Old Northside

Posted in: Then & Now Then & Now: 1400 Block of Delaware

A neighborhood is not just a collection of houses in one geographic area. It’s part of the identity of those who live there. It’s a patchwork quilt of stories–to the city, state and families. It...

1 Comments

Posted in: General Ghost Homes of the Old Northside

It’s hard to imagine today, but Delaware Street just north of downtown, was not always the one-way superhighway it is today, flanked on both sides by large apartment buildings, commercial operations and a smattering of...

4 Comments

Posted in: A Room with a View A Room with a View – Eden-Talbott House

Scraping away an iced up window from a Delaware Street apartment building reveals the Eden-Talbott House, now home to a local law firm. Just north of 13th on North Delaware Street, the Eden-Talbott home was built...

4 Comments

Posted in: Indianapolis Collected Indianapolis Collected: The Mystery of the Missing Mantels

Daisy McKay was only 16 years old when her parents broke ground on a fine brick mansion at the corner of 13th and Broadway. The new Statehouse was under construction at the time, and her father purchased quarter-sawn oak...

4 Comments

Posted in: Indianapolis Collected Indianapolis Collected Revisted: The Fall and Rise of the Old Northside

“In my opinion the way to beautify Indianapolis is to make its people happier,” Mrs. Albert Metzger told The Indianapolis Star in 1911, when asked for her ideas on city beautification. If you lived in...

7 Comments

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...

7 Comments

Posted in: What’s in a Name? What’s in a Name? – Propylaeum

The Propylaeum Location: Old Northside Greek for “entrance” or “gateway” Propylaea are any monumental gateways based on the original Propylaea that serve as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. When used by the Indianapolis Propylaeum,...

Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Morris-Butler House, 1204 Park Avenue

Circa 1867-1885 photograph of the Morris-Butler House (Courtesy of Indiana Landmarks) As a preservationist, I really like it when the “then” and the “now” photographs look alike. Thanks to Indiana Landmarks, the Morris-Butler House in...

1 Comments

Posted in: Friday Favorites Friday Favorite: Culture Club

Front of The Propylaeum (also known as the John W. Schmidt House), located at 1410 N. Delaware Street in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Built in 1890, it is listed on the National Register of Historic...

1 Comments

Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: Residence at 1504 Park Avenue

Reader’s Question: My friends live in the Old Northside at 1504 N. Park Avenue. We think it may have been a Vonnegut-designed home and built at the same time as and by the same brick...

13 Comments

Posted in: Indianapolis Collected Indianapolis Collected: The Fall and Rise of the Old Northside

“In my opinion the way to beautify Indianapolis is to make its people happier,” Mrs. Albert Metzger told The Indianapolis Star in 1911 when asked for her ideas on city beautification. If you lived in...

20 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayers: the Shortridge-Voss house (1301 Broadway)

“A country whose buildings are of wood can never increase in its improvements to any considerable degree.” Thus spoke Thomas Jefferson. The quote, part of a discussion on the durability of architecture, appeared in Jefferson’s...

1 Comments

Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayers: The Gladden-Stempfel House

The Gladden-Stempfel home, located at 1564 N. Park Ave., was constructed in 1898. This undated photo shows the home in pristine condition. (Copyright IHPC Collection, IHPC, courtesy Digital Collections of IUPUI University Library. Photo used...

6 Comments

Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: The Reid-Dickson House, 1456 N. Delaware Street

1906. Courtesy of the Herron Art Library, Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission Collection Indianapolis was past the Victorian era of architecture with its turned posts, gingerbread trim, and Queen Ann details by the time the Reid...

1 Comments

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Former First Friends Church, Old Northside

Former Friends Church, 1249 N. Alabama – Photo by Ryan Hamlett The former Friends Church building at 13th and Alabama in the Old North Side has had a busy year so far. The nearly 120-year-old...

2 Comments

Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: 200 block of E. 16th Street

Courtesy of IUPUI University Library, Indianapolis Power and Light Distribution Company photographs owned by Dee Dee Davis Sixteenth Street, at one time a dirt road known as Tinker (and later 7th) Street, is undergoing revitalization...

7 Comments

Posted in: Mailbag HI Mailbag: First Kroger Store in Indianapolis

Reader’s Question: Someone told me that the Kroger at 16th and Central was the first Kroger store in Indianapolis. Is that true? LOL. ~ Lynn Molzan, Old Northside HI’s Answer: I assume you are referring to...

50 Comments

Posted in: Building Language Building Language: Dormer Windows

Dormer windows on the Ovid Butler House (1306 N Park Avenue) Dormer Windows. A dormer window is a window that projects out from a sloping roof, vertically placed, featuring its own structure with sides and...

2 Comments

Posted in: Heritage Steward Heritage Steward: Libby Cierzniak

NAME: Libby Cierzniak TITLE: In my day job, I’m an attorney and a lobbyist. But in my free time, I write the Indianapolis Collected articles for HI and serve on the board of the Old...

5 Comments

Posted in: Building Language Building Language: Festoon

Festoon on 1400 Block of Broadway Street Festoon. Recently, I covered the term ornament as it pertains generally to historic architecture. Today’s Building Language is a specific type of architectural ornament that is certainly fun to...

1 Comments

Articles