Service Men’s Club and Fort Theatre - 8920 Otis Avenue
Year Built: 1929Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Symmetrical Facade Fully Arched Windows Small Paned in Windows The theater was built in 1929. It showed movies and hosted band performances for soldiers and their families during its heyday.The fort and its theater were decommissioned in 1996. Until the end of 2014, the 38th Infantry Band of the Indiana National Guard used the building as a practice space. Theatre At the Fort is now home to Arts For Lawrence, as of 2015.To learn more about the theatre, visit here: https://www.artsforlawrence.com/about-the-theater/
Spring Valley Cemetery - 5730 North Post Road
(The cemetery is across the street)This is the old pioneer cemetery predates the fort. It was originally named the Thomas Silvey Cemetery. In 1903, the cemetery was included within the area the federal government acquired for the construction of Fort Benjamin Harrison. The Army tried unsuccessfully several times to have the cemetery condemned and relocated, but failed and decided to leave it a private and undisturbed cemetery. Many of the early Lawrence settlers are buried here, including Mr. Reddick, the farmer who sold his land to the government to build Fort Harrison.
Midwest Studios / The Water Pump House - 5742 North Post Road
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Water Tower Narrow Arched Windows Brick Construction(The studios are across the street)The original water pump house housed three pump engines capable of pumping 1 million gallons of water per day from five deep wells. The water would then be pumped and stored in a 300,000 gallon storage tower. Five additional wells added in WWII to increase the capacity to 2 million gallons per day. The original water tower is still on site. The pump house is now home to Midwest Studios, an interactive marketing, animation and exhibit fabrication firm. They aim to help businesses "transform technical stories into digital media, physical models and interactive exhibits." Learn more about them here: https://www.midweststudios.com/As we leave the pump station, we will head past the old post hospital, which was later converted into the headquarters building as the post expanded during World War II, with a larger and more modern hospital built on the other side of the base. You’ll also see the medical sergeants and nurses’ quarters on the right.
Fort Harrison State Park Inn - 5830 North Post Road
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Symmetrical Facade Double Level Porch with Column Supports Segmental Arched Windows(The Inn is across the street)Learn more about the Inn here: https://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/inns/ftharrison/Fort Harrison ParkAt Fort Harrison, landscape and history blend together at this unique setting on the north-east side of Indianapolis. Inside the park was once the maneuvers area and firing range for the fort; now, this 1,700-acre park features walking and jogging trails, road and mountain biking trails, picnic sites, a duck pond, and fishing access to Fall Creek.
Old Fire Station / Salt Cave Spa - 8899 Kent Avenue
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Copula Large Swing-Open Doors Brick ConstructionThis building is the old fort fire station and is one of the earlier buildings at the fort, now the Salt Cave, where you can get salt spa treatments. Note the large swing-open doors. It originally housed horse-drawn fire wagons and served the entire fort. The copula on top was used as a fire watch. There was a 24/7 spotter because all buildings were heated by wood-burning and coal, and were thus greater fire hazards.[Check out the bars on the Stockade across the Salt Cave parking lot – good view! We will talk about the Stockade shortly.] To learn more about the Salt cave Spa, visit them here: https://indysaltcave.com/
Band Barracks - 5835 Lawton Loop East Drive
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Double Level Porch Twin Gable Front Wings Segmental Arched Windows and DoorsThis smaller barracks building is the old regimental band barracks, where soldiers of the regimental band lived and practiced. This building allowed the band to be close to practice and performance areas on the campus. The building is now home to Triad Associates, Inc., a civil engineering and architecture firm.
Stockade - 5825 Lawton Loop East Drive
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Stockade Bars Large Central Dormer Segmental Arched Doors and WindowsThis building is the military police building, also known as the stockade. Notice the bars on the windows, which are the cells where soldiers at Fort Harrison who were convicted of crimes under military law would serve time.
Bachelor Officers' Quarters - 5855 Lawton Loop E. Dr.
