Herron–Morton Place Historic District
Herron–Morton Place Historic District | |
Talbott Street in the southwestern part of the district | |
39°47′34″N 86°9′9″W / 39.79278°N 86.15250°W / 39.79278; -86.15250 | |
Area | 147 acres (59 ha) |
---|---|
Built | 1822 |
Architect | Multiple |
Architectural style | Classical Revival, Queen Anne, Tudor Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 83000131[1] |
Added to NRHP | June 16, 1983 |
Herron–Morton Place is a historic district in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The boundaries of the neighborhood are East 16th Street on the south, East 22nd Street on the north, North Pennsylvania Street on the west, and Central Avenue on the east.[2]
Herron–Morton Place Historic District is known for its collection of late 19th- and early 20th-century residential architecture. Many north–south streets in Herron—Morton (including Delaware, Alabama, and New Jersey streets) originally featured large esplanades down the center, adding to the spacious feeling of the lots and large homes.[3] Only New Jersey Street retains the original esplanades, providing an example of what the northern half of the neighborhood looked like.[4]
The neighborhood is notable as one of the city's earliest centers for LGBTQ culture, previously home to several gay bars and nightclubs, including the Club Betty K, 21 Club, Johnnie's Place, Harlow's, and Talbott Street.[5]
History
19th century
The area that makes up Herron-Morton Place was originally part of a 160-acre (65 ha) land patent granted to Thomas O’Neal in November 1822. In 1835, O'Neal sold the land to Samuel Henderson, the first Indianapolis postmaster and later, first mayor (1847-1849). The land was largely undeveloped, except for a 36-acre (15 ha) wooded tract, bounded roughly by what are now 19th, Talbott, and 22nd streets and Central Avenue. In the middle of the 19th century, it had become a popular picnic spot known as Henderson's Grove. In 1850, Henderson sold the land. Eighty acres (32 ha) west of Delaware Street were purchased by Elizabeth Tinker (the namesake of Tinker Street), and the area east of Delaware Street was purchased by William Otis.[6]
In 1859, the Indiana State Board of Agriculture purchased the land, which was still largely undeveloped, as a home for the Indiana State Fair.[6][4]
At the start of the American Civil War, the area was used as an induction center for the Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Later in the war, it served as Camp Morton, a prisoner of war camp for Confederate soldiers that was named after Indiana's governor at the time, Oliver P. Morton. After the Civil War, it went back to being the state fairgrounds. A new exhibition building designed by Edwin May (later architect of the second, and current Indiana Statehouse) was constructed in 1873. The State Fair was held annually on the site until the current fairgrounds site on 38th Street was created in 1890.[7]
After the relocation of the fairgrounds, the site was purchased by three local businessmen, Willard Hubbard, Edward Claypool, and Elijah Martindale, who divided the property into 280 residential lots named Morton Place. It was designed as an upper-class residential neighborhood, boasting amenities such as esplanades, including those still present on North New Jersey Street.
Indiana Impressionist artists T.C. Steele and William Forsyth founded the Hoosier Group art school in Morton Place in 1888. In 1895, John Herron's bequest founded the John Herron Art Institute, and funded new construction of a new main building and an art museum in Morton Place. The Herron Museum later became the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
As Indianapolis expanded outward at the end of the 1800s, the area directly north of 16th Street was considered one of the city's most elegant residential neighborhoods and was home to many celebrated politicians, lawyers, physicians, business leaders, artists, and architects.[4]
20th century
The proliferation of the automobile and subsequent expansion of Indianapolis lured the well-to-do further away from the heart of the city and thus, from Herron-Morton.[7] The esplanades on Delaware and Alabama Streets were removed in the 1920s because they slowed traffic flow in and out of the city. When the Great Depression began, many of the large single-family homes were divided into multi-family dwellings, causing the neighborhood to further lose its appeal. Between 1950 and 1970, a considerable amount of housing stock was lost to fires and demolitions.[6][7]
Revitalization efforts began in the 1970s, largely with graduates of the Herron School of Art choosing to stay in the neighborhood and buy and renovate homes.[6] In 1976, Herron–Morton Place Neighborhood Association was founded. The association spearheaded attempts to renovate homes, reduce crime, and rebuild the neighborhood spirit.[6] Herron-Morton was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, making structures in the district eligible for tax incentives, and became a historic preservation district in 1986.[8]
21st century
Public and private revitalization efforts have continued throughout the past several decades. Herron-Morton is again one of Indianapolis's most highly developed neighborhoods, and many homes that had been converted into multiple units in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s have now been converted back into single-family homes.[7] The historic district encompasses 574 contributing buildings in representative examples of Classical Revival, Queen Anne, and Tudor Revival style architecture.[9]
Herron School of Art and Design relocated to new buildings on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus in 2000 and 2005. The original Herron School of Art buildings now house Herron High School, a public charter school serving grades 9–12,[10] and Herron Preparatory Academy, serving grades K-8. They are contributing properties to the historic district.
