Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The narrative of the Fall Creek Parkway YMCA is central to the record of the historically black community northwest of downtown Indianapolis, which was established in the early 1900s, as well as reflective of the urban revitalization projects and demographic fluxes that changed this community beginning in the 1960s. This is because the conflict between administrators of the Fall Creek YMCA branch and Greater Indianapolis YMCA or Metropolitan YMCA over the viability of the branch at 10th Street and Indiana Avenue was a microcosm of the conflict between community and city leaders over the necessity of large-scale forces. This thesis specifically examines the large-scale forces of urban revitalization, defined in the study as the city’s implementation of construction projects in Indianapolis’ downtown area, and school desegregation, which was the focus of a federal court case that affected Indianapolis Public Schools. Delineating the contested visions held by Fall Creek and Metropolitan YMCA administrators about how the Fall Creek YMCA should have functioned within an environment changed by urban revitalization and school desegregation is crucial to understanding the controversies that surrounded major construction projects and desegregation measures that took place in the downtown area of Indianapolis during the late twentieth century. The study therefore understands the conflict between the Metropolitan and Fall Creek YMCAs over targeted membership groups and autonomy as a reflection of changes in the branch’s surrounding area. Moreover, the study utilizes such conflict as a lens to the larger conflict that took place in Indianapolis between the agents of citywide urban revitalization plans and community leaders who opposed the implementation of these plans, as well as school desegregation measures, at the expense of the historically black community located in the near-downtown area of the city. This thesis is informed and humanized, respectively, by archival research and oral history interviews with individuals who were involved in either the administration or advocacy of the Fall Creek YMCA between 1971 and 2003.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

This thesis investigates the influence of the Tiffany Studios in ecclesiastical stained glass windows of Indianapolis, Indiana. The Tiffany Studios was a leading stained glass manufacturer at the turn of the century and popularized the use of opalescent glass in stained glass commissions. The following study will briefly look at the history of stained glass, discuss the life of Louis Comfort Tiffany, characterize the work of the Tiffany Studios, and evaluate the ecclesiastical stained glass windows located in Center Township commissioned between 1880-1930. The evidence contained within the stained glass summaries suggests that Tiffany Studios did influence the commission of stained glass windows in Indianapolis during the period under review. / Department of Architecture

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Union Station is a unique historic building in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The station, which first opened in 1853, has connected the history of the evolution of travel and the city of Indianapolis and, in the late twentieth century, became deeply embedded in local conversations about national issues at the intersection of race, historic preservation, and urban renewal. The station was a place of Black exclusion from public spaces throughout its existence, first as a train station, and later when it was repurposed as a Festival Marketplace. In preparation for the opening of the Festival Marketplace in the 1980s—complete with shops, restaurants, and a hotel—the developers invited people to write to them to preserve personal memories of experiences at the station from the era of train travel. Indiana residents, both white and Black, as well as Indianapolis city officials, and redevelopers of the station showed nostalgia for earlier eras when the station was active. This nostalgia, I argue, played an active and productive role in the process of saving Union Station. Importantly, those who contributed a letter to the “Remember Union Station” project were overwhelmingly white. Out of eighty-six letters, the race of seventy-three of them can be confirmed. Of those eighty-six, only two have been identified as Black. The two Black letter writers used the opportunity to contribute to the “Remember Union Station” campaign as a means to remember and claim the right to belong in Union Station for themselves, their families, and Black communities. As this project shows, the Indianapolis Union Station has always been more than just a building. It is a space that captures a part of the complex history of the city of Indianapolis and can hopefully provide more links to the past, present, and future for Hoosiers and visitors alike.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Between 1890 and 1930 in the city of Indianapolis, people in charge made certain decisions regarding infrastructure—the character and condition of streets and sidewalks, the provision of sewer services and garbage collection, the location of the city’s dump, and the placement of the city’s sewage treatment plant—that resulted in long-term health and safety consequences. In Indianapolis, as in most modern American cities, some neighborhoods are less healthy for their inhabitants than others. The least healthy neighborhoods—those with the highest rates of cancer, for example—are situated on the city’s southwest side. The southwest side of Indianapolis is also the location of the landfill, the sewage treatment plant, and much heavy industry. The entire city is at the mercy of an ill-designed sewer system, a system that taxpayers are spending millions annually to repair. The years from 1890 to 1930 saw the genesis of this state of affairs. In the city of Indianapolis since 1890, infrastructure has separated people from nature and from each other on two levels: its operational level, wherein it was an objective entity that performed according to its design, and its subjective level, where it operated as a social and hygienic barrier. Streets, curbs, sewers, and sidewalks are useful and necessary elements of public health and safety. We both want and need these elements to ensure our separation from things that are dangerous, such as speeding cars and contaminated water. When government officials exercise power to declare what parts of the city street are accessible to whom, or which neighborhoods will have a wastewater treatment plant, a landfill, or heavy industry nearby, infrastructure can work to separate people.

This thesis has presented a comprehensive study on the abandonment of historic school buildings by the Indianapolis Public Schools system from 1970 to 1997. During this period, IPS closed or demolished sixty-four city schools representing nearly fifty-three percent of all Indianapolis public schools in 1970. The principal reason behind the facility closings was a dramatic decline in student enrollment beginning in 1967, but rapidly accelerating after 1970.Several factors contributed to this fall in public school rolls: lower birth rates, the unified government system (Unigov) that merged Indianapolis and Marion County administrative functions, and highway construction and urban renewal projects that cleared large areas of residential neighborhoods. The most significant factor, however, was court mandated integration of Indianapolis public schools in 1970, which led many white families to flee the IPS district and eventually resulted in one way, cross-district busing in 1981.The approaches adopted by Indianapolis Public School officials and the school board between 1970 and 1997, in response to the loss of student population, demonstrates an evolution of policy concerning historic school buildings in the city's inventory. During the early rounds of large scale closings, 1972-1975 and 1980-1981, IPS authorities specifically targeted older schools for closing. This policy changed during the last period of closings, 1995-1997, as some consideration was placed in closing decisions on school buildings' historic and architectural significance.Indianapolis Public School procedures governing the sale of surplus schools also went through a transformation between 1970 and 1997. Until recently, IPS was little concerned about the intended use of former schools by potential buyers. As a result, many historic school buildings were lost due to neglect or outright demolition. In 1997, however, Indianapolis school officials began to take responsibility for ensuring that historic schools leaving IPS's stewardship be preserved. / Department of Architecture

The purpose of this thesis is to define the historical commercial center. To write this history, it was necessary to identify the developmental factors affecting the form and/or placement of the building sign. Historic photographs of the Indianapolis commercial center and other primary sources were used to document the popular sign forms of that era.Sign history is not a subject that is well represented in preservation or urban planning literature. Thus, the preservation and/or adaptive use of historic commercial districts often lacks strong references to the district's building sign heritage. This history is a guide for those professionals whose job it is to develop design guidelines and sign ordinances for early 20th-century historic commercial districts. / Department of Architecture