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Double Level Porch with Column Supports Pedimented Dormers Symmetrical AestheticThe building to our left was the original officer’s mess, club and visiting/bachelor officer’s quarters, and adjacent to it the original headquarters building. The bachelors’ quarters were called the Bachelors’ Club and could accommodate ten bachelors. The club has been converted into condos; the Headquarters building is now a law office [5845 Lawton Loop E. Dr.]. The main entrance to this building is the side that faces away from Lawton Loop, on Lawton Road. This side is much more grand. Check out the picture here or take a quick look around. In 1917, the post commander, Colonel Root, abolished “spooning” at Fort Ben. His orders prohibited civilians from visiting candidates in the officers’ training camp and soldiers of any unit at the post except on Saturday afternoon and Sunday unless an emergency existed. Unescorted women and young girls visiting the fort were to be stopped by military police and questioned, and if they could not give a satisfactory account of themselves were to be sent off the post. Colonel Root also ordered that taxicab drivers and drivers of other vehicles could expect to have their vehicles searched for liquor as he strictly enforced the laws regarding the bringing of liquor onto the post.Parade FieldWe will continue the tour by taking a trip across the parade field and Lawton Loop, named for General Lawton, a hero of the Civil War and Spanish-American War from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Many of the streets of the base were named after victorious Spanish-American war heroes. More than 400 maple trees were planted along the sidewalks of the post when it was built.
Band Gazebo
To the north and directly in front of us is the 35-acre parade field or “The Loop” as it is referred to these days. This was the center of fort activities for much of its history, from physical training in the mornings, to military field exercises, pass and review ceremonies, as well as evening entertainment provided by the regimental band in the gazebo, built in the 1930s. The band played routinely on Friday evenings and the weekends during the early years of the fort. We’ll talk more about life at the fort throughout the tour.
Regimental Commander's House - 5844 Lawton Loop West Drive
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Large Central Pediment with Entablature Wrap Porch with Column Supports Lights Above DoorThis is the largest house on the fort, designed for the regimental commander and his family along with serving staff. This was a home for a full colonel who commanded the infantry regiment based here and served as the post’s commander. The house was not only a fixture of command for the base, but was also intended to host and entertain the civilian elite of Indianapolis, as well as dignitaries from Washington D.C.
Camp Glenn
Camp Glenn was on the west side of the fort, and just right and through a wooded area from where we are now. It was a training area for Fort Ben soldiers, and later served as a site for the post-World War I Civilian Military Training Corps (CMTC) program. You can access the site inside the State Park . CMTC cadets would come each summer for four years and at the end of this period were awarded a reserve officer commission in the Army.When World War II broke out, this area was converted to a prisoner of war camp, and by 1943 was one of several sites in Indiana receiving and housing German and Italian POWs. The POWs were put to work doing maintenance around the base.May 1944 rolled around, and 300 proud German prisoners arrived at the fort. German prisoners who came to Fort Ben were members of Rommel’s Afrika Corps. When they arrived, most were still wearing the uniforms they were captured in. Germans were put to work doing maintenance jobs and working in the kitchen. During a task to repair the roof of the canteen, the prisoners separated two shades of shingles and organized them in the shape of a swastika on the roof. When discovered by American officers, the Germans were called back for a do-over. Other than that, “records indicate the Germans were pretty well behaved.”Perhaps the most dramatic story about Fort Harrison relates to an event that occurred in 1945. In late 1944, a Midwestern branch of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks was established at the post in the former reception center to house hundreds of American servicemen convicted of various offenses by the military court system. By June 1945, about 2,700 men were incarcerated there, all performing work and receiving vocational training. On the evening of May 31, 1945, a riot started at the prison with prisoners throwing rocks at the electric lights and at prison guards. Two separate fires broke out. Prisoners rushed the barbed wire fences surrounding the compound. Prison guards fired machine gun bursts at the feet of the rioters. After four and a half hours, the prison guards regained control of the situation. Two men were found dead: an Indianapolis fire fighter died of a heart attack and a prison guard was fatally wounded by ricocheting machine gun fire. Three prisoners had bullet wounds. The fire destroyed nine buildings, and the flames could be seen for ten miles.All civilian vehicles were searched for loose prisoners trying to escape. The driver of a milk truck failed to honor the roadblock and accelerated his truck past the security guards. One guard turned his Thompson submachine gun on the truck, perforating the side of the tanker and causing milk to spew out the bullet holes, emptying most of the driver’s load. The whole event became a public relations nightmare for the Army in the local Indianapolis community which had not been very happy when the disciplinary barracks first opened. To appease the local Chamber of Commerce, the Army agreed to move part of the Disciplinary Barracks.
