North Meridian Street Historic District marker

Meridian Street is the primary north–south

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

Indianapolis 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 ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. US 31 formerly ran along North Meridian Street for much of its length in the city of Indianapolis, before being re-routed to a segment of

Interstate 465 Interstate 465 (I-465), also known as the USS Indianapolis Memorial Highway, is the beltway circling Indianapolis, Indiana. It is roughly rectangular in shape and has a perimeter of approximately . It lies almost completely within the bou ...

. Meridian Street serves as the axis separating east addresses from west addresses, and intersects Monument Circle and Washington Street in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

. North of downtown, Meridian continues through several prominent city neighborhoods, such as the Midtown commercial district, the Old Northside, Herron-Morton, Butler–Tarkington, Meridian-Kessler, and Arden, and the towns of Meridian Hills and Williams Creek. Meridian Street also passes through several historic districts: the North Meridian Street Historic District, the Old Northside Historic District, the Shortridge–Meridian Street Apartments Historic District, the Washington Street–Monument Circle Historic District, and the Indianapolis Union Station-Wholesale District. In 1919, property owners on Meridian Street from Monument Circle to the Central Canal proposed converting the street into a boulevard and putting it under the jurisdiction of the parks board to preserve its residential character. However, the increased demand for commercial property for an expanding downtown led to the proposal being defeated as property owners in the southern portion of the proposed boulevard sold their property to business interests. Nevertheless, in the early 1920s the portion of the street from Fall Creek to the canal was transferred to the parks board and a setback for new construction was imposed. In conjunction with the original proposal, an unsuccessful attempt was made to change the name of the street to Lincoln Boulevard in order to honor

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

in the same way that Washington Street honored

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. North of 40th Street to 57th Street, Meridian Street is considered to be among the most prestigious residential streets in Indiana. Some of the most impressive residential architecture in the United States can be found here, in a variety of architectural styles. The current Governor's Mansion can be found here, as well as the house that served as Governor's Mansion prior to the current house. The North Meridian Street Historic District is among the most affluent urban neighborhoods in the U.S., with a mean household income of $102,599 in 2017. North of Indianapolis, Meridian Street continues into the suburbs of Carmel and Westfield.

Notable addresses

* Balmoral Court * Barnes and Thornburg Building * Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse * The Blacherne * The Buckingham * Central Library * The Children's Museum of Indianapolis * Circle Centre Mall * Coulter Flats * George Stumpf House * Indiana Governor's Residence * Indiana World War Memorial Plaza *''

The Indianapolis Star } ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, whe ...

'' * IU Health North Medical Center * Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana * Joseph J. Cole Jr. House * Marott Hotel * Monument Circle * Morrison Block * Saint James Court Apartments * Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral *

Salesforce Tower Salesforce Tower, formerly known as Transbay Tower, is a 61-story supertall skyscraper at 415 Mission Street, between First and Fremont Street, in the South of Market, San Francisco, South of Market district of downtown San Francisco. Its main ...

* Schnull–Rauch House * Scottish Rite Cathedral * Second Presbyterian Church * Shortridge High School * Slippery Noodle Inn * Spink Arms Hotel * H. P. Wasson & Company Building * William N. Thompson House

References

{{commons category, Meridian Street, Indianapolis Streets in Indianapolis