Memory Bank: Taxi drivers pose at Walker building in 1943
Lillian and Frank Goodwin operated Apex Taxi Co. out of offices in Rooms 201 and 202 at the Walker building.
Indiana Historical Society
Articles
Memory Bank: Selling fruit at the corner of Washington and Meridian streets in 1893
The corner of Washington and Meridian streets has, of course, changed substantially over the years. But even in this photo, believed to have been taken in 1893, the intersection was a vibrant commercial corridor.
Memory Bank: A tornado rips across Indy in May 1927
On May 18, 1927, a tornado struck downtown, wreaking havoc along Washington Street, from the west side of downtown to Irvington.
Memory Bank: ‘Masters of Disaster’ chess player takes on Mayor Hudnut in 1983
In 1983, a chess team from IPS School No. 27 took on an elite private school from Manhattan in the National Elementary School Chess Championship—and won.
Memory Bank: Delivering baked goods across city
Century Biscuit Co. was among the earliest local companies to use trucks to get products to customers.
Memory Bank: Illinois Street theater went through several iterations
The Lyric Theatre opened in 1906 at 121 N. Illinois St. with a small projector and just 200 folding chairs. Six years later, the Central Amusement Co. spent $75,000 to rebuild the theater, expanding its capacity to 1,400.
Memory Bank: Bustling corner of Washington and Illinois streets
The site where the Conrad Indianapolis hotel stands at the corner of Washington and Illinois streets was previously home to the 12-story Roosevelt Building, shown at left in the photo, and to Thompson’s Restaurant and Cooler’s Billiard Parlor No. 2.
Memory Bank: Fire destroys home of E-Z-Bake Flour in 1917
In October 1917, fire destroyed the Acme-Evans two-story, Italianate office building at what was then 702 W. Washington St., an address that is now part of White River State Park.
Memory Bank: Business district in Fountain Square
This 1946 view of Virginia Avenue looking northwest through Fountain Square doesn’t appear significantly different than it does today, other than some different names on the buildings and older cars.
Memory Bank: Building a seawall along Fall Creek
Fall Creek, which flows 57 miles from Pendleton to the White River in downtown Indianapolis, was a key part of architect George Kessler’s plans for a park and boulevard program that was revealed in 1909 and built and expanded over the next decades.
Memory Bank: Madam C.J. Walker out for a drive
In this photo, believed to have been taken in 1914, Walker is out for a drive with her daughter, A’Lelia Walker, born Lelia McWilliams, in Indianapolis.
Memory Bank: Livery demolished to make way for Circle Theatre
The Wood Livery Stable had been a fixture in the southeast quadrant of Monument Circle from 1834 until it moved in 1915. The spot was then demolished to make room for the Circle Theatre.
Memory Bank: Jordan Hall rises on new Butler campus
When Butler University, then in the Irvington neighborhood, bought the former Fairview Park land, Arthur Jordan donated $1 million to help pay for one of the school’s first buildings at the new campus.
Memory Bank: Indianapolis Recorder newspaper is 125 years old
In 1895, George P. Stewart and Will Porter launched a two-page church bulletin that they then turned into a weekly newspaper covering the African American community in Indianapolis.
Memory Bank: Mayor details neighborhood rehab plan in 1983
In this photo taken July 2, 1983, Indianapolis Mayor William Hudnut speaks at the United Northwest Area annual picnic and explains how federal Urban Reinvestment Task Force programs would provide money to rehabilitate homes in the neighborhood, as
Memory Bank: Selling bikes downtown in 1896
H.T. Hearsey Bicycles store was on Pennsylvania Street, between New York and Ohio streets, when this photo was taken in 1896.
Memory Bank: Baby carriages, chairs and more at People’s Outfitting
People’s Outfitting Co. was a department store founded in 1893 in Detroit that opened in Indianapolis around 1899 at 133-135 W. Washington St., where it sold furniture, carpet, cameras, jewelry and household items.
Memory Bank: Eating popsicles in the 1950s
This photograph of children eating popsicles in front of an old store was taken by James O. Fox at an unmarked location, but likely on the near-west side in the 1950s.
Memory Bank: Finding a deal in 1955 as Charles Mayor and Co. is liquidated
This photo, taken Jan. 18, 1955, depicts the liquidation sale at the Washington Street building, which was torn down in 1959.
Memory Bank: Getting the official word you’re running for vice president
In 1904, a national committee of Republicans traveled to Indiana to officially tell Sen. Charles Fairbanks he would be the party’s nominee for president.