history

Posted in: In the Park In the Park: A Baaaaa-a-a-d Idea Turned Good

The Indianapolis Parks system history is filled with delightful stories of united communities, honored heroes, and family fun. But there are a few tales in our city’s annals that might also raise an eyebrow...

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: Fall Creek & 30th Park

Welcome to Fall Creek & 30th Park! Welcome to Fall Creek & 30th Park! This seven-acre neighborhood park is nestled into a quaint corner on the north side, where Fall Creek Parkway angles northeast. It...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Intersection of St. Clair Street and Massachusetts & College Avenues

With its prominent angling avenues creating many three-street intersections, it’s rather surprising that Indianapolis does not have any neighborhoods known as “Six Points.” But, newspaper searches and perusals of older history books reveal no such...

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: Hawthorne Park

The Near Westside neighborhood is one of Indianapolis’s oldest and most well-established communities. In its early days, it was largely a rural area, separated from the “big city” of Indianapolis by the White River. After the arrival...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Other Benjamin Harrison House, 223 E. Vermont Street

Most everyone in Indianapolis is aware of the Benjamin Harrison’s Delaware Street home, known today as the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, but did you know that he once lived in the Lockerbie Neighborhood? Born into...

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Posted in: In the Park In The Park: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park

On Monday, January 19, our nation will pause to commemorate the work of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Though Indianapolis is hundreds of miles from Montgomery, Alabama where Reverend King and his...

During the Victorian era when many of Indianapolis’s social elite had ballrooms in their homes, the city’s most popular dance instructor was David B. Brenneke (1855-1918). The German native lived for over a decade in...

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: Willard Park

One mile east of downtown Indianapolis on Washington Street, you’ll find Willard Park. The land of this eleven-acre park had many identities in its history, but has always played an important role in uniting the...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Ayres Clock Cherub

Courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society, L. S. Ayres and Company Records, 22 November 1947 The L. S. Ayres cherub, one of the city’s most beloved little sculptures, makes its appearance every Thanksgiving eve and...

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Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: White Castle No. 3, 660 Fort Wayne Avenue

White Castle No. 3, located on the northwest corner of Fort Wayne Avenue and Delaware Street, is the nation’s third-oldest surviving White Castle building. The small castle-shaped brick building, and hundreds of others across the...

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: JTV Hill Park

A cold wind whipped through the bare trees as I walked the perimeter of JTV Hill Park. There was no denying it: winter had arrived in the Circle City. Temperatures are dropping, Indy Parks remain...

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Jackets Required

1930s postcard showing the interior that became the King Cole. (Image: eBay) Do you have a special occasion coming up or just want to impress a first date? What would be your go-to destination? For...

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Posted in: Bicycles, Then & Now Then & Now: Kern Bicycle Shop/Crayton Confectionery, 1900 Block Howard Street

James W Kern’s Bicycle and Motorcycle Repair Shop at 1921 Howard Street, ca. 1915-1920. (Can anyone date these motorcycles?) This view looks southwest toward the intersection of Hiatt Street. James W. Kern is 2nd from...

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Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: Brightwood Hall, 2345-2347 Station Street

Indianapolis Free Kindergarten class in front of the Brightwood Hall, ca. 1904 (Butler University, Irwin Library, Special Collections, Rare Books, and University Archives, Eliza Blaker Collection) Life would be much easier for archivists and historians...

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Posted in: In the Park In The Park: Christian Park

Welcome to Christian Park on Indy’s southeast side As trees begin to drop the last of their crisp leaves and the sun sets ever earlier, there’s no denying it: winter has descended upon the Circle...

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Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: Billboards in Indianapolis

Billboards have had a long and sometimes controversial place in Indianapolis history and are in the news again as billboard companies lobby for a proposal to lift a decade-long ban on new and digital billboards....

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Posted in: Misc Mondays Misc. Monday: Reminisces of an Ayres Christmas

Guest Author: Mary Jane Teeters-Eichacher For seventy years, from 1922 to 1992, the place to celebrate holiday traditions in Indianapolis was L. S. Ayres & Co. Animated window displays drew crowds of fascinated onlookers to...

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Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: Criswell Mercantile Company/MacNiven’s Restaurant & Bar, 337-339 Massachusetts Avenue

Historic photograph courtesy of the Indiana Album: loaned by Evan Finch. / Modern photograph courtesy of MacNiven’s Restaurant & Bar For every Ayres or Vonnegut or Lilly, there were hundreds of business owners in Indianapolis...

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Posted in: Misc Mondays Misc. Monday: Early Indy High Schools

Image: HI collection As a respite from the seemingly constant negative news about education and schools, we reflect, if only briefly, to our city’s early success as a place with beloved and highly regarded schools....

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: Skiles Test Nature Park

Welcome to Skiles Test Nature Park Just across the street from Woollens Garden you’ll find another of the city’s most primitive parks, Skiles Test Nature Park. There’s no better place to take in the sites...

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