Article Archives: Building Blocks

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

Nicknames & Mascots

October 27, 2022 | by Steven R. Barnett

Collegiate and high school nicknames bring a sense of romance and chivalry to the gridiron and gymnasium floor as competing teams in vibrant school colors do battle. Adorable mascots, wearing exaggerated costumes representing some anthropomorphic version of the team’s nickname, bring cheering onlooking fans to their feet in support of … Read More

Down to the Depot

September 29, 2022 | by Steven R. Barnett

Today, IndyGo, the Indianapolis bus system, is the only mass transit in the city. A century ago, that was not the case. Trolleys ran on the street railway in the city, which at that time was only a part of Marion County. Interurbans and steam railroads served outlying areas bringing … Read More

The Old Inn

August 25, 2022 | by Steven R. Barnett

Today’s weary highway traveler has a choice of at least a couple or more lodgings near the off ramp. However, that was not the case for weary travelers on the National Road in the age of the stagecoach. From the early days when the National Road crossed Warren Township on … Read More

Call to the Colors

July 21, 2022 | by Steven R. Barnett

If you are a direct descendant of a Marion County, Indiana resident who answered the call to the colors to help preserve the Union during the Civil War, then you may be eligible for membership in the new lineage society being offered by the Genealogical Society of Marion County (GSMC). … Read More

When Greeks Came to Irvington

June 23, 2022 | by Steven R. Barnett

Greeks came to Irvington in 1875. No, not those from the classical lands of Socrates and Plato, but the collegiate Greek lettered secret societies of North Western Christian University (Butler University) when that school relocated to Irvington from its near northside Indianapolis campus. The oldest of these societies was Gamma … Read More