights & no electric supply. My daughter's wedding ceremony is out in this wooden area. I requested that they fix the light post but last minute we are told they don't have power supply. I think this place can be restore well if they gated the area & put more lights in the original posts. This place has lots of potentials, but if not kept right, it will go down as it's neighboring area. Pros: Historic & beautiful. Space high ceiling. Ample parkingCons: Security at night, not enough lights inside & out(post lights)

So I was very excited about this venue when I saw the website and the photos. I was a little discouraged when I saw the negative reviews on here about communication. The reviews were from a few years ago and I thought maybe things have improved since then. I emailed the venue 2 days ago with no reply. So I called the number here in yelp, since there is not a number on the website. It was not a direct number to the venue but to the apartment management building, or that's what I was told. The women who answered was polite and gave me the actual venue number. (I found it frustrating the number isn't on the actual website for the venue and I'm having to search for it) so I call the number and get a voicemail which states the voicemail is full and you can't leave a massage. So I call the originally number back, the apartment building, and the women stated, "yeah there is someone new running it, they should respond and clear out the voicemail by this weekend or next week". This whole thing is very frustrating and I'm just trying to tour the venue. I will not be looking at this venue which is a shame because it looks beautiful. I guess their communication is just as terrible now from a few years ago.