Chanticleer Building

The Chanticleer Building was built by the Deming family in 1925. It features a decorative brick and terra cotta front with a red tile pent roof. The building takes its name from the singing rooster in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which clarifies the purpose of two colorful roosters adorning the façade of the building.

Initially the building housed a retail outlet area on the first floor, a furrier (person who deals in furs), bookstore, small department store, and insurance agency. There were a number of individual offices located upstairs for attorneys, accountants, a judge, and various other individuals operating from single offices.

Forrest Sherer Insurance, an initial tenant in the building, remains there today. A distinctive blue canopy marks the entrance to their business. The interior of the Chanticleer has been remodeled several times by Forrest Sherer, which currently occupies 7/8 of the building. For eighty five years, they have been providing the citizens of Vigo County with insurance.

Thankfully, this company values the history of their building. While many other businesses have moved on to “bigger and better buildings,” this insurance company has stayed and improved their workplace. I commend Forrest Sherer Insurance Inc. for single handedly keeping history alive. Without their contributions to the building, it may not have stayed erect long enough to see the millennium.