Lockerbie Square Historic District is a national

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

on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

within

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, 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 combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

, 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 James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

, 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; however, "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 ...

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

candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

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 Alexander Ralston (1771 – January 5, 1827) was a Scottish-American surveyor who was one of two co-architects for the design of the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. He also helped to design Washington, D.C. Life Alexander Ralston was born ...

'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. At only away from

Monument Circle The Indiana State Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a tall neoclassical monument built on Monument Circle, a circular, brick-paved street that intersects Meridian and Market streets in the center of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. In the years ...

, 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 a private non-governmental Cultural heritage, heritage preservation organization focused on the U.S. state of Indiana. It is America's largest private statewide historic preservation organization. Founded in 1960 as Historic L ...

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' ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. 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 Indiana, governor of the U.S. state, state of Indiana. Ray served during a time whe ...

, 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 The James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home, one of two homes known as the James Whitcomb Riley House on the National Register of Historic Places, is a historic building in the Lockerbie Square Historic District of Indianapolis, Indiana. It was named ...

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) The Athenæum, originally named ''Das Deutsche Haus'' (German language, German: "The German House"), is the most ornate and best-preserved building affiliated with the German American community of Indianapolis. Once used as a German American '' ...

was built in 1893 and is the most ornate and best preserved building affiliated with the

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

community of Indianapolis. Once used as a German American

turnverein Turners (, ) are members of German-American gymnastic clubs called Turnvereine. They promoted German culture, physical culture, and liberal politics. Turners, especially Francis Lieber (1798–1872), were the leading sponsors of gymnastics as ...

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 at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1852. The fraternity has over ninety chapters at accredited four-year colleges and uni ...

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 The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church built 1910 to 1912 in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style and modeled after the

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. :*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 National Register of Historic Places in Indianapolis

History

Notable buildings

Tours

See also

References

External links