If you monitor this website now and then, you will know that new content hasn’t been added for quite some time, while I work on a book about Indianapolis wheel history. And when I say “wheel” I mean it in the Victorian parlance, the nickname often ascribed to bicycles in its early days. After five... Read More The post International Cycling History Conference in Indy appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
Lemcke Building, circa 1910. Note Deschler’s Cigars on the first floor. HistoricIndianapolis.com collection Hard to believe it, but under the shiny meh exterior of at the northeast corner of Market and Pennsylvania, is a structure built at the same time as the aptly named Majestic Building. In February 1895, tenants of the building at the... Read More The post Then & Now: Lemcke Building appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
“Car and Bus Routings and Stops, Downtown” All aboard the time machine again…let’s head back to Indianapolis of 1940 to look at how we were maneuvering to and from home and downtown. This map is from Dreher’s Simplex Street and House Number Guide of the City of Indianapolis. Now that most everyone has a gps... Read More The post Public Transportation in 1940 Indianapolis appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
East entrance to Crown Hill designed by beloved Indianapolis architect, Adolph Scherrer Yes, that’s right, folks. Connections abound here, and what fun it is to figure them all out. Take a close look at the center tower–there were 8 statues that overlooked the courthouse property (below the clocks). When the future came knocking (literally) these... Read More The post Connection: Court & Crown Hill appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
Fredonia Allen started Tudor Hall at 16th and Meridian and the school moved multiple times, it seems. Tudor Hall eventually merged with Park School, which had started as Brooks School For Boys. Copied this off ebay and would have been happy to link to it if it were still there, but gives you an idea... Read More The post Then & Now Off 16th appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
If you look on the bottom half of the image above, you will see the main Exposition Building (constructed in 1872) when the State Fair took place in what was to become Morton Place. Subsequently, the area became the north part of Herron-Morton Place Historic Neighborhood. The center of that building shows the main entrance... Read More The post State Fair 1885 Poster appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
image: from The Recorder Collection, Indiana Historical Society HistoricIndianapolis.com was conceived to contribute to the local community by creating| Historic Indianapolis
From Bass Photo Collection, Indiana Historical Society Former building on Southeast corner of Capitol and Washington. One of many properties under the huge Hyatt Hotel complex between Capitol Avenue and Washington, Maryland, Illinois and streets with an interesting story is the northwest lot of that square. On October 25, 1848, the cornerstone was placed for... Read More The post Then & Now: Capitol and Washington, Southeast Corner appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
Ardmore Block, 1936. Image courtesy: Bass Photo Co. Collection, Indiana Historical Society Preservation month may be over, but on this website, its a point of passionate advocacy at all times. Another one of Indy’s long-forgotten corner buildings– that seems like it did not absolutely need to be demolished– stood at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue,... Read More The post Then & Now: Ardmore Apartments appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
Above: The Grand Hotel in 1937 (Indiana Historical Society, William H. Bass Photo Company, #237,900) It goes without saying that the Claypool would be at the top of the list, but we just covered that a couple weeks ago. Here are five others worth revisiting: When discussions of time travel and visiting Indianapolis’ past comes... Read More The post 5 Indy Hotels You’ll Wish You’d Seen appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
Hi Friends and Fans– My name is Tiffany and I am the captain and cruise director here at “H.I.” I would like to sincerely thank every reader, contributor, commenter, sponsor, donor, newsletter subscriber, social media follower and cheerleader out there for making this website such a success and community asset. And I wanted to let... Read More The post HI….jinks appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
In February 1874, newspapers announced that Hervey Bates, Jr. would soon commence building a new block where “Sharpe’s Cigar store now stands.” The first brick wasn’t placed until June, and yet Bates still expected the place to be open by December. In September, a local newspaper was comparing the look of the rising building to... Read More The post Preservation Denied: Bates/ When Building appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
When Ralston originally platted the city of Indianapolis, he made no provision for parks. The populating of Indianapolis began in 1819 and by 1822, the| Historic Indianapolis
Early vintage luggage label from Claypool Hotel (Don’t forget–May is preservation month! Which is why we are revisiting some of the best of what we’ve lost. Let’s not do that again. Mmmmmk? ) Of all the hotels in Indianapolis, the Claypool Hotel was our superstar for decades. It was the place to go for club... Read More The post How the Claypool Hotel Began appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
Magnolia Building. Image: Bass Photo Collection, Indiana Historical Society It was May 1875 when John B. Cleaveland filed for a building permit for a new five-story brick structure at the intersection of Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee (now Capitol), estimating the cost at $60,000. In June 1875, William Ballard won the contract to build the “Cleaveland Block.” Cleaveland... Read More The post Preservation Denied: The Cleaveland Block/ Magnolia Building appeared first on Historic Ind...| Historic Indianapolis
Original architectural rendering of Pembroke Arcade, Washington Street by Vonnegut & Bohn What would it be like if Indianapolis created such superior architectural design, it made us a destination for tourists and seekers of manmade beauty? Actually, that used to be our story. And while we have a few examples left–the Athenaeum, Indiana Theatre, Circle Tower,... Read More The post Superior Design: Pembroke Arcade appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
A neighborhood is not just a collection of houses in one geographic area. It’s part of the identity of those who live there. It’s a patchwork quilt of stories–to the city, state and families. It can be a source of pride and show what we value. When it comes to our protected historic neighborhoods, it... Read More The post Then & Now: 1400 Block of Delaware appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
If you’ve ever driven from Meridian to Delaware Street on 10th, you may have noticed how it doesn’t flow like other streets; it’s disjointed. At Delaware, there is a small jog north before 10th Street continues to Alabama Street, though it is a one-way westbound. Every time you turn west from Delaware at 10th or turn... Read More The post Then & Now: 1000 N. Delaware appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
It was never about roses. That’s our national flower. This tale is about Indiana’s official state flower and arguments are still being made to change it again. Indiana overflows with flora and fauna (hello, dynamic allergy season) and despite a number of changes over the years, mention of the state flower still spurs debate. We’ve... Read More The post War of the State Flowers appeared first on Historic Indianapolis.| Historic Indianapolis
You want a really challenging brain teaser? Forget the New York Times crossword or advanced Sudoku. Trying to locate unidentified historic homes of| Historic Indianapolis
