Ford Motor Company
The buff brick façade at the corner of West Thomas and Oak streets set these buildings apart from the rest of downtown Hammond. The buildings are actually one structure comprised of three separate parts, once serving as the Ford Hammond Motor Sale Company.
Also called the Cate Building, the center section was once a bank with the Hammond Building and Loan Association to its right. The small one-story building in the center featured new Ford models in an elaborate showroom.
This is one of the few buildings in downtown Hammond not to possess arched façade windows. The two-story building on the corner features simple concrete cornices above every window on the second story. Transoms above the first floor storefront glass could be opened to allow for a breeze. Simple brickwork frames the top of the building.
The portion on the right, addressed 207 West Thomas Street, distinguishes itself from the other sections with four two-story brick pilasters. A pilaster is a flattened column set partially into the façade and popularized during the Renaissance by Leon Batista Alberti.
Recently renovated, the three sections are now separate entities but will always be linked by their unique coloration.
