Posted in: General Where Wes Montgomery…?

Wes Montgomery, image courtesy Indiana Historical Society, M1178, taken by Duncan Schiedt In the pantheon of beloved Indianapolis natives, John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery must be in the top ten. Much revered, and often written about,...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania A Chinese Gravestone and a Murder Mystery at 207 Indiana Avenue

Crown Hill — America’s third-largest public cemetery — has a few hundred thousand stories to tell.  One of its more extraordinary burials took place in 1902, when a Confucian ceremony officially ushered Doc Lung, a...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: An Evening at The Fox Theater

By 1938, “The Colonial” had become”The Fox” Theatre. A hotel was also housed in the building. (Image: Bass Photo Co. Collection, Indiana Historical Society) Can you remember back when couples used to dance down at...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Pink’s Pharmacy

Business: Pink’s Pharmacy Year of this Advertisement: 1907 Location:  550 Indiana Avenue Neighborhood: Downtown, Indiana Avenue What they did:  Pharmacy and soda fountain Years of operation: 1896? – 1916 Notable: Herman Pink, the owner of Pink’s Pharmacy, was a Prussian...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: “The Favorite”

In 1899, “The Favorite,” billed as a confectionery, sold ice cream soda, candies, and … oysters?  Oysters have been long regarded as aphrodisiacs, which may explain their juxtaposition with the sweets and perfumes offered at...

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Posted in: A Room with a View Room With a View: Walker Theatre to Downtown

You won’t see this view very often! With thanks to Madame Walker Theatre Center for sharing, we hope you will come visit, get acquainted or reacquainted with the Madame Walker Theatre sometime this week. There...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then & Now: 500 Block of Indiana Avenue

Indiana Avenue, the diagonal street angling northwest from the heart of the city, has historically been known as Indianapolis’s African-American business and cultural hub. The first black-owned businesses appeared in the 500 block of Indiana...

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Posted in: A Room with a View Room With a View: Indiana Avenue to Walker Theatre

Here’s a snap from New Orleans on the Avenue, former home of Zing and many other businesses over the years. The Walker Theatre is celebrating its 85th birthday right now with a series of fun...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: West Ohio Street at Indiana Avenue / OneAmerica Tower

A good day for me is finding a new, old photograph of Indianapolis that sheds light on our city’s history. Sadly, a last-minute sniper outbid me on this photograph that appeared on eBay last year,...

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