The Willard and Josephine Hubbard House was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.[11]
Community
Since 1956, Herron–Morton Place has hosted the Talbot Street Art Fair, an annual juried art fair held on Talbott Street in June of each year.[12] The Herron–Morton Place Neighborhood Association was formed in 1976 to spearhead the renovation of homes, encourage new residential development, reduce crime, and rebuild community spirit.
The Herron–Morton Place Neighborhood Foundation raises funds to maintain a historic neighborhood park in the 1900 block of North Alabama Street and other beautification efforts throughout the neighborhood. The foundation plans several events each year that raise money for the neighborhood park, the most notable of which are the annual Oktoberfest in late September, the bi-annual home tour, and the year Rock 'N' Romp for families.
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Our Neighborhood". Herron-Morton Place. June 5, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ "Herron-Morton Place Historic District--Indianapolis: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary". www.nps.gov. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Our History". Herron-Morton Place. June 5, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ Donnelly, Cathleen F.; Van Allen, Elizabeth J. (2021) [1994]. "Herron–Morton Place" (website). Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Tour - Herron-Morton Place Neighborhood - PocketSights". pocketsights.com. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "HUNI:: Herron Morton". www.huniindy.org. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission (October 1, 1986). "Historic Area Preservation Plan - Herron-Morton Place" (PDF). Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ "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 Alan Goebes (February 1983). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Herron–Morton Place Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved August 1, 2016. and Accompanying photographs
- ^ "Awards & Accolades". Herron High School. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 6/06/16 through 6/10/16. National Park Service. June 17, 2016.
- ^ Blair, Lyndsey D. (February 2021). "Talbot Street Art Fair" (website). Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
External links
- Herron–Morton Place Neighborhood Website
- Indianapolis, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
- Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission
- v
- t
- e
- Brendonwood
- Camp Edwin F. Glenn
- Central Court
- Chatham–Arch
- Cottage Home
- Cumberland
- Emerson Avenue Addition
- Fletcher Place
- Forest Hills
- Fort Benjamin Harrison (Boundary Increase)
- Garfield Drive
- Golden Hill
- Haughville
- Herron–Morton Place
- Holy Rosary–Danish Church
- Homecroft
- Indiana Avenue
- Indianapolis Union Station Wholesale District
- Irvington
- Irvington Terrace
- Laurel and Prospect
- Lockerbie Square (Boundary Increase)
- Massachusetts Avenue
- Meridian Park
- New Augusta
- North Meridian Street
- North Pennsylvania Street
- Northside
- North Irvington Gardens
- Old Northside
- Oliver Johnson's Woods
- P.R. Mallory Company Factory
- Ransom Place
- Riverside Drive
- St. Joseph Neighborhood
- St.Philip Neri Parish
- Shortridge–Meridian Street Apartments
- State and Prospect
- Town of Crows Nest
- Virginia Avenue
- Washington Park
- Washington Street–Monument Circle
- Watson Park
- Woodruff Place
- Allison Mansion
- Anderson–Thompson House
- Askren House
- Apple House
- Bals–Wocher House
- Bates–Hendricks House
- Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site
- Benton House
- Byram–Middleton House
- Campbell Mansion
- Cole House & 1925 Cole Brouette No. 70611
- Cotton–Ropkey House
- Flanner House Homes
