100 Years Ago This Week: Jan. 4-10

From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, January 9: “The city should provide, at a cost which would be within the reach of even the humblest, the best things in music, art, and drama. The [parks] department is coming to feel that there is incumbent upon the city a responsibility for public recreation, both physical and mental. The department plans each year to develop its properties and maintain them in a manner that they will constantly contribute more to the happiness and wellbeing of its citizens,” says the annual report of the board of park commissioners filed yesterday with Mayor Jewett. The report sees a need in Indianapolis for a colosseum for public recreational use and notes completion of Maple Road from Northwestern Ave. to Riverside Park offers an opportunity for the finest bridge in the city at this White River crossing.