Wright, Porteous and Lowe, Inc. Architectural Records Collection

This firm originated as Vonnegut and Bohn in Indianapolis ca. 1887 with principals Bernard Vonnegut (1858-1908) and Arthur Bohn (1862-1948). After Bernard Vonnegut’s, his son Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. (1885-1956) joined the firm. Early locations are cited as 62 Vance Block, but in 1919 it was listed as 610 Indiana Trust Building.

The firm became Vonnegut, Bohn and Mueller from ca. 1920-1944 with the addition of principal O. N. Mueller, a mechanical-structural engineer. Bohn retired from the firm around the same time that architects George Caleb Wright and Edward D. Pierre dissolved their partnership, known as Pierre and Wright. Wright joined the firm which became Vonnegut and Wright for a short time in 1944. And later, ca. 1945, it became Vonnegut, Wright and Yeager. Yeager’s involvement with the firm was brief, and Alfred John Porteous joined the firm by 1955. The name changed to Vonnegut, Wright, and Porteous, Inc. and then Wright, Porteous and Associates, Inc.

George Caleb Wright retired in 1961 and the firm became Wright, Porteous and Lowe, Inc. Principals were William Caleb Wright (G. C. Wright’s son), Alfred John Porteous, and C. Charles Lowe, Jr. The firm was located at 19 W. 38th Street.

By 1991, the firm had become a subsidiary of Bonar and Associates, Inc. in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The offices moved to 3021 E. 98th Street, Suite 110. In 2010 the firm merged with GAI Consultants, a large firm with locations in ten states.