Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
One of Westfield’s oldest buildings will be moved Tuesday to a temporary location from the spot where it was constructed more than 180 years ago.
Crews with Pennsylvania-based Wolfe House & Building Movers LLC are set to move “The Green Building” from 102 S. Union St. to the parcel directly east of its current site, according to a press release from the city.
The building will be moved to make way for the Indiana Department of Transportation’s expansion of State Road 32, which runs through downtown Westfield.
Once State Road 32 construction is underway and utilities have been buried, the building will be moved about three blocks north to a new long-term location on North Union Street, west of Westfield City Hall and south of Westfield Basile Playhouse.
The Green Building was constructed sometime in the late 1830s or early 1840s. It was advertised as “The Old Corner Drug Store” in 1861 and 1862, and it served as Westfield’s post office from 1873 to 1877, according to the city.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the building also operated as Patterson’s Store, Hetherington’s Store and Funderburgh’s Grocery.
One of Westfield’s longest-running restaurants, Pickett’s Cafeteria, operated in the building from 1958 to 2002. The building later housed other restaurants, including Erika’s Place, which closed in 2020. The Green Building’s most recent tenant was Dance Innovations.
The eastbound lanes of State Road 32 will close from about noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday for the relocation project. Workers with Wolfe House & Building Movers will slide beams underneath the structure to move the building. The Westfield Board of Public Works approved a $95,250 contract in December 2023 to pay for the relocation.
Drivers going east on SR 32 will detour using South Union Street to 171st Street to Carey Road. The westbound lanes of S.R. 32 closed last month for Citizens Energy Group’s water main relocation project.
Westfield and the INDOT are teaming on a $21.7 million reconstruction of S.R. 32 through downtown to improve traffic flow—a project that has been on the books since 2018 when the cost estimate was $15 million.
The city and state are splitting the cost. Westfield has control over project design, while INDOT is paying for land acquisition, utility relocation and construction. Major construction to expand S.R. 32 from two lanes to four from Poplar Street to Timberbrook Run will begin next year.
INDOT is overseeing the $80 million project that will widen the road to four lanes and build seven roundabouts for five miles between Westfield and Noblesville.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.