Next Wednesday, you have a special opportunity to explore one of Indianapolis’ most unique historic landmarks: the Catacombs under City Market. On Wednesday, February 21st from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., you are invited to visit the Catacombs courtesy John Barnes, candidate for State Representative for House District #89. Barnes, an Irvingtonian and former history teacher, is hosting a fundraiser in the mysterious dungeon-like space under what was once Tomlinson Hall.
For a nominal suggested donation you are invited to come and explore one of the spookiest subterranean sites in the Circle City. John and I teamed up in a similar event several years ago for a night of spooky stories at the H.H. Holmes house in Irvington. Next Wednesday’s event promises to be another fun filled evening of history and spooky stories, all for a good cause. I will be on hand to answer questions and tell tales about the catacombs and other Hoosier haunts.
The history of Tomlinson Hall will forever be entwined with City Market. Located downtown at 222 East Market Street, City Market has the singular importance of serving as the main public market for Indianapolis for over 130 years. Alexander Ralston, co-architect of the new Hoosier Capitol city, set aside this site for a public market in his original 1821 plan of Indianapolis. Ralston’s idea was innovative for its day; “create an open air space for the sale of meat and produce.” Over the next 65 years, produce and market vendors built several simple semi-enclosed wood and brick exterior market stall buildings here. City Market became a flourishing community gathering place and one-stop-shop for fresh produce, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and baked goods.
In 1886, architects D.A. Bohlen & Son drafted plans to replace the aging market sheds by building an adjoining civic building, known as Tomlinson Hall, immediately west of the city market. The buildings were designed to work in tandem, with meat vendors in the outdoor market and produce vendors in the hall. Tomlinson Hall survived until 1958, but the City Market building thrives today with only minor alterations.
Its brick architecture, with stone sills and details, twin flanking towers, simple pilasters, and stilted round arches, reflect the German training of architect D. A. Bohlen. Similar to the Romanesque Revival style, but coming from German sources, historians call this style “Rundbogenstil” or round-arched style. D.A. Bohlen was trained in Germany at the height of influence of this bold, utilitarian style. The architects also planned for a clerestory, defined strictly as “an upper portion of a wall containing windows for supplying natural light to a building,” to infuse additional natural sunlight to the interior.
For the interior, Bohlens made use of cast and wrought iron columns and trusses to support the large free span needed for the market stalls. Hetherington & Berner iron works of Indianapolis provided the iron work for the interior. Over the years, the Bohlen firm had designed additional bays to expand the building. These were removed, and the firm of James & Associates designed modern wings. A contemporary mezzanine was added to the interior of the original 1886 building. In 1972-77, the city completed the massive revitalization of City Market.
The empty plaza to the west of City Market once housed the massive red brick building known as Tomlinson Hall. Unlike its neighboring City Market, Tomlinson Hall was not a bequest of the city’s founding fathers. Instead, the imposing brick structure was a singular dream of Indianapolis druggist Stephen Decatur Tomlinson, who died in November of 1870. His will stipulated that this plot of land at Delaware and Market Streets be used to construct a building “for the use of citizens and city authorities.” The City Council reached an agreement with Tomlinson’s widow to proceed with the plans for the structure in 1876 and work began seven years later in 1883.
On June 1, 1886, Tomlinson Hall was dedicated and the next day it opened in what local papers claimed was the largest event ever held in the city. On this day the Grand Army of the Republic, or G.A.R., sold traditional bean dinners to the assembled throngs in the basement of Tomlinson Hall to help raise funds for a proposed “Soldiers and Sailors Monument” to be located on the site of the old Governor’s Mansion in the center of the city. Civil War Hero “Uncle Billy,” a.k.a. General William Tecumseh Sherman, spoke to the crowds of Hoosiers that included many veterans of “Great War of the Rebellion” from the balcony of the massive structure. General John “Blackjack” Logan arrived to cut the ribbon on the new building.
In its lifetime, Tomlinson Hall played host to a Who’s Who of famous politicians, athletes, stage and screen stars, suffragettes and luminaries from the pages of Hoosier history and beyond. Silent screen star Rudolph Valentino danced a tango with a lucky local girl and Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong blew his trumpet for adoring crowds just a year before it closed in 1957. On the night of January 30, 1958, a fire swept thru Tomlinson Hall. Firefighters from all over the city battled bravely to extinguish the blaze, turning the surrounding streets into an ice rink of dangerous proportions. Alas, the building could not be saved and Tomlinson Hall was demolished later that same year.
A single doorway arch was discovered during the 1970s rehabilitation of City Market. Today, that arch is all that is left of Tomlinson Hall. Well, all that is left of Tomlinson Hall above ground anyway. Today, the former basement of Tomlinson Hall rests quietly under the courtyard west of City Market. Now known as the Catacombs, the vast 6,000 square foot underground labyrinth can’t help but spur the imagination. A maze of brick arches resting upon colossal stone foundation blocks litter the same dirt floor once populated by hundreds of excited old soldiers back in 1886.
During a particularly harsh Hoosier winter in 1912, the Catacombs were used as a refuge for the city’s displaced and homeless population, undoubtedly saving dozens of lives in the process. The Catacombs were again used for disaster relief during the historic floods that swept the Circle City a few years later. In the 1950s, the Indianapolis Police department used the vast open space as a firing range.
In the ensuing years, the space has remained dormant in reality but active in the minds of Circle City residents wondering what really went on down there. A curious Catacombs contradiction is evident by the many iron rings and anchors that hang from the walls and ceilings down there. Although they look menacing and their purpose may seem nefarious, in reality, their use was likely much more tame. Undoubtedly, these rings and anchors were useful tools leftover from the second Industrial Revolution.
The Catacombs have long been rumored to hold secrets and ghosts from Tomlinson Hall’s colorful past. I invite you to come out to the Catacombs next Wednesday evening from 4:30 to 6:30. There you can meet, greet and support Irvingtonian John Barnes and hear the Catacombs story for yourself. I will share with you the spine tingling tales and spooky ghost stories that I know. The rest you’ll have to discover on your own.
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest books are “Bumps in the Night: Stories from the Weekly View.”, “Irvington Haunts: The Tour Guide” and “The Mystery of the H.H. Holmes Collection.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
