New Circle Church - 3421 North Park Avenue
Year Built: 1922Originally the English Lutheran Church of Our RedeemerArchitecture Style: Gothic RevivalKey Features:Parapets Central Tower Decorative Tracing on WindowsThe Watson Park tour primarily focuses on Watson Road, since it winds through the center of the historic residential district, from southwest to northeast. Much of the neighborhood was previously a tract of land owned by Watson J. Hasselman (1853-1927) and his wife Ida Lucy (Blood) Hasselman (1855-1938). Their home was located at 3445 Central Avenue. Many of Watson Park's original residents were notable figures in Indianapolis. Among them were the Secretary-Treasurer of Eli Lilly and Company and a Vice President of American Fletcher National Bank (now CHASE). A number of attorneys, doctors, CPAs, a United States Congressman, and an architect also made their homes in the neighborhood. Others were the owners of prosperous businesses, some of which are still operating today. The men frequently were members of the Indianapolis Athletic Club, which at that time typically meant they were politically progressive and members of the Democratic Party. Before many women began working outside the home, they were active in charity work, their children's schools, and the churches and synagogues of their families' faiths. Most of the houses on the tour today were built in the 1920s and 1930s. The notable exception is the very first home you will encounter, on the northwest corner of Fairfield Avenue and Watson Road. The home at 3502 Watson Road was completed in 2019. For nearly a century prior to that, it was intentionally kept as an unimproved parklike spot. At the time the majority of homes were built, the architectural trends that homeowners often chose were revival styles like Colonial Revival, Tudor Cottage Revival, and country French Revival. That meant they incorporated some of the visual cues from the original period styles in just enough detail to give an impression of the original ideals. There are also some American Four Squares and a Mediterranean Palazzo Revival.
3505 Watson Road
Year Built: 1920Architecture Style: Tudor RevivalKey Features:Steeply-Pitched Front Gable Arched Door Surround Diamond-Pattern Window LeadingThis Tudor Cottage Revival home was the first house built in the 3500 block of Watson Road. It has the typical features of a high-peaked gable entrance and an asymmetrical appearance in the front. There are leaded glass windows with colored glass inserts, a rounded top on the front door, and steep gables. These are characteristic of the Tudor Cottage Revival style, and you will see several more of them on Watson Road.
3529 Watson Road
Year Built: 1938Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Bay Window Dormers Multi-Pane WindowsThis somewhat newer Colonial Revival home is a notable example of restoration and preservation in the neighborhood. It had been vacant and neglected for several years. It was purchased in foreclosure in 2014, “flipped,” and sold last year. The renovation and update for resale kept the architectural integrity intact.One factor in recent house purchases has been the desire of the new owner to live in a historic residential neighborhood and in a house that has kept the architectural integrity, inside and out. Regardless of the age of the new owners, valuing the charm of this historic residential district is a prime motivator. Because so many of the houses are still structurally sound, renovations are able to keep most of the original features of these homes, while providing current conveniences and upgrades.
3539 Watson Road
Year Built: 1926Architecture Style: Tudor RevivalKey Features:Steeply Pitched Front Gable Segmental Arched Door Decorative Masonry and Window LeadingThis Tudor Revival shares the same core features of the other Tudor Revival homes on this block. There is another immediately behind us and three more ahead of us towards the end of this block. This was one of Indiana Landmarks' historic monthly “Look” homes featured back in 2015. Home prices have been steadily increasing in the last few years. Houses in foreclosure that had been neglected were purchased for between $50,000 and $65,000 only a few years ago. Homes with architectural integrity are now selling for several times those prices. As housing demand moves north from downtown and south from Meridian-Kessler, prices are projected to continue to increase. Even so, the homes are very affordable for the quality of housing that exists in Watson Park.
3603 Watson Road
Year Built: 1927Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Clapboard Siding Portico with Column Supports Symmetrical FacadeThis colonial revival home has a clapboard exterior, whereas the majority of the houses on Watson Road are brick. There is another clapboard Colonial revival diagonally across the corner of McCord Park. The current family has lived in this home for more than 45 years. They moved in just as the demographics of owners on the street was shifting significantly.Watson Road neighbors were originally all white. The street remained that way until about 1965, when the first black family moved onto the street. Following that, many of the homes were sold to black families by white owners who moved outside Indianapolis' city limits. About 30 years ago, gay men began purchasing well-built houses needing some “tender loving care.” Having updated the homes, they began to be appealing to a more diverse group of buyers. In the past 15 years, younger couples began buying houses for many of the same reasons that Watson Road developed in the first place.
