Marcy Village Apartments is a historic community located in

Indianapolis 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 Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Built in 1939, the , 19-building apartment community compose a

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 c ...

that was listed 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 v ...

on March 24, 2004. Ground for the development was broken the week of March 20, 1939, and work was started on a full-time basis with Everett A. Carson of

as the builder. Architects, Granger & Bollenbacher of Chicago, created the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

apartment community for owners at the time, Marcy Realty Corporation. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs

History

On October 10, 1938, a project hearing was held before the Board of Zoning Appeals on a petition for variance to permit construction to start within two weeks on the $1,680,000 multi-apartment project to be located in northeast Indianapolis. Samuel B. Sutphin of New Augusta, owner of the 25-acre site for the proposed project, filed the petition with the zoning board. Purchase of the site by the Marcy Realty Corporation depended upon favorable action by the zoning board. The multi apartment project first was planned by its sponsors on a tract at 59th street and the

Monon Railroad The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Ra ...

but was abandoned when nearby property owners protested. The new site was bounded on the north by 46th street between College and Keystone Ave in Indianapolis, just north of the Indiana State School for the Deaf. Development of the project took 500 workmen nearly eight months to construct. The Marcy Village large-scale housing project was the first

Federal Housing Administration The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), also known as the Office of Housing within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a United States government agency founded by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, created in part ...

project of its type completed in Indiana. The buildings are distributed over the twenty-five-acre tract. Marcy Village, which represents an expenditure of approximately $1,690,000, was an implemented under section 207of the

National Housing Act of 1934 The National Housing Act of 1934, , , also called the Capehart Act and the Better Housing Program, was part of the New Deal passed during the Great Depression in order to make housing and home mortgages more affordable. It created the Federal Ho ...

. Under that section, sponsors may borrow from some private lending institution approved by the government any amount up to $5,000,000, at an interest rate not to exceed 4%, for terms to be approved by the administer and which in some instances run as long as thirty three years, for the construction of apartment buildings or groups of single-family buildings. At the time, Marcy Village was the 90th project completed in Indiana under that plan, though Marcy Village was the largest of its type in Indiana. Colonial architecture is the primary design of the nineteen buildings of the project. Additionally to the apartments, there were shops consisting of five storerooms, which were occupied by a drug store, grocery, barber shop, beauty shop, and dentists' and doctors offices.

General contractor

General contractor for the project was Everett A. Carson, Indianapolis-based general contractor, and father of Dr. Wayne Carson, surgeon and sponsor. E. A. Carson built structures in and near Indianapolis, including the front for SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral on North Meridian Street, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church and parochial school building, and several academic buildings for

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

References

{{Historic Places in Indianapolis Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Colonial Revival architecture in Indiana 1939 establishments in Indiana Residential buildings completed in 1939 Residential buildings in Indianapolis Historic districts in Indianapolis National Register of Historic Places in Indianapolis