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Posted in: In the Park In The Park: Edna Balz Lacy Family Park

Lacy Park is located at 700 Greer Street in the Fletcher Place neighborhood. Nestled into the quiet corner of Greer and East streets lies Edna Balz Lacy Park. This two-acre neighborhood park in Fletcher Place...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: First Moravian Episcopal Church, 2502 N. College Avenue

Moravian Church and house at 666 E. 25th Street (The Indiana Album: Loaned by Dortha C. May) Us local history lovers frequently drive by empty lots in older neighborhoods and wonder what stood there before...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Indianapolis Tent and Awning Company

Business: Indianapolis Tent and Awning Co. Year of this Advertisement: 1900 Location: 20 S. Alabama Street Neighborhood: Downtown What they did: Manufactured and sold tents and related items Years of operation: 1890 – early 1950’s Notable: The company’s trademark was...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Freund’s Pharmacy, 502 N. Highland Avenue

Freund’s Pharmacy as it appeared in about 1907-1908. The man in front is possibly William C. Freund. (The Indiana Album: Loaned by Joan Hostetler) Just east of Pogue’s Run sits a nondescript little triangle of...

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Posted in: Indianapolis Collected Indianapolis Collected: Finding Maxwell Parry

In July 1918, The Indianapolis Star launched a series of articles about war mothers who kept the home fires burning while their sons were fighting overseas. The third installment ran on July 12 – exactly...

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: Tarkington Park

Welcome to Tarkington Park! The 10.32-acre neighborhood park is found near the intersection of 39th and Meridian Streets. The Butler-Tarkington Neighborhood on Indianapolis’s old northwest side is rich with history. It draws its name from...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Court Street and Anthony’s Tavern, 128-134 E. Court Street

Court Street is one of those funny downtown alleys that became a street. A city ordinance prohibited taverns and saloons from operating in Indianapolis alleys, so the easy work-around was to reclassify some of the...

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Posted in: Indianapolis Collected Indianapolis Collected: The Fall of the House of Fletcher

When the youngest son of pioneer leader Calvin Fletcher graduated from Phillips Academy in 1865, he asked his classmates to sign an autograph book. “Dear Al,” one faded inscription reads, “As we hope to meet at...

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Posted in: In the Park In The Park: Fall Creek Greenway

It’s 7:30 on a Monday morning. I’m weaving in and out of traffic on Fall Creek Parkway en route to an 8 am meeting downtown and as usual, I’m running late. I attempt to squeeze...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: College Hall and the Daguerreotype of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Fletcher

1856 daguerreotype of Calvin and Keziah Fletcher. This is the only known image of Fletcher’s second wife. Note that the brass mat is embossed in the corners “W. H. Weeks” and “Indianapolis.” Click for larger...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church – Schools and Rectory, Georgia Street and Capitol Avenue

View of the NW corner of W. Georgia Street looking east from Capitol Avenue (IUPUI University Library, Indianapolis History Collection, 1913 Indianapolis Streetcar Strike Scrapbook loaned by Deedee Davis) While documenting the increasingly angry crowds...

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: Marott Park

Welcome to Marott Park! Long before Indiana became a state, it was a lush forest filled with elm, ash, and oak trees. It was said that a squirrel could travel from Ohio to Illinois by...

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: Picnic Time

Young girls on a picnic circa 1946. When you don’t have a picnic basket, a stock pot will work just fine! Image: courtesy Flanner House Records, Indiana Historical Society There’s nothing more relaxing than wiling...

Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: 871-75 Virginia Avenue / Fountain Square Gateway

While walking on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail near Fountain Square last week, I was reminded of one of the benefits of taking a stroll: really seeing the landscape that is overlooked when whizzing by at...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Jacob Dorsey Forrest House / Irvington United Methodist Church, 30 N. Audubon Road

Part of the charm of historic Irvington, a suburban town platted east of Indianapolis in 1870, is the winding, tree-lined streets and two circles on Audubon Road. Butler College graduate and Irvington resident Vida Tibbett...

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: Fairview Park

Long before the grounds of Butler University became the home of the Bulldogs, this picturesque 246 acres on the city’s northwest side was known as Fairview Park. The suburban trolley park was located north of...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Thompson-Mesker Cottage, 1014 N. Arsenal Avenue

Many times determining the construction date of an old house is nearly impossible, but the Queen Anne cottage at 1014 N. Arsenal Avenue is a researcher’s dream. It features a prominent sign above the front...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Darko and Sons Cleaners, 2659-61 Shelby Street

Circa 1940s advertising blotter for Darko & Sons Cleaners (top) and photograph from May 2014. (Courtesy of the Indiana Album) Every building, no matter how forlorn, has a story. Known only to me by this...

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Posted in: In the Park In the Park: Arsenal Park

Just one block east of where the Monon Rail Trail meets 46th Street, you’ll find Arsenal Park. The 13-acre neighborhood park at 1400 East 46th Street was originally named Haverford Park, since Haverford Avenue forms...

The Ruskaup Grocery and Tavern, ca. 1890s. The man standing on the steps on the right is likely proprietor Frederick Ruskaup. Today the Cottage Home Park and Playground occupies the lot to the north, then...

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