These beautiful and impressive Art Deco doors once greeted those who entered through the front entrance of the Hammond City Hall building from 1931 to 1978. The doors were forced into retirement from public service by OSHA. They were determined to be a safety hazard because of their size and weight, in the unlikely event of an emergency in the building they could not be opened very quickly.

The doors are on a permanent loan from the city of Hammond, Indiana to Purdue University Calumet to be displayed as part of a permanent art collection of the university. They are now located in the Student Faculty Library Building, where they can be viewed by the public.

Designed and modeled by the renowned sculptor Alfonso Iannelli (1888-1965). Iannelli arrived in Chicago in 1914 to assist the world famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. His task was to create the stylized sculptures for Frank Lloyd Wright's Midway Gardens.

Iannelli can also be credited for designing and creating the sculptures that adorned the old Oliver P. Morton Elementary School in Hammond. These works of art have also been preserved and reused in the lobby of the new school building, located on Marshall Avenue.

Left Panel - This detail represents the industrial worker laboring with his machinery and fulfilling his physical needs. Right Panel - This detail represents the the worker's spiritual needs in the tolling of a bell.

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