Polk's Indianapolis (Marion County, Ind.) city directory, 1938, Part 3

Author:
Publication date: 1938
Publisher: R.L. Polk
Number of Pages: 2004

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The eight community houses show a yearly attendance of 250,000 to 300,000.

Theatres and Amusements

Indianapolis has 54 motion-picture houses, 2 legitimate theatres with a seating capacity of 3,500, 2 vaudeville houses and 2 burlesque theatres. Two large amusement parks afford lively entertainment in the summer months. A motor speedway and baseball park are amusements enjoyed by many thousands of persons.

Education

The educational facilities of Indianapolis provide excellent training in almost any line. With 87 public grade schools, 6 high schools and 36 parochial schools and academies, In- dianapolis offers splendid educational advantages to more than 70,000 students each semes- ter. Butler University, including Teachers College and College of Religion, Indiana Central College, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University School of Dentistry, Indianapolis College of Pharmacy, Indiana Law School, St. Agnes Academy, Park School, Tudor Hall, Ladywood School, Orchard School, St. John's Academy, Normal College of the North American Gymnastics Union, John E. Herron Art Institute, Indiana State School for the Deaf, Bogue Institute for Stammerers, Board of Industrial Aid for the Blind, Indiana State School for the Blind, and other special schools in music, arts and business training are located in Indianapolis. The school city of Indianapolis is governed by a commission

INTRODUCTION

elected by the citizens. The commission elects a superintendent to have executive control over the school system, and a business director to have similar control of fiscal affairs. Indianapolis is the home of the largest extension branch of the State University, through which is offered training in practically every phase of university work. Butler University. with its present daily enrollment of approximately 2,800, likewise offers extension courses. Indiana Central College is the third distinct institution of higher learning in Indianapolis. The John E. Herron Art Institute ranks high among the country's institutions for the development of the artistically inclined. Its art school is constantly training young artists to continue the work of Indiana's leaders-Adams, Forsythe and Steele. The Indianapolis Public Library contains 603,175 volumes. Twenty branches are maintained at convenient locations throughout the city. The business branch, in the down-town district, gives special information service to business men.

Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music is affiliated with Butler University and offers exceptional opportunity for the study of music.

The Indianapolis public school system also maintains a department of special educa- tion through which the organization and administration of special classes are offered for retarded children, crippled children, children with defective eyesight, and hospital cases. The Children's Museum is considered a valuable supplement to the regular public school curriculum.

4854

BUTLER UNIVERSITY FIELD HOUSE AND BOWL

"The University of the City of Indianapolis"

Butler University operates under a special charter granted by the Indiana Legislature in 1849. This charter defines the purposes and scope of the institution as follows:

"To establish, found, maintain, and perpetuate an institution of learning of the highest class, for the education of the youth of all parts of the United States, and especially of the states of the Northwest: to establish in said institution departments or colleges for the instruction of the students in every branch of liberal and professional education; to educate and prepare suitable teachers for the common schools of the country; to teach and inculcate the Christian faith and Christian morality as taught in the sacred Scriptures, and to pro- mote the sciences and arts."

This charter went into effect Jan. 15, 1850. The organization of the corporation was completed and the first board of directors elected in 1852. Funds were subscribed by mem- bers of the Christian churches and citizens of Indiana, and the University opened its doors Nov. 1, 1855, as North Western Christian University, on College Ave., Indianapolis. The College of Liberal Arts, opened at that time, has since had an uninterrupted existence.

In 1873 the board of directors decided to move the University to Irvington, then a suburb of the city, and in 1875 instruction of the college classes was begun in the new location.

INTRODUCTION

In recognition of the benefactions of Ovid Butler, the name of the institution was changed from North Western Christian University to Butler University, Feb. 28, 1877. This change did not affect any chartered obligations of the corporation or its purposes, all of which have been determined by a legislative act and by the recorded resolutions of the board of directors.

By resolution of the board of directors, April 8, 1896, the name "Butler College" was adopted in lieu of "Butler University," to designate the under-graduate academic depart- ment. The legal name of the corporation, however, remains unchanged.

At the triennial election of directors, June 17, 1909, the stockholders voted to make the newly-elected board of twenty-one directors self-perpetuating. This action was taken under a statute enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in its session of 1909.

In 1923 it became evident that the growth of the institution would soon require new and larger buildings. The board of directors decided to secure a new site that would provide adequately for future development. As a result of that decision, Fairview Park, a beautiful tract of 246 acres in the northern part of the city, was purchased. The buildings on the new campus are: The Arthur Jordan Memorial Hall, the Field House and Gymnasium, and the Stadium. These buildings are modern in every way and are admirably adapted to the purposes for which they were designed. The Arthur Jordan Memorial Hall is named in honor of Arthur Jordan, of Indianapolis, who contributed a million dollars toward its con- struction.

