Indianapolis: What was there?

It's hard to imagine when looking at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, that there was a home for the Governor of Indiana on this spot. There was a point when the area also served as a playground for children and grazing ground for livest... Read more

The English Hotel and Opera House was located on the Northwest quadrant of Monument Circle. Open in 1880 the opera house hosted entertainers such as Sarah Bernhardt, the Barrymores and Helen Hayes. The hotel was completed in 1896. Both the ... Read more

H.P. Wasson & Co. department store annex occupied part of the southwest quadrant as well as the northeast corner of Washington and Meridian Streets. The "W" on the watertower in the photo is on top of that flagship building in this 194... Read more

Between 1900 and the mid-1930's, the best way to get from city to city in Indiana and much of the rest of the U.S. was the "interurban" rail car. Typically these were single cars that were slightly more comfortable than a trolley. Indianapo... Read more

When you look at the photo of the Cyclorama in 1900, one would assume it was one of our early basketball venues. In fact, it seems basketball was the only thing the building didn’t host. The building was intended to be called “The Art P... Read more

Alexander Ralston designed Indianapolis in the hub and spoke system. The series of diagonal streets lent themselves to the construction of flatiron buildings that were prominent in Indianapolis.  This was the Knights of Pythias building... Read more

Tomlinson Hall was financed through a bequest made by local druggist Stephen D. Tomlinson who died in 1870. His will provided that a city market would have to be built in the hall on the west end of what then was known as East Market Squar... Read more

Home to the Indiana Pacers, the spaceship-like arena stood here from 1974-99 and played host to a variety of events such as the 1980 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four, Pan Am Games, circuses, monster truck shows, rodeos, Billy Graham cru... Read more

The Hoosier Dome/RCA Dome was built with the hope of luring an NFL team. The plan worked when the Baltimore Colts to moved to Indianapolis before the facility was even completed. The Indianapolis Colts called the stadium home from 1984-2007... Read more