Lockerbie Square Historic District is a national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

within

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

, listed on February 23, 1973, with a boundary increase on July 28, 1987. It is noted for its Federal,

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

, and Queen Anne style architecture. The original platting of Lockerbie Square, done by Jannett Smith Lockerbie McOuat and named for her father, Scottish immigrant George Murray Lockerbie, was between 1847 and 1850. The 1960s saw an immense effort to save the buildings within the district, becoming the first historic district in Indianapolis. Many of the buildings date from 1855 to 1930. James Whitcomb Riley, famed

Hoosier Hoosier is the official demonym for the people of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate, but "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 poem " ...

poet, lived in the district for over two decades. He was known to give

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...

to local children on his regular walks.http://www.lockerbiesquare.org/pdf/walkingtour.pdf

History

Lockerbie Square is the oldest intact residential neighborhood of Indianapolis. Lockerbie is located on the northeast side of Alexander Ralston's Plat of Indianapolis at the intersection of East Street and New York Street. The western border of the district is East Street, so named as it was the original eastern boundary of Indianapolis. ''Note:'' This includes ;
Boundary Map
and Accompanying photographs The neighborhood is directly south of the Mass Ave Cultural District and north of the

Cole-Noble District The Cole-Noble Commercial Arts District is a neighborhood in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is situated on the east side of downtown Indianapolis. History The name Cole-Noble Commercial Arts District derives from two pieces of Eastsid ...

. At only away from Monument Circle, Lockerbie Square was one of Indianapolis' earliest walkable suburbs. At one point, it was called Germantown, due to the numerous German immigrants living in the district starting in 1849. The housing demand in the 1880s caused the Lockerbie District to prosper and grow. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, residents of means moved to northern Indianapolis. The neighborhood decayed until the restoration efforts of the 1960s and 1970s began. The newly founded

Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana Indiana Landmarks is America's largest private statewide historic preservation organization. Founded in 1960 as Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana by a volunteer group of civic and business leaders led by Indianapolis pharmaceutical execu ...

helped to restore the area, basing their renovations on the preservation techniques practiced at the

German Village German Village is a historic neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, just south of the city's downtown. It was settled in the early-to-mid-19th century by a large number of German immigrants, who at one time comprised as much as a third of the city's ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. In 2021, the Indianapolis Propylaeum recorded an hour-long videographic history of the area, which includes many before and after photographs depicting the transformation of the neighborhood.

Notable buildings

Among the notable buildings in the district are: :*James Ray-Buscher House was the home of former Indiana governor

James B. Ray James Brown Ray (February 19, 1794 – August 4, 1848) was an Indiana politician and the only Indiana Senate president pro tempore to be elevated to governor of the state of Indiana. Ray served during a time when the state transitioned from ...

, who served as governor from 1825 to 1831. Built in 1835, it is reputed to be the oldest house in Indianapolis that is still extant. It was not originally built in the district, having been moved to its current location in 1977 from where the Marion County jail now stands. :*James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home was the residence of James Whitcomb Riley in the last two decades of his life. :*628 E. Vermont Street residence was built in the late 20th century, but due to it being built to complement the 1800s architecture, the

gave it its "New Construction Award." :*Reading-Kindell Cottage was built in 1856. It is across from the Riley Museum, and was where the housekeeper resided. She had inherited all the housegoods in the Holstein home, but was paid for them in order to preserve the integrity of the Riley Museum's interior. :*Athenæum (Das Deutsche Haus) was built in 1893 and is the most ornate and best preserved building affiliated with the

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

community of Indianapolis. Once used as a German American turnverein and clubhouse, it currently houses many groups, organizations, and businesses. :*Heritage Hall was built in 1876 and formerly served as the national headquarters of

Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore in Widow Letterman's home on the campus of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pen ...

fraternity. It was fully renovated in 2010 and transformed into two distinct properties, 331 East Street and 510 Lockerbie Street, on the northeast corner of Lockerbie and East streets. :*St. Mary's Catholic Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church built 1910 to 1912 in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style and modeled after the

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. :*Other structures include Joseph Staub House (1859), William and Netty Holler House (1864), Despa House (c. 1870), and Webber House (c. 1870).

Tours

A walking tour designed by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and the Lockerbie Square People's Club takes visitors past twenty-five historic residences and five newer ones that, like the North Vermont Street Home, were designed to complement the existing structures.

References

External links

Official site
{{Historic Places in Indianapolis German-American culture in Indiana Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Georgian Revival architecture in Indiana Victorian architecture in Indiana Italianate architecture in Indiana Historic districts in Indianapolis Neighborhoods in Indianapolis National Register of Historic Places in Indianapolis

History

Notable buildings

Tours

See also

References

External links