WORLD WAR MEMORIAL BUILDING

INTRODUCTION

Labor

In a large measure Indianapolis labor is thoroughly American. The typical factory employee is reliable, capable and efficient. He is economical and thrifty. He owns his own home, sends his children to school and college, and is himself interested in education. In considering the supply of labor in Indianapolis, one should have regard not only for the supply afforded by the city proper, which is abundant, but also for that of the surrounding territory., On every side are suburbs and small towns with motorbus and interurban service at regular short intervals. Improved roads lead in from every direction. People from points 15 to 20 miles out, work in Indianapolis. The potential labor supply from these sources is great. The relations of employer and employee are strictly harmonious, and conditions are in every way conducive to economical operation. A population 84% native white, 12% Negro, and only 4% foreign-born, affords an abundant supply of skilled and unskilled workers, both male and female.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, located in the heart of the city, is recognized as one of the finest pieces of colossal sculpture in the United States. It was built in the years 1887-1901, at a cost of approximately $600,000. It is 284 feet high and is the second tallest monument in the United States.

Four epochs in the history of Indiana are commemorated by bronze statues of repre- sentative men of the times occupying positions around the monument between the con- verging points of the intersecting streets. These are the period of the Revolution, represented by a statue of George Rogers Clark; the War of 1812 and the battle of Tippe- canoe, by a statue of Wm. Henry Harrison; the Mexican War, by a statue of Gov. James Whitcomb; and the Civil War, by a statue of Indiana's great "war governor," Oliver P. Morton.

War Memorial Plaza

The City of Indianapolis, Marion County, and the State of Indiana have joined hands to provide the wonderful Memorial Plaza, which includes five city blocks in the heart of the state capital.

The main Memorial building is faced with selected Indiana limestone, with granite steps and walk. A World War museum is located in the basement of the building, and rooms on the first floor provide ample space for patriotic meetings. On a base of pink granite in the middle of the south stairway to the Memorial Shrine Room stands the largest sculptural bronze casting ever made in America-Henry Hering's "Pro Patria."

Perry Stadium

Perry Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis American Association Baseball team appropriately named the "Indians," is one of the outstanding parks of this character in the country, having been constructed at a cost of approximately one-half million dollars. This stadium is considered the best illuminated field in the country for night baseball, which has been featured for the past several years.

INDIANAPOLIS BOARD OF TRADE BLDG.

INTRODUCTION

The Children's Museum

One of the foremost children's museums in the United States is located in Indian- apolis. Since its inception in 1925, when a very few curios were displayed in a barn at Delaware and Fourteenth Streets, the Museum has grown until it enjoys a membership well in excess of 10,000. Approximately 25,000 objects are attractively displayed in the thirty- room home at 1150 N. Meridian St., where the institution has been housed since 1927.

The Children's Museum has been of great value to the public schools in the many ways it has supplemented and strengthened the courses.

Postal Receipts

The post-office receipts for 1937 were $4,427,993.

Mail Service

There are 60 mail trains in and 61 out of Indianapolis every 24 hours. There are 8 electric mail trains in and 4 out daily. Supplemented with this service are 8 "star route" trains in and 7 out each day, leaving early in the morning with mail to be delivered within a radius of 50 miles to stations not accessible to regular mail train routes for early morning delivery. The "star route" service is used each day except Sunday.

The air mail offers splendid advantages for those desiring quick communication.

Parcel Post

Low-cost parcel post delivery can be had from Indianapolis. The first three or four zones, in which the rates are cheapest, cover the greatest concentrated business territory in the United States. The first three postal zones of Indianapolis embrace all the states adjoining Indiana except a small portion of northern Michigan. The fourth zone includes nearly all the next bordering states. The fifth zone extends from Maine to Colorado and from Canada to Florida.

Homes

Indianapolis has long been recognized as a city of homes. According to the 1930 census, 41.6% of the 98,610 families living in Indianapolis owned their homes. A 1934 post-office survey showed that there were at that time, 114,629 residences and 11,330 apartment units in Indianapolis, or a total of 126,029 residential units.

Streets

Streets of Indianapolis are wide, well-paved and level. All down-town streets are 90 feet wide, and Washington St., which is the leading business street, is 120 feet wide. The movement of automobile traffic has been facilitated by the designation of preferential speedways for passenger cars only. Heavy traffic thoroughfares have been established also, though not for exclusive use. The purpose is to provide through trucking routes from one section of the city to another, and at the same time to divert this heavy traffic from the thoroughfares having heavy passenger car traffic.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the foremost motor race-course in the world. The annual Decoration Day Five Hundred Mile Race attracts drivers and more than 125,000 spectators from all parts of America and Europe.

INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

INTRODUCTION

National Headquarters

More than forty organizations maintain national headquarters in Indianapolis. The American Legion, International Typographical Union. Barbers' International Union. United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Knights Templar. United Christian Missionary Society, National Retail Hardware Association and many others have chosen Indianapolis after an exhaustive investigation of cities of the United States. Twenty-three insurance companies serve their clients from Indianapolis. