Reader’s Question:
I grew up in Ft. Wayne in the 1950s and 1960s, but I often spent weekends and holidays in Indianapolis with my grandparents. I have fond memories of visiting their apartment in The Meadows, as well as walking to the nearby Meadows Shopping Center. Can you tell me when the area was built? ~ Cyndi T., Ft. Wayne, Indiana
HI’s Answer:
The area on the northeast side that has generically been called “The Meadows” since the mid-1900s actually consisted of a number of different adjacent developments that were built over a period of more than 20 years. These separate projects included the Meadowbrook Apartments, the Meadows Apartments, the Meadows Shopping Center, the Avondale Theatre In the Meadows, the Meadows Motor Hotel, and the Meadows Executive Plaza.
The various entities with the word “Meadows” in their names were built on land purchased from the Roberts family. William Henry Roberts (1860-1922) founded a dairy with a home delivery service in 1877. Several generations of the family were involved in the operation. Roberts Dairy served the Indianapolis area for 110 years, closing in 1987. In the 1940s, the Roberts family retained the acreage surrounding their home and their business and sold the remaining 153 acres to the developers who created the Meadows community.
The 1931 Wagner map shows the Washington Township Roberts family acreage that became The Meadows area in the 1940s (map courtesy of Indiana State Library Map Collection) CLICK TO ENLARGE
The former Roberts Dairy plant, as well as the Roberts family’s residence, are still standing today near the intersection of East 42nd Street and Millersville Road. The statue of a cow that once stood in front of the business is no longer there. Reportedly, it was acquired by another dairy and now graces that facility.
Roberts Dairy plant at 4201 Millersville Road as it appeared in a 1987 Indianapolis Star article
The first buildings to be constructed in the Meadows area were the Meadowbrook Apartments. They were so named because a brook flowed through the meadow when the unimproved property was still owned by the Roberts family. Work began in January of 1947 on 37 two-story brick buildings containing 620 rental units. The Meadowbrook was the largest apartment complex ever attempted in the State of Indiana to that date.
(1946 Indianapolis Star article)
The Meadowbrook Apartments were clustered around courtyards on winding, tree-lined streets immediately north of East 38th Street, between Keystone Avenue and Sherman Drive. The addresses of the Meadowbrook Apartments were on Parker Court, LaSalle Court, Adams Court, and 38th Street North Drive. The first residents moved in to the Meadowbrook Apartments late in 1947.
1950 Sanborn fire map shows the courtyard-like arrangement of the buildings in the Meadowbrook Apartments layout (map courtesy of IUPUI Digital Archives) CLICK TO ENLARGE
In 1953, construction began on the Meadows Apartments, which were located north of the Meadowbrook Apartments. The Meadows Apartments consisted of 56 buildings with 616 apartment units. The addresses of the Meadows Apartments were on Meadows Court and Meadows Drive. The first occupants moved in to the Meadows Apartments in 1954.
(Indianapolis Star article )
In the summer of 1956, construction began on the Meadows Shopping Center, which was located to the west of the two apartment complexes, extending from 38th Street on the south to 42nd Street on the north. Initially, thirty stores were planned, but more stores were added in subsequent years, including a popular bowling alley.
1956 Indianapolis Star article announced the Meadows Shopping Center
The retail stores in the Meadows Shopping Center began opening in December of 1956, including the largest Kroger Supermarket in Indianapolis. The completed shopping center’s grand opening was in August of 1957.
1956 Indianapolis Star article announced the opening of a Kroger in the Meadows CLICK TO ENLARGE
In 1957, the Avondale Playhouse found a new home in the Meadows. Established in 1954 as the Town and Country Playhouse, the summer stock theatre had been performing in a field near 56th and Millersville Road in its first three years, which was very wet and muddy whenever it rained. The Meadows location provided the group with less soggy terrain on which to pitch its red and white candy-striped tent each June, plus the Meadows site was adjacent to a paved parking lot. The original name of the theatre was changed to Avondale Playhouse in its second and third years and to Avondale Theatre In the Meadows in its fourth year.
Frances Farmer appeared in several productions at the Avondale Theatre (Indianapolis Star clipping )
In 1959, the Meadows Motor Hotel was completed. It was so popular that more rooms were added to the motel only six months after it opened.
(1958 Indianapolis Star)
(1960 Indianapolis Star clipping )
CLICK TO ENLARGE
(Indianapolis Star ad ) CLICK TO ENLARGE
Beginning in 1965, the first of five office buildings was erected in the Meadows Executive Plaza.
