Indiana Avenue

Indiana Avenue Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Clockwise from top left: Madam Walker Legacy Center, Crispus Attucks High School, Bethel A.M.E. Church, and Lockefield Gardens
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Location	500 block of Indiana Ave. between North St., Central Canal, Michigan, and West Sts., Indianapolis, Indiana
Coordinates	39°46′29″N 86°9′57″W / 39.77472°N 86.16583°W / 39.77472; -86.16583
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	1869-1935
Architectural style	Italianate
NRHP reference No.	87000912[1]
Added to NRHP	June 12, 1987

Indiana Avenue is a historic area and designated cultural district in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Indiana Avenue was, during its glory days, an African American cultural center of the area.^[2] The Indiana Avenue Historic District within the area was designated a United States national historic district in 1987.^[3]

Many prominent historical figures have their roots on Indiana Avenue: Madam C.J. Walker, jazz greats including Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Coe, Noble Sissle, Erroll "Groundhog" Grandy and Wes Montgomery.^[4] Mary Ellen Cable was one of the most important African American educators in Indianapolis. Coupled with her work as an educator, she organized and served as the first president of Indiana's NAACP chapter.^[5][6]

History

In 1870, 974 African Americans (one third of the city's African American population) called Indiana Avenue home. This represented a shift in racial demographics away from the mostly working class poor population of Irish and German immigrants that lived around Indiana Avenue during the early years of Indianapolis.^[7] As the African American population increased, black entrepreneurs opened businesses on practically every corner. Bethel A.M.E. Church, the oldest African American congregation in Indianapolis, was organized in 1836.^[8] African American owned businesses opened on the Avenue by at least by 1865, including a grocery store owned by Samuel G. Smothers and a "peddler shop" owned by William Franklin.^[9][10] The Indianapolis Leader, the first black owned newspaper in Indianapolis, catered to the interests of the growing African American population and featured advertisements for Indiana Avenue businesses. The Leader began publishing in the 1870s.^[11]

The Great Migration resulted in the settlement of a sizable African American community along the Avenue. In 1927, the Madam C. J. Walker Building opened.^[12] The building and the theater within is named for Madam C. J. Walker, an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist who began her beauty empire in Indianapolis. Indiana Avenue was home to a notable jazz scene from the 1920s through the 1960s, producing greats such as David Baker, Slide Hampton, Freddie Hubbard, J. J. Johnson, James Spaulding, and the Montgomery Brothers (Buddy, Monk, and Wes).^[13] Wes Montgomery is considered one of the most influential jazz guitarists of all time,^[13][14] and is credited with popularizing the "Naptown Sound."^[15]

The avenue continued to culturally develop, in much the same way as the Harlem Renaissance. Due to the nature of segregation and Jim Crow laws, several streets developed similarly in other cities, including Beale Street in Memphis and 12th and Vine in Kansas City according to the book, Indiana Avenue: Black Entertainment Boulevard by C. Nickerson Bolden. Like Indiana Avenue, these streets were stops along the Chitlin' Circuit because of the large concentration of black-oriented clubs, businesses and entertainment venues.^[16]

Madam Walker Theatre

Main article: Madam Walker Legacy Center

Madam Walker's daughter helped build the Madam Walker Theatre, which opened on the Avenue in 1927 and quickly became known as the "Crown Jewel of the Avenue".^{[citation needed]}

Decline

As segregation laws began to change in the late 1950s, the African American middle class began leaving the once-bustling Indiana Avenue corridor for greater opportunities in northwestern Marion County, settling in Pike and Washington Townships. By 1965, the plight of the community left the Madam Walker Building closed to abandonment, removing a vital economic anchor for the area. The Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company remained in the ailing building. By the early 1970s, Indiana Avenue was suffering from severe urban blight, with much of the area's building stock cleared for the development of the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus.^{[citation needed]}

Historic district and revival

By the 1980s, instead of the city attempting renewal or regeneration, much of the area was demolished and replaced by office buildings or townhouses. In 1987, the area, containing eleven historic buildings, was declared a United States national historic district.^[3] The district was developed between about 1869 and 1935, and includes representative examples of Italianate style architecture.^[17] The Madam Walker Building, one of the historic buildings, was restored and reopened to the public in 1988 with a focus on the performing arts.^{[citation needed]}

Through the financial support of the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission, formed by Mayor Bart Peterson in 2002, community stakeholders are planning the regeneration of the area. On March 28, 2007, the name of Indiana Avenue north of 10th Street and south of 16th Street was restored, after having been called Stadium Drive since 1932.^[18]

See also

• Indianapolis Cultural Districts
• List of African-American neighborhoods
• List of neighborhoods in Indianapolis
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Center Township, Marion County, Indiana

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Hale, Michelle (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 729–732. ISBN 0253312221.
3. National Park Service (June 19, 1987), Weekly announcement of National Register of Historic Places actions (PDF), pp. 62-63, archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2017, retrieved May 6, 2018.
4. Baker, David (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 841. ISBN 0253312221.
5. "IUPUI Diversity Assets" (PDF). National Park Service. November 2, 2006.
6. "Indiana Humanities.org". Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
7. Hale, Michelle (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 729–730. ISBN 0253312221.
8. Hale, Michelle (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 318–319. ISBN 0253312221.
9. Hale, Michelle (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 730. ISBN 0253312221.
10. "Discovering Indiana Avenue". Archived from the original on November 19, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
11. Hale, Michelle (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 730. ISBN 0253312221.
12. Bodenhamer, David; Barrows, Robert, eds. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 730.
13. Bodenhamer, David; Barrows, Robert, eds. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 840–843.
14. Tom Moon (Music Reviewer) (May 25, 2015). Review: 'In The Beginning,' Wes Montgomery (Radio). National Public Radio (NPR) All Things Considered. Retrieved October 15, 2017. He was one of the most influential guitarists of all time.
15. Terri Procopio (August 30, 2016). "Wes Montgomery and the Indy Jazz Fest". Pattern. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
16. "Indiana Ave. and 10th Street Cultural Trail Expansion officially opens with Ribbon cutting". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
17. "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved August 1, 2016. Note: This includes F. Eric Utz; Suzanne T. Rollins; William Gulde (August 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Indiana Avenue Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved August 1, 2016. and Accompanying photographs
18. "Inside Indiana Business". March 28, 2007. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2007.

External links

• Media related to Indiana Avenue (Indianapolis) at Wikimedia Commons