3615 Watson Road
Year Built: 1929Architecture Style: American Foursquare with Arts and Crafts InfluenceKey Features:Large Embracing Porch with Low Pitched Roof Central Dormer Multi-Pane WindowsThis house and the one immediately to the north of it (the next stop) are as close to being duplicates as it gets on Watson Road. They were built by the same builder at the same time with the same floor plan inside. However, you can see that the outside treatment and elevations are considerably different. 3615 has an Arts and Crafts motif with the battered corners on the veranda and house, along with the corbels under the veranda soffits and the deep overhanging soffits around the veranda and house. 3621 has been given a country English look with Roman arches on the porch and the parapet above with French doors leading outside onto the porch.
3621 Watson Road
Year Built: 1929Architecture Style: American Four Square with Country English InfluencesKey Features:Large Arches Large Porch with Flat Roof Tall Narrow WindowsThe floor plan is identical for both and is a classic American Foursquare with a central entry foyer, a living room the depth of the house on the right and a dining room with the kitchen behind on the left. There are four large bedrooms upstairs in each corner of the structure and the main bath at the top of the stairs. By the time of their construction, the American Foursquare style had lost the prominence it had held for over 30 years in the American urban environment. Both houses were under construction in 1927, and completed late in 1928, with owners moving in early in 1929. Both of the original families lived here for about 25 years, were very social, and hosted many events in these homes through the years.
3641 Watson Road
Year Built: 1936Architecture Style: Art ModerneKey Features:Smooth Surface Flat roof Small PorticoThis home was built in 1936. It is unusual because of the design and floor plan. The original owner was a doctor. He and his wife commissioned this house based upon their values of function and use. The rendering in the original Indianapolis Star feature article shows the house then almost exactly as it looks today. The design was avant garde for its time and location. Art Moderne and Art Deco were becoming popular in California, due in part to the inspiration of the movie industry, but they had not made it to very many residential neighborhoods in the Midwest. This house stands in stark contrast to the period revival homes that are predominant on the street, much as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School homes did in the neighborhoods where they were built 30 years before.
3645 Watson Road
Year Built: 1928Architecture Style: Federalist RevivalKey Features:Small Porch with Coulmn Supports Elaborate Door Surround Eyebrow DormerThis home has the distinction of being the first one built with a legal description of Watson Road. It is characterized as a Federalist revival home. We have already passed one other on this side of the street. This one has some of the best features. Look at the fanlight above and the sidelights beside the front door. The symmetry is outstanding. The brick façade provides dignity and character, and the eyebrow dormer adds interest. These features were noted in the Indianapolis Star feature when the house was built. The interior floor plans are similar for all of them. There is the central entry foyer with the stairs leading to the second floor. The living room is on the left the depth of the house and the dining room with the kitchen behind is on the right. Originally, the space to the left of the house was an open veranda and not enclosed. Bedrooms and bath are upstairs. Square footage varies somewhat, and this has a bit more than others on the street.
3665 Watson Road
Year Built: 1935Architecture Style: Tudor RevivalKey Features:Steeply Pitched Front Gable with Chimney Tile Roof Tudor Arch DoorAlthough many of the homes in the Watson Park Historic District have now been renovated, there are still a number of them that have not, as is the case in nearly every historic residential district. There are a significant number of senior neighbors who are on fixed incomes and are no longer able to take care of their properties on their own. There are also houses that have been purchased by absentee landlords who rent them out. Fortunately, as these houses become available for sale, they are often purchased by those who recognize the historic and financial value and renovate them to sell to new homeowners who are interested in maintaining the properties.