(1965 Indianapolis Star article ) CLICK TO ENLARGE
By 1967, the third building of five planned for the Meadows Executive Plaza was completed (Indianapolis Star article ) CLICK TO ENLARGE
There is much more history of the Meadows area after the years that were covered above. Since the Mailbox question asked only about when the area was originally built, this reply discussed the development up to the time the Meadows Executive Plaza was built. It does not discuss the changes that occurred in the Meadows area in later decades or the redevelopment that’s currently happening in the Meadows area.
Readers who have memories of the Meadows area’s early years are invited to share them in the comments section below this article.
Thanks for this article. In the 50s and 60s, my husband and I knew Jack Kane, whose father had a jewelry shop at the Meadows. Also I had a really good friend who lived on Adams St. I sent a link to the article to her.
Amy,
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Thank you for taking the time to post a comment and send the link to a friend. I remember Matt Kane, the jeweler.
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Sharon
I grew up in this area and almost lived in the Meadows. I played Little League at Meadows Little League for six years until it was bulldozed for office buildings. Matt Kane was more of a knickknack shop although there was some jewelry there. There was another Jewelry shop adjacent to it though but I don’t know if they were related. I remember one summer that Matt Kanes was bombed and blew all the windows out by someone. I was there at the Meadows Toyland store just down from it when it happened. If you have any pictures of the Meadows outside of the article please contact me.
When was the name of Brightwood Park renamed Washington Park?
The City of Indianapolis acquired the 128 acres in 1923. It was unofficially called “Brightwood Park” by the City and “Dearborn Park” by residents of surrounding streets. However, the property was never officially named nor properly developed as a park until the residents of the Brightwood area began to pressure the City to do so. Late in 1932, the City made the decision to name the tract of land “George Washington Park” to honor the 200th birthday of our country’s first President.
The Park also included the original Indy Zoo
Yes, I think Nelson told me his family’s dentist was located in the Meadows in 1950-60s Indianapolis. Kind of a middle-class, mixed use, residential and commercial development place. The Meadows was also the scene of a 1958 murder scandal. Wealthy married Lilly executive Forrest Teel was found with three bullet holes in his body in his Cadillac parked near the Meadows Shopping Center. His killer was his jilted mistress Connie Nicolas, who had been dumped for a “younger” friend of Teel’s who lived at the Meadows. http://archive.indystar.com/article/99999999/NEWS06/307310028/1958-case-scorned-mistress-ends-murder Connie Nicolas showed no remorse; apparently had been stalking Forrest Teel. Well, all’s fair in love and war!
The grave of Forrest Teel is one of the stops on the Skeletons II Tour at Crown Hill. Though he strayed in life, he now lies faithfully beside his wife in Section 212. Coincidentally, the judge in Connie’s murder trial, Judge Faulconer, is buried in the same section.
My brother Ed played with Forrest and Betty’s son, Tommy, when the boys were young. Cowboys were heroes to youngsters in the ’40s and ’50s, so my mother (who did a lot of sewing in those days) made cowboy outfits for Tommy and Ed. I have photos of the boys in their western attire. This was several years before the murder of Tommy’s father.
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After the murder, Mary Teel did not want to live in the house that Forrest and she had built together. My aunt and uncle bought the Teels’ home. They owned it for almost 40 years. Their daughter, my cousin, inherited the property from her parents, and she and her family lived in it for over 15 years. After more than half-a-century of living in the Teels’ former home, my cousin has recently retired to a condo.
My family was one of the very first black families in the area. Can you tell me why the name is now Avondale-Meadows and not just the Meadows?
Darrell, I wanna say that I remember you from school #1. We were one of the last white families. I lived at 3513 Adams St from 1955 to 1968. This area played a big political role in integration back then. Richard Lugar became very popular during this time. I wish I remembered the name of the book I read. I remember us white kids and black kids getting along well but white adults were very concerned about property values. And communism. My wife is Russian.
There was a theater in the Meadows shopping center named Avondale.
I remember the Avondale Playhouse as being a “theater in the round”. I only saw one play there back in 1964. I can’t remember the name of it but it starred Fernando Lamas and Esther Williams. It was a great way to spend a Summer’s evening. I wonder when it closed down?
Just wanted to say the information about the Meadows is great. My Grandparents own Toyland in the Meadows.
I knew your parents as a kid. Your mother knew I read the Hardy Boys and would always tell me when a new one would come out as soon as I came in. We raced slots there and I visited every time I went to the shopping center. I collected a whole bunch of Matchbox cars from there and entered their contests for building model cars. I was pretty bad at building them so I never one. I always liked your parents and respected them. It was clear they loved the kids that came in there!
Do you have any historical stories or pictures of The Meadows Little League or Meadows Bowl?
If we did, it probably would have been in the article. Or maybe sometime in the future if we come across one, it may end up as a new article. Check back periodically. Cheers.
My mother used to work at Kroger in the meadows shopping center and bowled at meadows bowling alley. I found an old patch which I believe came from meadows bowl. Is the bowling alley gone?
I’m trying to find the name of the Polynesian restaurant from the 1960’s, it was in the same storefront as Brock’s drug store at 38th and Sherman Drive. Can you help?
The Polynesian restaurant was Blue Hawaii.
How did the Meadows get its name?
Is the Avondale Theatre still there, and is there any memorabilia such as photos, playbills, etc. available anywhere? I’m very interested in Frances Farmer’s performances at the theatre.
Sharon, thanks for your piece on the Meadows + apartments. I lived in the Meadows from 1954-1956 at 3360 Meadows Court. Do you know the year those apartments were razed? Thanks, Dan
I truly enjoyed reading the article that has so much research and history. My mother, brother and I lived in The Meadows (although my mother called it Meadowbrook Apts) while my father did a year tour in Vietnam. We were there from Feb of 1963 to May of 1964. Lived at 3937 LaSalle Court. The drawings are exactly what I remember. That and the lovely brick buildings.
I worked at the Meadows Bowl during high school, class of 77. So many great memories of the place and people.
John Davidson, the entertainer, once was a player at the Avondale Theater, but was also be publicized for staying underwater for an extended period of time as a publicity stunt at the new pool at The Meadows Motel. I remember that occurring because my Mom was a fan of John Davidson as Davidson was her maiden name.
I grew up in Indy, and remember the publicity stunt with John Davidson in the pool. I was 8 or 10 at the time, but I remember my grandmother being very worried about him. Do you happen to know the year of the stunt, or any other info.
I was too young to remember the timeframe. I do recall how it was such a publicity stunt at the time for him staying submerged for an extended time.
My mother lived in the first building to the east of the Meadows on Dearborn from 1966 to 1975 at 3819 Forest Grove drive. The Meadows were the cat’s meow. I walked through the Meadows on my way down to the Meadows Shopping Center almost every day in the summers. My thing was Toy Land and the model car contests. I entered four summers and won a trophy twice and a ribbon once. The area was such a vibrant and memorable place back then and I have many fond memories. Thanks for posting this article and images. Lynn Wall.
Lived at 35th & Temple in the 60s / 70s. Loved Meadows 2 grocers 2 dime stores 64 lane Bowling Alley.
So glad I ran across this article! My mother and I lived first in Meadows (4132 Edgemere Ct.) 1959-66, then Meadowbrook (4057 N. Adams) 1966-73 (now erased from the face of the earth). I recall doing all the things mentioned here. I did Little League for a couple of years. The fields were right outside my Meadows appt. bedroom window, on the other side of a brook than ran from Roberts dairy to Meadowbrook. The daring kids walked the under-grade corrugated steel tube of the brook from the fields to the east end of Meadows. Later, in Meadowbrook, my bedroom overlooked the Meadows sledding hill as well as their new pool, and I recall being smug because Meadowbrook had just built a lap pool with diving end. I hung out at Toyland, entered their model contests, and even took an oil painting class. I loitered at the Bowling Alley, and enjoyed Maria’s Pizza. Got my hair cut at the barber in the pavilion area, just around the corner from where I’d later buy records at IRC (and NOT get my hair cut). My mom shopped both grocery stores, as well as Wasson’s. We had camera film developed at the (Hooks? Haags?) drug store. We ate at the Stockholm House — later Sam’s Subway, with the captivating meandering conveyer belt for dishes. Went to a few shows at Avondale, as well as the week that Bob Jackson’s afternoon cartoon and puppet show aired from there, after running straight from Edgar Evans PS #11. I too recall when the gift store was bombed, but I thought by then it was Charlie Brockman’s. Years later, visiting my wife’s family in the Chicago suburbs, I found an architect’s plan for one of the office buildings; it turns out my father-in-law had appraised the property at its opening… As you can see, this brought back a flood of memories of an area where I went from kindergartener to high school senior. Many times I still think of it as “home”.
Thank you for your great article! I just happened to come across it while looking for something else ( a lost Baptism record from any Catholic parishes that were in the area during the late 50’s). It is great to read all of this history as well as hear other people’s memories! My family lived in the Meadows apartments during the late 50’s for a few years ( I was probably only 3 or 4 hrs old), but amazing that I still remember! I still picture the brick buildings, have memories of the Meadows Shopping Center, and seem to remember a little circus or something under a big top there one day. We then moved to the apartments on Carvel just west of Broad Ripple High School and then in 1961 moved to the suburbs – to the area just south of where they would later build the new St. Vincent Hospital on Harcourt Rd. It’s amazing how even at a young age you can still have vivid memories of something from your past!