Governor's House
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 livestock. In 1827, the governor's mansion was built on the Circle. First lady Esther Ray Brown refused to occupy it. "Live in that house?" she cried, "No, indeed! Why we would be under the eyes of everybody. Every woman in town would take account of our washing when we hang it out on Monday morning." The house sat empty for 30 years and was razed in 1857. The site became Circle Park.In 1887, the General Assembly passed a bill to erect a a state soldiers' and sailors' monument or memorial hall. The popular plan was for it to be a giant shaft on the Circle since it was in the geographical center of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. The cornerstone was laid March 4, 1893, despite the fact no plan for the monument had be finalized.
English Hotel and Opera House
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 hotel and the opera house were demolished in 1948 and a J.C. Penney department store was built in it's place. During the 20's and 30's, an electronic baseball scoreboard was placed on the portico of the hotel. Fans watched the progress of World Series games from the steps of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.Gov. of New York and presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke from the balcony of the English Opera House on a campaign stop Oct. 20, 1932.
Southwest quadrant of Monument Circle
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 1948 photo. The annex building — which had been erected in 1875 as the Remy Hotel and later became Hotel Morton — was acquired by H.P. Wasson in 1916. That location was also the site of the popular White's Cafeteria.Canary Cottage Restaurant and Reed's Shoe Store also anchored this quadrant. The annex was destroyed by fire in 1969 and the land was replaced with a mini-park, until the Emmis Communications building was completed in 1998.
Indianapolis Traction Terminal and Terminal Building
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.Indianapolis was the hub of all the interurban lines in the state and the Indianapolis Terminal Traction station was the largest of its kind in the nation -- in fact it was the largest in the world.In its heyday, the terminal boasted nine interurban lines, but with the ready availability of automobiles, the streetcar system all but ceased in the 1930s. The terminal was paved over and converted into a bus terminal until 1968 and was demolished in 1972.
Cyclorama
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 Palace,” with the first floor to be occupied by photographers, artists and art dealers. But the building housed a Cyclorama — a 42-foot tall, 358-foot wide painting depicting the Civil War Battle of Atlanta, giving viewers a 360-degree view of the mural.When the mural was moved to Atlanta, the building became a "House of Fads.” Livery owner Horace Woods rented the building and opened a horseback riding academy; then it featured a car show, “society circus,” roller skating, the Waverly Bicycle Company riding school, auto polo, carnivals and the Frank Bostock Zoo. The latter had some success until Rajah the tiger reportedly clawed an attendant. It was demolished in 1903 to make room for the Indianapolis Traction Terminal Building (see stop 3).
Knights of Pythias
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 in 1937. That's Pennsylviania Street on the left and Massachusetts Ave. on the right. The photo was taken from Ohio Street. The "K of P" building was torn down in 1967 and this section of Massachusetts was eliminated so that the entire block could be used for the then Indiana National bank tower (later to become Regions Bank).
Tomlinson Hall
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 Square where the farmers had sold their meat eggs milk and produce since the 1830s.Construction began on Tomlinson Hall in 1883 and it was dedicated in 1886 the same year the City Market was completed. The hall became a cultural showpiece in spite of the truck gardeners' stands and farm wagons in the surrounding streets. The Grand Army of the Republic, the Civil War verterans' organization, held a fund raiser there in 1886 to help raise funds for the Soldiers and Sailors Monument which was not yet built. It also hosted United Mine Workers meetings political and industrial conventions and concerts by big name bands of the Roaring '20s. Oldtime sectional basketball tournaments were played there as well.On the night of Jan. 30 1958 the structure caught fire illuminating the downtown area as flames climbed hundreds of feet into the air. The historic hall was razed six months later. A single doorway arch facing east is all that stands today in the market's courtyard.
Market Square Arena
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 crusades and Ice Capades, to name a few. MSA hosted the biggest names in entertainment: Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson, Van Halen, Queen, Stevie Wonder, John Mellencamp, Bob Seger, Garth Brooks, AC/DC, Bob Dylan, Prince, Marvin Gaye, Fleetwood Mac, Jay-Z. Elvis Presley's final concert was there in 1977.When the Pacers moved to the then Conseco Fieldhouse (now Bankers Life) in 1999, Market Square Arena was demolished in a stunning 12 second implosion.
Hoosier Dome/RCA Dome
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. The name was changed to RCA dome in 1994, when RCA paid $10 million for the naming rights for 10 years. The largest crowd (62,167) to attend an event was WrestleMania VIII in 1992. As a concert venue the dome hosted The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Guns N' Roses and 'N Sync as well as Farm Aid in 1990.The Dome was the site of numerous NCAA basketball events, gymnastics, Pan Am Games, Track and Field, as well as band competitions, SuperCross, Monster Trucks and religious events.In September 2008, the Dome was deflated and the rest was imploded four months later. The Indiana Convention Center expanded onto the former site. The Colts now play in Lucas Oil Stadium.