3747 Watson Road
Year Built: c. 1936Architecture Style: Art ModerneKey Features:Painted brick exterior Hipped roof and no eaves Dentil moldings at the roofline Faux shutters around windows Antique wrought iron trim Walled garden at the rear With only two bedrooms, this one-story residence is one of the smaller homes on Watson Road. It's also one of the most unusual in appearance for the neighborhood. Over the years, its style has also been described in newspaper articles as Mediterranean, French Regency Revival, International, Art Deco, Eclectic, and International. The first owners, John W. and Cecile Van Wert, purchased the lot in 1934 but did not build the house until 1936; the couple first appeared at this address in the 1937 Indianapolis City Directory. A later owner, Mary Stuart Bowser, was an interior designer and a member of the American Institute of Interior Designers.
3763 Watson Road
Year Built: 1928Architecture Style: Tudor RevivalKey Features:Large tower Decorative timbering Steeply pitched roofThe home at 3763 Watson Road was one of the first homes to be built on the section of Watson Road that is east of College Avenue. At approximately 6,000 square feet (counting the basement and the attic), it is one of the larger homes on the street.
Watson Park Bird Preserve
Near the northeast end of Watson Road, before it intersects with East 38th Street, is the Watson Park Bird Preserve. The four-acre site was part of the original plat of Watson Park Road before homes were ever built on the street. It was one of the two “green spaces” at either end of the original Watson Park plan. The green space on the northeast end of Watson Road has for many years been a preserve for the nesting of wild birds. The green space that was originally at the southwest end of Watson Road now has a home on it, which you saw at the beginning of the tour. Neither green space was ever a cultivated park. In earlier times, these small tracts of land were used by the children in the neighborhood for such activities as sledding in the winter and riding bikes in the summer. Both locations were known by the nickname of “Camel’s Hump,” due to the hilly terrain on each green space.
3722 Watson Road
Year Built: 1941Architecture Style: English Tudor RevivalKey Features:Steeply pitched front gable Arched front door Decorative window tracingThis brick home with a slate roof is situated on a corner lot. It has a lovely open porch overlooking the back yard.
3674 Watson Road
Year Built: 1929Architecture Style: French NormandyKey Features:Tower with Decorative Masonry Tile Shingle Roof Decorative TimberingThis 1929 French Normandy Revival home was designed by Indianapolis architect Wilbur Shook. The Shooks lived in the home until 1971. Years after the Shooks left, the house was empty and neglected for a period of time. It was bought by a couple in 2011, who saw the potential in it and began the restoration. The hardwood floors have been replaced. The walls and ceiling details have been repaired to their original condition. While keeping the architectural integrity of the house intact, a new heating and air conditioning system has been installed. The home was featured on the Midtown Holiday Home Tour in 2019.Watson Road was first marketed in 1925, as a place “of the better class” for residential development. It was one of the last streets to be developed in this part of Indianapolis, as houses had already been built all around it in every direction. The features that appealed to homeowners then are still prevalent today. They include mature trees lining the street, the curvilinear flow of the street that follows the original ridge to the west and north, green spaces, deep setbacks, and the architectural diversity of the homes. From the beginning, Watson Road created an image of charm, desirability, and prestige.
3634 Watson Road
Year Built: 1926Architecture Style: Mediterranean Palazzo RevivalKey Features:Large Side Wings with Upper Porches Decorative Balustrade Palladian Door SurroundIt is a Mediterranean Palazzo Revival, which was also built in 1926. The house was purchased by the owner of the Polar Ice Company. It was described in detail in an Indianapolis Star feature story the year it was built. The owner has been in the home for over 20 years and raised her family here.
3630 Watson Road
Year Built: 1953Architecture Style: Massed Two StoryKey Features:Large Lower Level Window Red Trim Clapboard and Brick SidingThis house was built in 1953, and the original owner was a renown psychiatrist. Congressman Andy Jacobs lived in the home from 1966-69, as he represented this district in Washington, D.C.
3616 Watson Road
Year Built: 1928Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Gable Front with Large Fireplace Large Porch Clapboard SidingThis Colonial Revival home was built in 1928. It has a similar floor plan. Notice it was placed sideways on the lot because of how narrow the lot is, similar to a number of other Colonial Revival homes throughout Indianapolis. The current owner purchased it in 2013, kept the architectural integrity of the house while restoring parts of it, plus updating the kitchen and baths. The front porch was also enclosed to use year-round with the living room immediately behind it.
