Memory Bank: Band leader comes to Indy in 1946
Jazz singer, saxophonist and band leader Tony Pastor signs his name on albums and photos at Wasson’s department store in downtown Indianapolis on July 19, 1946.
Historical photo
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Memory Bank: The monument at nighttime in 1951
The 284-foot-tall monument is the largest of more than 200 Civil War memorials in the U.S. and the only one that combines large-scale sculpture in bronze and stone.
Memory Bank: Selling fall produce outside Tomlinson Hall
This photo of an Indianapolis City Market vendor taken Oct. 6, 1923, shows the back side of the stands, with vehicles pulled up and fruit and vegetable crates tossed aside.
MEMORY BANK: Burger Chef opens 450th restaurant
Burger Chef launched in Indianapolis in 1958 and opened its first downtown location in September 1965.
Memory Bank: Hotel Washington was upscale option
The 17-story building now known as Symphony Centre at 32 E. Washington St. was constructed in 1912 as the upscale Hotel Washington, a project developed by local hotelier J. Edward Krauss and designed by Indianapolis architecture firm R.P. Daggett & Co.
Memory Bank: Bootlegger busted
In this Dec. 9, 1920, photo, three Indianapolis police officers pose with a still and some of the ingredients they confiscated during a raid at a farm a half-mile east of New Bethel (a town in Marion County now called Wanamaker).
Memory Bank: Kentucky Avenue stretches to Washington
An amateur photographer, Walter Carpenter, captured the street scene on March 9, 1913, where Kentucky Avenue met the intersection of Illinois and Washington streets.
Memory Bank: Cars on display in Westfield
This Westfield photo was on a postcard mailed Aug. 24, 1911. At the time, the community was already more than 75 years old. It was settled in 1832 by Quakers who left North Carolina to protest slavery and established a stop on the Underground Railroad. They initially called the town—which was laid out with 48 […]
Memory Bank: Cornerstone is placed on iconic Irvington building
Mosaic Church and Irvington Vinyl and Books are in the building today.
Memory Bank: 125 grand pianos at Butler Fieldhouse
At the time, it was considered the world’s largest piano recital—8,250 fingers on 825 pianists who played 125 grand pianos that were lined up inside Butler Fieldhouse (now known as Hinkle Fieldhouse) to open National Music Week in 1936.
Memory Bank: Immigrant works in south-side bakery
The Indianapolis Jewish Welfare Foundation helped Berek “Benny” Kaplan and his family immigrate after World War II to Indianapolis, where they helped him get a job at Kraft’s South Side Baking Co.
Memory Bank: Donut and a movie in the 1950s
A theater stood at 150 N. Illinois St. from 1915, when it opened as Keystone Theatre, through 1924 when it became the Alamo Theatre (and charged 10 cents per ticket), until it closed in 1959, about 15 years after it was renamed Rodeo Theatre.
Memory Bank: Printing papers, binding books
William Mitchell founded Mitchell Printing Co. in 1856 in Greenfield. It initially printed the Greenfield Sentinel newspaper and, starting in 1859, the Hancock Democrat, as well as other brochures, books and journals.
Memory Bank: Entertaining fairgoers: 1929
The Oriole Trio performed each day in the Women’s Building during the 1929 Indiana State Fair.
Memory Bank: A crowd along the Indiana State Fair midway
This aerial view of the Indiana State Fair—taken on Sept. 5, 1938—showcases the midway as well as the Indiana Department of Conservation tent, which is touting its successful raccoon restocking program.
Memory Bank: Inmates care for chickens in prison yard
The Indiana Women’s Prison opened in 1873 on 15 acres about 1.5 miles east of downtown, where it remained until 2009.
Memory Bank: Main Street in Fortville in 1908
This photo was taken on Sept. 21, 1908, looking south from Staat Street (labeled as Statts Street in the photo) in Fortville.
Memory Bank: Motorcycles on the Circle on 1914
It features three men with Yale motorcycles standing in front of the English Hotel & Opera House, which stood on the northwest quadrant of Monument Circle.
Memory Bank: Bowling alley nabs African American tournament
Sea Ferguson, who was an officer with The National Negro Bowling Association, built Sea Ferguson’s Bowling Alleys in 1941 at 750 N. West St. He was believed to be only the third African American to build a bowling center.
Memory Bank: Back on the track after World War I
The Indianapolis 500 took a two-year break during World War I—when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and several related facilities were used for war efforts—and returned to action in 1919.