Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: Raggedy Ann and Indy

  Happy Independence Day, Indy! Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and … Raggedy Ann. It’s hard to find anything more “Americana” than the perpetually-perky little red, white, and blue doll. Were you aware that she has...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: Winona Technical Institute

It was the “Tech” Before “Tech” was “Tech”… Fans and alumni of Arsenal Technical High School may already know that ATHS wasn’t the first school located at 1500 E. Michigan Street. The property, originally an arsenal established...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: Art History

110 East 16th Street One look at the building and you just know it’s been an important location for decades. Mature trees, Indiana limestone, sturdy architecture. The near-north side campus, known to most as just “Herron,” boasts...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Indianapolis Fire Station Two

Ever suddenly “discover” an interesting detail or other gem–even though you’ve passed it countless times? Station Number Two Fire Museum, situated between Mass. Ave. and St. Clair Street is indeed a gem worth discovering. It is...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: The Mysterious Case of the Tiffany Orphan

The item in question: Rumors have it that this Tiffany design was once located on the Bobbs Merrill Publishers property. Occasionally one article leads directly to another. Such is the case this week. In corresponding...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: What About Bobbs?

What better way to spend a frigid Indy winter’s day than at an old book shop? That’s where I was yesterday morning… my first venture from the toasty confines of home since Flu-mageddon ’14 visited...

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Posted in: Vintage Vittles Vintage Vittles: Riley’s Shortbread

Our Hired Girl, when it’s bakin’-day She’s out of patience allus, An’ tells us, “Hike outdoors an’ play,”  An’ when the cookies’s done, she’ll say “Land sake! she’ll come an’ call us! An’ when the...

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Posted in: Vintage Vittles Vintage Vittles: James Whitcomb Riley’s Jelly Cake

Returning, with a letter, which she laid Upon the kitchen-table while she made A hasty crock of “float,”-poured thence into A deep glass dish of iridescent hue And glint and sparkle, with an overflow Of...

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Posted in: A Room with a View A Room with a View – James Whitcomb Riley Tomb

View of downtown from the tomb of James Whitcomb Riley – Photo by Ryan Hamlett This week, not a Room with a View, but rather a Tomb with a View. That of Hoosier poet and longtime Lockerbie...

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Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: The Riley Trail

Reader’s Question: I searched the HI site but couldn’t find any posts about the Riley Trail.  Signposts marking the trail have disappeared over the years, but there are still a few around.  One of the interesting stops on the...

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Posted in: A Room with a View Room With a View: Riley’s Lockerbie Street

Birthday of beloved Hoosier, James Whitcomb Riley is just 5 days away (born 7 October1849). In his honor, we share the view of the home where Riley spent the last 20+ years of his life,...

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Posted in: Building Language Building Language: Italianate

Italianate. Driving through the older historic neighborhoods of Indianapolis, you will realize that Indy has some amazing examples of the Italianate style. To give you a better understanding of the Italianate, let’s look at the...

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Posted in: Building Language Building Language: National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark. The month of May is Preservation Month and to celebrate, I’ll be featuring preservation related Building Language terms for the five Tuesdays in May! We’ll start with National Historic Landmarks. A National...

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Posted in: Friday Favorites Four Favorite Boutique Museums of Indianapolis

We fully believe every Indianapolis citizen should know these four Victorian boutique hotels Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site– Though Indiana is yet to produce a native-born United States President, 23rd President Harrison lived in Indianapolis for...

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