Thomas Taggart Memorial

 

This is the Thomas Taggart Memorial located in Indianapolis midway between West 16^th Street and West 30^th Street at 2326 East White River Parkway East Drive. Thomas Taggart was mayor of Indianapolis and also served in the United States Senate. As mayor of Indianapolis he began the Indianapolis park system. When I was a boy I was always afraid to ride my bike past the memorial in the evening because I mistakenly believed that Thomas Taggart was actually buried there.

Indianapolis Railway and Bus Station

This is a view of the Indianapolis railway and bus station at Market and Illinois Streets taken in 1953. Originally it served as the Inter Urban station. Later it served as a street car station then latter a trolley station and finally the bus station. When I was a child my mother I would catch the street cars here to go shopping in downtown Indianapolis. When I attended Indiana University at Bloomington, I would catch a Greyhound bus here to go back to IU. This corner is now occupied by the Hilton Hotel

Former AFNB Branch

This is a view of the interior of the Irvington Branch of the American Fletcher National Bank located on the southeast corner of Ritter Ave. and East Washington Street - probably taken the the late 1960s. AFNB was purchased by Bank One which was in turn purchased by Chase Bank. The building originally (many years ago) housed the Irvington State Bank. It is now an antique mall. I was assistant branch manager here from 1968 to 1971. Note the silverware display on the left side of the picture. We used to give silverware away whenever a customer opened a new account. Now you get nothing except higher fees.

Sullivan Lake

This is a view of Sullivan Lake as my father, mother I knew it in our respective childhoods. We all spent many of our childhood days in this same place, but (of course) separated by the years. It was much larger than it is now. When Interstate 65 was built, the lake was nearly eliminated. It is now just a shadow of what it was when we were young.

In the winter it was a popular place the ice skate. My aunt Billie took me there, along with my cousins David and Danny, many times to skate.

Sullivan Lake Bridge

The bridge in the foreground is located in the 3300 block of Cold Springs Rd. in Indianapolis near Marian College. The stream that eventually forms Sullivan Lake passes under the bridge at that point. In the background you can see a small waterfall. When the stream is low, you can walk across the dam at that point. In the summer (without my mother’s knowledge) I would play on that dam; as my father had when he was a boy.  As you can see, it is a very beautiful place.

Indianapolis School Board Building

This is a photograph of the old public library building in Indianapolis. It was located on the southwest corner of Meridian and Ohio Streets where the Sheraton Hotel now stands. When I was a boy it was called the Indianapolis School Board Building and housed offices of the Indianapolis school system. On my 16^th birthday in 1955 I remember going into this building and getting my Social Security card. It turned out to be a pretty good investment.

Riverside Shelterhouse

This is a view from and old postcard looking west across the White River in Indianapolis. The large building on the west bank is the riverside shelterhouse. It stood close to the corner of North White River Parkway West and 30th Street. This shelter house was torn down in about 1955. It housed the offices for the Riverside Golf Course and some concession stands. In the basement there was a rifle range.

This part of the river was popular on the evening of the 4th of July. The river would be covered with boats of all kinds. In the evening we would rent a canoe and watch fireworks being shot off from the Riverside Amusement Park on the east side of the river. We didn’t mind the mosquitoes. We were right under the exploding fireworks and we could hear the hot embers hiss as they hit the water all around us. It was a little scary, but I don’t remember ever being burned.

Emrichsville Bridge over White River

This is a view of the old Emrichsville Bridge looking west. At this point West 16th Street crosses White River in Indianapolis. The bridge was torn down and replaced in about 1947. Both this bridge and its replacement were located approximately 200 yards east of the intersection of 16th and Lafayette Road on the west side of Indianapolis. The Pole drive-in restaurant was also located at this intersection.
There were two towers at the east end of the old bridge.

The top picture is much older than the bottom, but it gives a better view of the two towers which were located on the east side of the White River. I can remember walking accross this old bridge with my father when I was about eight years old. He told me that, when he was a boy, bears were kept in the rooms at the base of these towers, but they had been gone for years by the time I was born.

The bottom picture is taken from an old post card and shows the north side of the old bridge from the west side of the river.

Bridge over White River at 30th Street

On the right I have posted a picture of the 30th St. bridge over the White River in Indianapolis. This is the way I remember it as a child. My father kept a boat at a boathouse that was exactly at the vantage point from which this picture was taken. The large building in the background is the naval armory.
This picture shows the same bridge from the other side of the river - the east side and from  the other side of the bridge - the north side. At the four corners of the bridge there were stairs leading down the the river. Both pictures are from old post cards, however, the top picture was taken at a much later date. The lower picture is quite old. This bridge is still in service.