Original Officers’ Homes - Lawton Loop West Drive
Here on the west side of the loop and parade grounds we see the original 18 officers’ homes varying in size and design based on rank, from lieutenant to captain, to major. There are 14 duplex homes, and 4 single-family homes.Although this was a standard design for the army throughout the United States at the time, these turn of the century homes were built out of local available materials for a given post – in the case of Fort Ben, Indiana limestone and bricks largely fired at the foundry in Brazil, Indiana were used in their construction. The materials were brought in by train, including raw lumber for framing, and deposited on the parade field which served as a construction site complete with a rail spur leading up to a small saw mill in the middle of the field.Rank determined the exterior design of the house—for example, the location and size of balconies on the front vs. on the sides vs. wrap-around indicated rank—as well as the number of oak-finished rooms the Army afforded its officers. The colonel’s quarters had 6 rooms furnished in oak. Majors lived in homes with only 4 rooms of oak. Quarters for captains had 2 rooms of oak and those for lieutenants had only one.Each building has a 3-digit number on the front steps– these are addresses that the army used to identify each building on base. Officers’ names were inserted into the front of the steps.
Home of Judy Bryon and Carl Murray - 5762 Lawton Loop West Drive
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Two Porches with Coulmn Supports Windows with Keystones and Small Panes Pedimented DormersThis home is one of the converted Officer’s Quarters. This home remains a duplex, similar to most of the duplex homes on the Loop.
Parade Ground Reviewing Stand
Ranking officers positioned themselves here to review formations and passing units. Old photos show thousands of massed troops, with infantry, artillery, mounted cavalry, and horse- and mule-drawn wagons.
Post Exchange / Maude Building" - 5745 & 5731 Lawton Loop East Drive
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:- Post ExchangeCentral Pediment Decorative Masonry Segmental Arched Windows- Maude BuildingTwo Entrances Segmental Arched Windows Stone FoundationBoth of these buildings are undeveloped and provide redevelopment opportunities at the fort.The smaller building is the old post exchange, where soldiers could purchase small items and snacks to make army life a little easier; and there was once a small, three-lane bowling alley in the basement for recreation. It was later used as a non-commissioned officers club.Notice that this building is currently undeveloped. Context Design, a landscape architecture firm, owns the building and is working on a plan for its repurposing and conversion.“Maude” building not redeveloped—it is likely to be converted to Merici Village’s 2nd building, but they are waiting to hear about tax credits.
Building 671 - 5719 Lawton Loop East Drive
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Double Level Porch Two Entrances Segmental Arched Windows and DoorsA great example of adaptive reuse, this building has been converted to hold several small businesses including Porter Books and Bread (door 719), which is a great place to get a locally-sourced sandwich and in-house roasted coffee.