- Fletcher House
- Glossbrenner Mansion
- Graham House
- Hanna–Ochler–Elder House
- Haverstick Farmstead
- Hill House
- Hollingsworth House
- Horner–Terrill House
- Hubbard House
- Jamieson–Bennett House
- Johnson–Denny House
- Julian–Clark House
- Kuhn House
- Levey Mansion
- Lustron House
- Mattison House
- Meier House
- Millikan House
- Moore House
- Morris–Butler House
- Nicholson–Rand House
- Oldfields
- Pierson–Griffiths House
- The Propylaeum (Schmidt House)
- Prosser House
- Recker House
- Riley House
- Schnull–Rauch House
- Sommer House
- Stewart Mansion
- Stumpf House
- Thompson House
- Tobey-Normington House
- Tomlinson House
- Wheeler–Stokely Mansion
Apartments
and Flats
- Alameda
- Alexandra
- Ambassador
- Baker
- Blacherne
- Burton
- Cathcart
- Chadwick
- Colonial
- Dartmouth
- Delaware Court
- Delaware Flats
- Devonshire
- Emelie
- Glencoe
- Grover
- Harriett
- Lodge
- Martens
- Massachusetts
- Mayleeno
- McKay
- Myrtle Fern
- Oxford
- Pennsylvania
- Plaza
- Rink
- Savoy
- Shelton
- Sid-Mar
- Spink
- Sylvania
- St. Clair
- Vienna
- Wil-Fra-Mar
- Wilson
- Wyndham
Apartments
Libraries
- Administration Building, Indiana Central University
- Arthur Jordan Memorial Hall
- Central Library
- Crispus Attucks High School
- East Washington Library
- Hawthorne Branch Library
- IPS 13
- IPS 33
- IPS 36
- IPS 58
- IPS 66
- IPS 82
- IPS 84
- IPS 97
- Indiana School for the Deaf
- Indiana State Library
- Riverside Branch Library
- Old Southport High School
- Spades Park Library
- Shortridge High School
- Architects and Builders Building
- L.S. Ayres Annex Warehouse
- City Market
- Fame Laundry
- Fidelity Trust Building
- Hammond Block
- Indianapolis News Building
- Jackson Buildings
- Kahn Tailoring Company Building
- Lombard Building
- Majestic Building
- Marott's Shoes Building
- Merchants National Bank and Annex
- Morrison Block
- Reserve Loan Life Insurance Company
- Rink's Womens Apparel Store
- Selig's Dry Goods Company Building
- Taylor Carpet Company Building
- Tee Pee Restaurant
- Test Building
- H. P. Wasson and Company Building
- William Buschmann Block
- Fort Harrison Terminal Station
- Indianapolis Union Station
- Marion County Bridge 0501F
- Michigan Road Toll House
- P.C.C. & St. L. Railroad Freight Depot
- Stout Field Administration Building and Hangar
Theater
- Circle Theater
- Foster Hall
- Indiana Theatre
- Madam C. J. Walker Building
- Rivoli Theater
Recreation
- Broad Ripple Park Carousel
- Bush Stadium
- Highland Golf and Country Club
- Butler Fieldhouse
- Hillcrest Country club
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Woodstock Country Club
- Bethel A.M.E. Church
- Beth-El Zedeck Temple
- Big Run Baptist Church and Cemetery
- Christ Church Cathedral
- Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church
- Our Savior Lutheran Church
- Roberts Park Methodist Episcopal Church
- St. John's Church and Rectory
- St. Mary's Catholic Church
- St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church
Civic Groups
- Athenaeum
- Christamore House
- Colored Knights of Pythias Castle Hall
- Columbia Club
- General German Protestant Orphans Home
- Independent Turnverein
- Indiana State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs
- Indianapolis Athletic Club
- Indianapolis Masonic Temple
- Maennerchor Building
- Oriental Lodge No. 500
- Scottish Rite Cathedral
- South Side Turnverein Hall
- University Club
Spaces
- Archeological Sites 12Ma648 and 12Ma649
- Caleb Blood Smith Historic Site
- Crown Hill Cemetery
- Crown Hill National Cemetery
- Indiana World War Memorial Plaza
- Indianapolis Park and Boulevard System
- McCormick Cabin Site
- Military Park
- Nurses' Sunken Garden and Convalescent Park
- State Soldiers and Sailors Monument
- University Park
Entries in italics have been removed from the registry