Charles Latham and Harrison Walters

Charles Latham and Harrison Walters, both contractors trained as engineers, started the firm of Latham and Walters in 1909. Latham was an Indianapolis native with an engineering degree from Princeton University and several years of experience. Walters was from Hendricks County and a graduate of Purdue University.

They worked together until 1927, focusing primarily on building and sometimes designing commercial and industrial buildings. Their largest projects were elevating the railroad tracks on the southside of downtown Indianapolis with the accompanying new train shed at Union Station (1917-1919) and the new Indiana Reformatory at Pendleton (1923). Other work included churches, warehouses, and the Prest-O-Lite factory in Speedway (1925). They also built two of the city’s finest mansions, that of entrepreneur James Allison, now a part of the Marian University Campus (c. 1910), and banker Stoughton A. Fletcher’s Laurel Hall near Fall Creek and Emerson Avenue (c. 1915).

Walters bought the firm in 1927 and renamed it Walters Engineering Co., doing some minor jobs on existing buildings before becoming a consultant for other companies. Latham started Charles Latham, Builder. His firm specialized in building and remodeling high end residential homes, including work for members of the Lilly family.

Charles Latham (1881-1940)

Latham was born on April 23, 1881. After attending local schools, including Shortridge High School, he went to Cornell University for one year before transferring to Princeton University, graduating with a civil engineering degree in 1904. He worked odd jobs around the country before landing an engineering position with the local firm of Moore-Mansfield Construction Company. With the experience he gained there, he was able to start the firm of Latham and Walters with Harrison Walters in 1909.

As already discussed, Latham and Walters continued to work together until 1927. Charles Latham then concentrated on building homes for the wealthy, usually designed by other architects, until his health caused him to retire in 1938; he died in 1940. He and his wife, Josephine, had an active social life. Mrs. Latham especially supported the symphony and was the President of the Indianapolis Symphony Society.

Harrison Walters (1877-1960)

Harrison was born on July 10, 1877, in Hendricks County, graduating from Purdue University before embarking on a career in construction. In addition to the earlier account of his activities at Latham and Walters, it can be noted that he served as the president of The Building Contractors and Builders Exchange in 1920. In 1925, he was the contractors’ wage scale chairman in negotiations with the Structural Iron Workers Union. The union went on strike in their effort to get a raise from $1.25 to $1.50 an hour.

After starting Walters Engineering in 1927, he did some minor work for Union Station, the Marmon Company, and the School for the Blind. He then continued to work as a consultant for the Russel B. Moore Company and Alden-Meranda. He was founder and first president of the Indiana Society of Professional Engineers.
He died on March 17, 1960.