IRVINGTON — Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch announced Thursday, March 2 that 14 communities in Indiana were welcomed into the Office of Community and Rural Affairs Indiana Main Streets Program, including for the first time two communities in Indianapolis. Irvington and Mass Ave Cultural District.
Irvington Development Organization (IDO), representing one of the most historic communities in Indianapolis, has applied for and been accepted into the Indiana Main Streets Program. Irvington will begin as part of the OCRA Downtown Affiliates Network, with an eye towards official Main Streets designation after one year. This State designation brings Irvington into the national Main Streets network. Irvington is the first neighborhood in Indianapolis to receive such a designation.
Originally located just outside of Indianapolis along the National Road, Irvington has been one of Central Indiana’s thriving, connected communities since 1870. While Irvington was annexed by Indianapolis in 1902, it was platted and planned as an independent town by its founders. It was home to Butler University from 1875 to 1928, and has a deep history of being home to arts and culture leaders in the region. In 1987 Irvington became the largest district in Marion County to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2006 much of the community was designated to be protected under the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission.
Irvington is a thriving community with many restaurants, retail shops, parks, and trails. The community has a dense urban footprint, but maintains small-town charm on its main street along East Washington St. Irvington also hosts one of the largest and most popular Halloween Festivals in the country in October every year and culminating in the Irvington Halloween Street Fair, which attracted over 80,000 people in 2022.