The Village of Merici - 5707 Lawton Loop East Drive
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Double Level Porch Two Entrances Segmental Arched Windows and DoorsThe Village of MericiThis former Alpha Company barracks of the 11th Infantry Regiment is now the home of Merici (“mare-ree-chee”) Village, a group home for developmentally disabled adults. They are wonderful neighbors and a welcome addition to the loop.Lawton Loop East DriveWe are on the east side where the original troop barracks were located. Originally, Fort Ben was an infantry post supported by horse cavalry and supply wagons pulled by mules, and each of these buildings housed a company of 120 men, made of up four platoons each – one platoon per side, per floor of the building. There were about 30 men to one large open bay, each sharing a bunk with another soldier. Later, the army converted the open bays into apartment-style lodging for the soldiers based here. Now, most of the barracks have been converted into condominiums.
Fortune Academy - 5626 Lawton Loop East Drive
Year Built: Circa 1970sArchitecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Spire Fanlight over Door Small Panes in Double Hung WindowsConstructed in the 1970s to serve as a chapel on the Fort. After the Fort was decommissioned, the chapel changed hands and was purchased from Lawrence Township Schools in 2012, becoming the new permanent home of Fortune Academy.Fortune Academy is a not-for-profit private school serving students 1st-12th grades with language learning differences such as dyslexia and ADHD.
Defense Finance and Accounting Service building - 8899 East 56th Street
Year Built: 1953Architecture Style: ContemporaryKey Features:Winged Cover over Entrance Banded Windows Flat Roof(Finance building is across the street)Today, the military maintains a strong presence at the Fort with about 10% of the base still under federal control. In addition to an Army Reserve enclave on the eastern boundary of the base, there is the large building across the street known as the Defense Finance and Accounting Service building, or DFAS. It is the second largest government building next to the Pentagon. It opened in 1953, and by 1957 it employed 5,000 Hoosiers, 77% of whom were women. Although mostly employing civilians, it remains an active duty military post to this day. In this building is the Major General Emmett Bean Center, dubbed the “Home of the Military Dollar,” which functions as the military’s financial headquarters.In 1922 this area was an Army Air Corps airfield named Schoen Field, dedicated to Indianapolis native and decorated World War I fighter ace Lieutenant Earl Schoen. In the 1930s the airfield was expanded to include 185 acres and for a brief time after World War II, the field and fort were converted to Benjamin Harrison Air Force Base in 1948 but was turned back over to the Army in 1950. The finance building and its parking lot now cover all of the former airfield and no trace is left. Read this article to learn more about the airfield and other abandoned arifields in Indianapolis: http://www.airfields-freeman.com/IN/Airfields_IN_Indy_E.htm
Interurban Station /La Hacienda - 5625 Lawton Loop East Drive
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Wide Eaves with Brackets Multi-Paned Windows Metal RoofJust in front of us, on this side of 56th street is the Mexican restaurant La Hacienda which used to be a train depot and stop on the Indianapolis interurban line, which would take troops stationed at Fort Ben back and forth between the city. When train service was replaced by bus service, the depot became the fort’s post office.
Bakery and “New” Barracks - 5635 Lawton Loop East Drive / 8901 & 8902 Otis Avenue
Year Built: 1908Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:- BakeryMasonry Crowns over Windows and Doors Symmetrical Design Multi-Paned Windows- BarracksDouble Level Porch With Brick Column Porch Supports Fanlights on Gable Front Wings Two EntrancesWe’ll pass the old bakery (635 Lawton Loop East Drive) on our right, which when built, had a capacity of 1,000 loaves of bread a day. Later, it was converted to the post library. We will pass in between the “new barracks” (8901 & 8902 Otis Avenue) which were built in 1939 to house soldiers training to be army bakers on the right, and soldiers training to serve in the army chaplain corps on the left. During World War II, these buildings also served as barracks for the Army Women’s Auxiliary Corps, or WACs.8901 Otis Avenue is now the Schneider Geospatial. 8902 Otis Avenue is now a multi-use office building.This is the last stop on our tour! If you have not already, please take the opportunity to visit Fort Harrison State Park. It is just a block north of the Inn at 6000 North Post Road. Historic Urban Neighborhoods of Indianapolis and Indiana Landmarks thanks you for joning us! Consider taking one of other fantasic tours on PocketSights!
