A symbol of elegance in dining for nearly a century, the L.S. Ayres Tea Room has been re-created in the Indiana State Museum.
From 1905 to 1990, the downtown L.S. Ayres Department Store operated its Tea Room for special elbows–off–the–table luncheons. A destination for gathering generations of grandmothers, mothers, daughters, friends and businessmen, the Tea Room was enormously popular. It was where you took someone special for any occasion.
Because of the affection that visitors have always held for the Tea Room, the Indiana State Museum includes a replicated, 64–seat, fully functioning L.S. Ayres Tea Room restaurant. Today’s Tea Room re-creates the atmosphere and elegance of the original. To capture the authenticity, great care was taken to replicate the ambiance of this popular dining facility.
Patrons will enjoy menu items from the original Tea Room, including the ever–popular Chicken Velvet 
Soup, Chicken Pot Pie and the Ice Cream Pecan Ball. The children’s menu also includes some noted favorites from the original menu such as the Hobo Lunch and the Ice Cream Clown. In addition, the Tea Room menu features weekly specials from the past.
The new Tea Room includes reproductions of the carpet, wall coverings, draperies, chandeliers, columns and—to everyone’s delight—a treasure chest. Visitors will even use the actual tables and chairs from the original Tea Room. While these furnishings were sold when the Tea Room closed in 1990, they were tracked down and restored for use in the museum.
Murals depicting the view from the original Tea Room have been created and are displayed behind the dining room’s interior windows. Even the waiting area of the recreated Tea Room closely resembles that of the original.
You’ll also delight in viewing the china, teapots, silver, menus and historical images from the original Tea Room on display in the museum.