Background
Francis Costigan was born in 1810 at Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
Francis Costigan was born in 1810 at Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
Young Costigan first worked as a carpenter and builder in Baltimore. Leaving Baltimore during the depression of 1840, the young man settled at Madison, Ind., then a prosperous town on the Ohio river, and during the next decade established a reputation as the architect of a number of fine homes. Also attributed to Mr. Costigan is the extant Shrewsbury residence at the comer of High and Popular Streets, and his last home in Madison on West Street, distinguished by two Corinthian columns on the front. In addition he may have designed the old Madison Hotel at Second and Mulberry Streets. Opened to the public in 1860, it was widely known as the finest Inn on the Ohio river between Cincinnati and Louisville, containing ninety rooms for guests.
In Indianapolis, where Mr. Costigan spent his latter years, his name is identified with the Institute for the Blind, a classic structure with a fine portico, It would seem that John Elder then a builder and later a designer of many court houses in the state, prepared original sketches for the building, while the plans were completed by Mr. Costigan. The building remained a landmark in the city until recent years when it was removed to make way for the War Memorial Plaza. Other public works in the city credited to Mr. Costigan include: the Odd Fellows Building, (later completed by D. A. Bohlen; Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, and the Hospital for the Insane. For the latter two he prepared perspective drawings, but as work progressed appears only to have been employed as Consulting Architect.