December 23, 2013

A Subtle Celebration

Christmas in pioneer Indianapolis was a private and almost invisible holiday.

June 18, 2012

A Society Wedding In Early Indianapolis

A letter written from Indianapolis in June 1840 suggests that weddings of the rich and famous were as eagerly anticipated almost two centuries ago as today.

May 14, 2012

Teenage Patriots In Wartime Indianapolis

“Is the youth of today too happy? Is everything a joke?" wrote a teen. " Do our homes have to be bombed before we’ll realize that now is the time to prepare?”

December 12, 2011

The Second Statehouse: From Greek Revival to Greek Ruin

Indiana's ill-fated second statehouse was acclaimed as “’the nearest approach to the classical spirit of the antique yet instanced in the Western hemisphere’”.

September 19, 2011

Reenvisioning The City Of Streams

Urban planner George Kessler raved about the Circle City's diagonal thoroughfares and plentiful waterways, but bemoaned its hands-off attitude toward growth.

June 6, 2011

Refreshing The Memory Of A Parks Pioneer

A weary landmark in Riverside Park is a far cry from the vision Thomas Taggart had for Indianapolis as its mayor from 1895-1901.

May 16, 2011

Through A Glass Negative, Darkly

Taylor’s soft-focus, sepia-colored photographs of tranquil domestic interiors were featured in an eight-page spread in Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman magazine.