351 S East Street Indianapolis, IN 46204-3712
317-638-7663
HISTORY
Opening in December 1998, the restaurant is housed in the former office and manufacturing facilities of The Indiana Oxygen Company. Originally constructed by The Oxygen Company in 1930 (at a cost of $45,000) on property located a few blocks away on South Delaware street, the building was used for the manufacturing of bottled oxygen and hydrogen until it was purchased in 1991 by neighboring Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly then generously donated the current property and the building to The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana. Thus in 1995, the 735 ton building was moved to its current location rather than face demolition.
Local
restaurateur Jeff Dunaway, former owner of St. Elmo's Steak House
purchased the
property
in the
fall
of 1997 with
the intent of opening a
fine dining establishment featuring
prime steaks and a flair for Northern Italian dishes, hence the name Palazzo Ossigeno
(Oxygen Palace) was adopted.
An expansive renovation was begun and within a year the planning and construction
had been
completed,
transforming the building into the beautiful
restaurant that is here
today. The Art Deco designs & motifs compliment
the original Gothic and
Tudor interiors in a most
inventive fashion.
In addition, the new building
expansion on the east facade was
designed to provide not only a state of the art kitchen
and banquet
facilities but also the first
open-air rooftop dining in the city.
The
restaurant is located at the edge
of
the historic Fletcher Place
district,
listed in the National
Register of Historic Places.
