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Institutional and Private LibrariesLibrary%u2014%u2014James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home%u2014%u2014Indianapolis, IndianaBuilt in 1872, Riley moved here in 1893 at the peak of his career, and stayed until his death on July 22, 1917.The James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home is located in the Lockerbie Square Historic District of Indianapolis and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Although widely recognized as the residence of the famous Hoosier Poet, Riley did not actually own the house.The house was built by Indianapolis baker John R. Nickum. It was designed by architect Robert Platt Daggett and built in 1872. Nickum had made his fortune by supplying the Union Army with hardtack%u2014a form of cracker despised by soldiers%u2014during the Civil War. The house featured featured 14-foot ceilings, a flush toilet, copper bathtub, hot and cold running water (supplied by a rooftop tank), communication tubes, and hand carved woodwork.Nickum%u2019s daughter, Magdalena, and her husband Charles Holstein, a lawyer, were living in the house in 1893 when they invited Riley to live with them. He had a bedroom on the second floor for the next 23 years, and helped the Holsteins with expenses.Today, the home is a museum open to the public, and is operated by the Riley Children%u2019s Foundation. It can be booked for weddings and other occasions.