Woodruff Place Walking Tour

Woodruff Place Neighborhood

Indianapolis, Indiana 46201, United States

Created By: Historic Urban Neighborhoods of Indianapolis

Tour Information

WELCOME TO WOODRUFF PLACE NEIGHBORHOOD

This tour is a part of the Historic Urban Neighborhoods of Indianapolis Tour Series. Situated approximately two miles east of downtown Indianapolis, between Michigan and 10th Streets and adjacent to Arsenal Technical High School, Woodruff Place is readily accessible from the interstate loop. The tour begins on the north end of East Drive near 10th street.

This tour should take approximately 120 minutes to walk.

Parking is most available on most neighborhood streets.

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Neighborhood History

“Touch and tame us with thy grace, Placid calm of Woodruff Place!”

These words of praise, penned by Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley in “June at Woodruff,” hint at the endearing quality of this historic near-Eastside neighborhood. Woodruff Place, a gracious 125-year-old community spanning eighty acres, merits historical significance from its unique character as a planned residential suburb with a park-like atmosphere. Seasonal changes enhance tree-lined boulevards bisected by grassy esplanades. Elegant multi-tiered fountains on the three north-south drives and clusters of graceful cast-iron statuary in the esplanades complement spacious lots with rambling frame homes or picturesque cottages.

When James O. Woodruff laid out Woodruff Place in 1872-73, he envisioned an exclusive suburban town far from the noise and distraction of the Mile Square. The Panic of 1873 financially ruined the far-sighted man, but his namesake community survived and in time largely fulfilled the founder’s brilliant expectations. In 1876, a small group of initial property owners successfully petitioned for incorporation of the subdivision as a town.

Though it grew slowly at first, Woodruff Place experienced a boom during the 1890s as Indianapolis citizens of means discovered its sheltered, restful charm. By the early twentieth century Woodruff Place had earned recognition as a close-knit, affluent community. Alleys lined by large carriage houses and servants’ quarters bisected lots along north-south drives which housed well-kept residences of varying sizes and architectural styles.

A broad range of income levels and professions among residents coincided with the diversity of Woodruff Place homes. Prominent citizenry included Rear Admiral George Brown, a retired naval officer, Charles E. Test, President of the National Motor Co., Chauncey Butler, the son of educator Ovid Butler, William H. Hart, state auditor during the 1890s and architect Brandt T. Steele, the son of famed Indiana artist T.C. Steele. Other residents with more modest professions occupied smaller homes intermixed with the more imposing residences.

Following World War I, Woodruff Place experienced a noticeable decline when wealthy near-Eastside families chose suburban homes further from inner city growth, and the great Depression reduced the citizenry who could afford to maintain the larger homes. These factors prompted the razing of founder James O. Woodruff’s house, designed by William LeBaron Jenney for a large lot on West Drive.

Reacting to dire economic conditions in the 1930s some homeowners chose to divide their three-story residences into apartments. Further decline came after Work War II when most of the remaining Victorian and Edwardian homes were subdivided into apartment units to capitalize on a housing shortage provoked by returning Indiana servicemen.

Woodruff Place’s town government, the remaining symbol of its golden age, succumbed in 1962 after a long court battle, the victim of soaring fire and police protection costs.

The 1960s and 1970s brought neighborhood renewal when the Woodruff Place Civic League filled a critical vacuum left by the town government and worked to preserve the community’s heritage. New residents have purchases and restored vintage Woodruff Place homes to their original appearance and integrity.

Historical Significance

Included in the National Register of Historic Places July 31, 1972, Woodruff Place is one of the first contained Victorian residential subdivisions in the nation. Founder James O. Woodruff may have been influenced by the Urban Park Movement of the 1860a, which emphasized the provision of open spaces as a means to counteract “the harmful influences of urban life.” This reform movement in housing and park planning resulted in significant changes in numerous American cities after Frederick Law Olmsted designed Central Park in New York City and publicized the concept.

Woodruff Place was planned as a total residential area featuring a park-like atmosphere made possible by wide spacious lots and formal public esplanades lavishly adorned with nine Victorian fountains and approximately ninety vases, planters, urns and other cast-iron and masonry sculptures. These clustered works of art cannot be found in such variety and number anywhere else in the United States, while the total environment and residential nature of Woodruff Place makes the area unique among historic planned communities.

Seeking to preserve the grandeur of this eighty-acre neighborhood, residents formed the Woodruff Place Civic League, Inc., in 1952 and have concentrated their efforts toward restoration of houses and public grounds. Among their accomplishments are the successful “Adopt an Urn” program and the purchase and resale of a deteriorating structure at 980 West Drive. This real estate transaction, made possible by financial assistance from Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, set an important precedent for future property restoration.

Cooperation with the City of Indianapolis resulted in major restoration activities in Woodruff Place following its enrollment in the National Register. Utilizing federal community and economic development funds, the City restored the three Cross Drive fountains to their former magnificence. Combined efforts of the City and Indianapolis Power and Light Company achieved restoration of the seventy-six distinctive light standards. Reconstruction of one smaller fountain on West Drive and a hexagonal gazebo on Middle Drive are the first of other restoration efforts completed by the Woodruff Place Civic League in the 1980s.

Architecture

Marked by a variety of domestic architectural styles, Woodruff Place homes found along the four drives range in age from one to one hundred years. Predominant architectural styles include Queen Anne, Eastlake, Stick and Jacobethan Revival. Other residential architectural styles popular in Indianapolis during the 1880s and 1890s, such as Italianate, Second Empire and Romanesque Revival, found little favor in Woodruff Place. Town residents also preferred frame construction rather than masonry as a building material. Stained glass windows abound in the neighborhood, adding Victorian charm to both the exterior and interior of homes.

The twentieth century brought a flood of diverse architectural styles as residential construction continued in the little town. Also represented in Woodruff Place are the Free Classic, Georgian Revival and English Tudor modes, making “A Walk Through Woodruff Place” a graphic example of architectural history in America.