Article Archives: Building Blocks

Building Blocks is a monthly feature by historian Steve Barnett about historic properties on the east side of Indianapolis.

Salvage Corps

October 22, 2026 | by Steven R. Barnett

October is Fire Prevention Month in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire that began on October 8, 1871, when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, according to legend, kicked over a lantern that started a fire in the straw strewn about the barn that quickly consumed the structure. The blaze spread to other … Read More

The Indianapolis Airport Ramada Inn Disaster

October 22, 2026 | by Al Hunter

I found an old 1960s Era brochure from the Indianapolis Airport Hotel. As I looked at the sparsely populated landscape that used to surround the old Indianapolis Municipal Airport and flipped through the folded pages containing great old interior views of the “modern” hotel, my mind automatically went back to … Read More

Treading the Boards

September 24, 2026 | by Steven R. Barnett

From Broadway to Hollywood and into living rooms via radio and television, performers from Indianapolis have entertained audiences for generations. Locally, theatergoers have enjoyed live stage productions for over a century with talented actors bringing the house to tears or roaring laughter. Among these Indianapolis performers for over three decades … Read More

Fresh Air Camps

August 20, 2026 | by Steven R. Barnett

The burning heat of summer arrived early in 1890 Indianapolis. By the end of June, the heat wave had taken the lives of 37 people, including 22 children under the age of two years. To ease the suffocating heat impacting the health of children, especially those from poor neighborhoods, Rev. … Read More

Roundhouses

July 30, 2026 | by Steven R. Barnett

In recent months the people of the Martindale-Brightwood community have spoken out loud and clear about their desire not to have a data center located in their neighborhood. Despite their protestations about the data center affecting air quality and being noisy, Indianapolis civic leaders approved the development. Sadly, Martindale-Brightwood has … Read More