3604 Watson Road
Year Built: 1927Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Square Leading in Windows Semi-Fan Openings Fully Arched WindowWhat you see here is one remaining house of two houses that originally occupied this corner. The house is another clapboard Colonial Revival, built in 1927. There was also another Colonial Revival house to the south of it, where the lawn and privacy fence are. That house was built in 1921. Tragically, that house burned down several years ago. The fire also damaged several houses around it. The house at 3604 has been repaired and the interior restored. These two houses were not part of the original Watson Road legal description. This spur of Watson Road was originally named Terrace Street, but the name was changed in time because the Watson Road name had more prestige than Terrace Street did.
539 East 36th Street
Year Built: 1926Architecture Style: American Four SquareKey Features:Simple Box Style Stucco Siding Large Embracing PorchThis American Foursquare was built in 1926 by the same builders who completed many of the homes on Central Court, which is immediately south of this home. If you would like to see more examples of the developments of the Jose-Balz Company, you can continue around the block to Central Court, which backs up to south side of 36th Street. Like other homes in the neighborhood, this home had been vacant and neglected for a number of years before being bought in foreclosure in 2013. The current owner has made some space alterations to the interior, while keeping most of the original floor plan intact. The work overall has been a restoration, rather than a renovation.
McCord Park Sundial
McCord Park is the second planned green space in the Watson Road development, and like the Watson Road Bird Preserve, was platted from the beginning. It was originally called Watson Park, after the owner of the development, Watson Hasselman. The name was changed to McCord Park in 1970, in memory of Robert McCord, who lived in the neighborhood for more than 20 years and took care of the park while he was a resident. The current landscape plan was put into place more than ten years ago, including the sundial in the middle, which honors the organizations that made it possible. The sundial also commemorates William Whitfield, the first black Indianapolis police officer to be killed in the line of duty. He was shot on 36th Street near College Avenue in 1922 and and died a few months later from the wound.
3560 Watson Road
Year Built: 1939Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Bay Windows Full Arch Above Door Twin ChimneysMost of the houses on the west side of the 3500 block were built between 1939 and 1941. With the exception of isolated lots along Watson Road, these homes completed the residential image on the street.There are three Colonial Revival homes in a row, 3560, 3542, and 3540, and each one has its own features. The first one has bay windows on each side of the front door. All three are similar in size with room arrangements like the other Colonial Revivals on Watson Road that were already mentioned. Three young families now live in these homes. The owners have cleaned up the outsides, front and back, and continue working to restore the insides.
3542 Watson Road
Year Built: 1939Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Small Portico with Doric Columns Symmetrical Facade Side Lights on DoorMost of the houses on the west side of the 3500 block were built between 1939 and 1941. With the exception of isolated lots along Watson Road, these homes completed the residential image on the street.There are three Colonial Revival homes in a row, 3560, 3542, and 3540, and each one has its own features. 3542 has a classic portico with sidelights by the front door. All three are similar in size with room arrangements like the other colonial revivals already mentioned on Watson Road. Three young families now live in these homes.
3540 Watson Road
Year Built: 1940Architecture Style: Colonial RevivalKey Features:Copper Stoop Porch Decorative Masonry Red ShuttersMost of the houses on the west side of the 3500 block were built between 1939 and 1941. With the exception of isolated lots along Watson Road, these homes completed the residential image on the street.There are three Colonial Revival homes in a row, 3560, 3542, and 3540, and each one has its own features. This home has a copper stoop porch. All three are similar in size with room arrangements like the other Colonial Revivals already mentioned on Watson Road. Three young families now live in these homes.
3530 Watson Road
Year Built: 1939Architecture Style: Mission RevivalKey Features:Porte Cochere Tile Roof Decorative MasonryThis single-story home has a red tile roof, a front patio area, and a porte-cochere. These features and other details provide a feel of a Mission Revival home.
3520 Watson Road
Year Built: 1939Architecture Style: French RevivalKey Features:Mansard Roof Decorative Porch Overhang Large ShuttersThis French Mansard revival is also a one-of-a kind on Watson Road. It has a circular staircase leading to the second floor and a formal room arrangement on the first floor.This is the last stop on our tour! Historic Urban Neighborhoods of Indianapolis and Indiana Landmarks thanks you for joning us! Consider taking one of other fantasic tours on PocketSights!
