Posted in: General The “New” English Hotel

Are you one of those people who turns lemons into lemonade? One time Indianapolis resident and dentist, Dr. S. B. Friedland sure was. It was the end of 1948, and the wrecking balls were looming....

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Rebirth Along Tinker Street

The neighborhoods bordering Sixteenth and Meridian Streets are some of the next “in” places to be. Much like Massachusetts Avenue a decade ago and Fountain Square more recently, years of reinvestment in housing is paying...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Circle Park and Meridian Street

  Although faded and discolored, this extremely rare stereoview shows Meridian Street looking south from the middle of Circle Park (now Monument Circle) prior to 1870. Photographers and stereoview publishers Salter and Judd worked together...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure Out on the Town: An Evening at the Embers

Mid-century Indianapolis may have had the reputation for being kind of a snooze; the era spawned the less-than-complementary terms of endearment such as India-no-place and nap-town. For fun, you could always participate in the bi-weekly...

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Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: 25 McLean Place

Reader’s Question: I would love to hear the history of the building at 25 McLean Place.   I think it may have originally been a stable.  Jeff C., Indianapolis HI’s Answer: The building at 25 McLean Place...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Discovering Alfred M. Glossbrenner

When my great grandfather, Alfred M. Glossbrenner, died on November 13, 1938, at the age of 69, The Indianapolis Star ran his obituary the very next day. The obit was on the front page, above the...

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Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: The Warren Apartments

Reader’s Question: Can you tell me more about the early history of the Warren Apartments, what was there before the current building, and if anyone of note lived there?  ~ Jeffrey Congdon, Indianapolis HI’s Answer:...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: S. Meridian Street and Bluff Road

Bluff Road begins in the 1900 block of S. Meridian Street and  angles southwest creating a wedge-shaped parcel. Long ago a two-story frame flatiron building was constructed on the land and through the years it...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Northwood Drive-In, 9075 N. Meridian Street

Every few years I get a call from some alumni group desperately seeking photographs of their favorite drive-in restaurant for a 50th reunion booklet.  The Blue Ribbon, the Igloo, Jack & Jill’s, Northway’s, the Tee...

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Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: Fall Creek Parkway South Drive

Reader’s Question: My husband and I have purchased this historic house (pictured below) on Fall Creek Parkway South Drive. I have been trying to find out what neighborhood it is located in ever since.  Might you be...

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Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: The Home That Gave Way to Tarkington Tower

Reader’s Question:  When I was growing up in the Butler-Tarkington and Meridian-Kessler neighborhoods, there was a home on the northwest corner of 40th and Meridian Streets.  It was demolished sometime in the mid-1960s to make...

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Posted in: Building Language Building Language: Italian Renaissance

Italian Renaissance residence on North Meridian Street at 46th Street Italian Renaissance. Another revival style found in Indianapolis is the Italian Renaissance – which draws its details from traditional Italian architecture. American architects in the...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Deep rooted history in Mapleton-Fall Creek

Usually, I gravitate towards the neighborhoods nearest to the Mile Square–the older, the better for this gal; and I assumed all of the longest inhabited areas in the city are only centered around that original...

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