In 1941, the Indiana State Fair took place over Labor Day weekend. Pictured, a large crowd enjoys the fair on Monday, Sept. 1. One sign advertises a “lunch plate” for just 35 cents. The coliseum is pictured in the background. The Indiana State Fair has been held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Event Center […]
Cattle judging is underway in this photo from the 1947 Indiana State Fair. The cattle were judged in the Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum, which was built in 1939 as the Livestock Pavilion. At the time, it was ranked among the largest and grandest structures of its kind. In 2012, it underwent a $53 million renovation. Today, […]
On June 7, 1920, Bert H. Gadd, chairman of the Indianapolis Board of School Commissioners, laid the cornerstone of an addition to Charles E. Emmerich Manual Training High School at 525 S. Meridian St. The new building, which included an auditorium with a stage and orchestra pit, a cafeteria and a gymnasium, opened in 1922. […]
Pictured is an aerial view of Indianapolis in July 1968. It shows three new or under-construction high-rise buildings: The Indiana National Bank Tower, now known as Regions Tower, which opened at 211 N. Pennsylvania St. in 1970; The Hilton Hotel, now known as the Sheraton Hotel, which was built at the southwest corner of Meridian […]
A special event was held July 6, 1945, for the Indianapolis film premiere of “The Story of G.I. Joe” at Loew’s Theatre. The film was inspired by Hoosier Ernie Pyle’s war correspondence during World War II. Pyle was killed on April 18, 1945, by Japanese sniper fire while covering the Pacific Theater of the war. […]
The Boone County Courthouse was dedicated on July 4, 1912. The building’s eight columns (pictured) were constructed of Indiana limestone and weighed almost 30 tons each. At the time of construction, they were said to be the largest one-piece limestone columns in the world. It cost $265,000 to construct the building, which is still in […]
Then-Vice President George H.W. Bush meets with former Indianapolis Mayor William Hudnut, a Republican, former Deputy Mayor Joseph Slash and then Urban League President Sam Jones in the mayor’s conference room on June 20, 1983. Twenty other business, community and religious leaders were there. The vice president was in Indianapolis for a Republican gathering at […]
On June 17, 1959, a Marsh supermarket opened in the North Lawrence Shopping Center on Franklin Road. The event coincided with another Marsh opening at East 62nd Street and Allisonville Road. Wilber Marsh opened the first Marsh grocery store in 1922 in North Salem. The first Marsh supermarket in Indianapolis opened in 1957 at East […]
Pictured is former Vice President Charles Fairbanks’ funeral procession through Indianapolis in June 1918. Born and raised in Ohio, Fairbanks moved to Indianapolis and opened a law practice here after graduating from law school. He became active in the state’s Republican Party and ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1893. In 1897, the Indiana Legislature […]
Pictured is the Hamilton County Courthouse in 1964. It sits on North Ninth Street in downtown Noblesville, the county seat; its Second Empire architecture includes a mansard roof. Designed by Indianapolis architect Edwin May, who also designed the Indiana Statehouse, the building was completed in 1879. It was listed on the National Register of Historic […]
Pictured are gas cooking appliances that were on display during the Indiana Restaurant Association’s 13th annual convention and trade show May 7-9, 1946, at the Murat Temple in Indianapolis. First known as the Indiana Hotel Association, the organization became the Indiana Restaurant Association in 1933. It rebranded as the Indianapolis Restaurant and Lodging Association 80 […]
Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder Carl Fisher is credited with the idea of using a rolling start for an auto race, beginning with the first Indianapolis 500, in 1911. For the first five years of the race, Fisher drove the official pace car. After that, it became more of an honorary duty for celebrity drivers and […]
Students at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College dance around a May Pole as part of May Day festivities in 1944. The tradition gained popularity on college campuses beginning in the 1870s as a way to welcome spring, but its roots date back to the ancient Romans. The more contemporary celebration came on May 1 and usually involved […]
The Columbia Club was formally organized in 1889, a year after a group of distinguished Indianapolis residents came together to help Hoosier Benjamin Harrison get elected as the 23rd president of the United States. Called the Harrison Marching Society, the group was responsible for hosting the delegations and dignitaries that visited the city during the […]
Thousands of onlookers gathered on May 15, 1902, on Monument Circle for the dedication of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. In this photo, Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley reads a poem. Author Lew Wallace, also a Hoosier, was master of ceremonies. The monument was constructed between 1887 and 1902. Bruno Schmitz of Berlin, Germany, was […]
The Garfield Park Conservatory and Sunken Garden was designed, constructed and opened in 1916. Here, people gather in the conservatory on its opening day, Oct. 29. The original conservatory was designed and constructed by architect George Kessler (whom Kessler Boulevard is named for). It consisted of a palm house, two show houses, two plant houses, […]
LOVE by Robert Indiana, pictured here in 1970, arrived. The sculpture is now located in the museum.
At its height, some 500,000 people passed through each month to board the 200 trains that came through daily.
Madam C.J. Walker and Booker T. Washington were among those who participated in the dedication of the Senate Avenue YMCA, the first YMCA for African Americans in Indianapolis. Construction began in fall 1912 at the intersection of West Michigan Street and Senate Avenue, and Walker donated $1,000 to the effort. For 25 years, the Senate […]
The former Indianapolis City Hall is pictured in May 1930. Construction on the building began in 1909, and it opened in December 1910. The Indianapolis-based architecture firm Rubush & Hunter designed the limestone, Neoclassical building. It served as city hall until the city outgrew the space in the 1960s and moved city government to the […]
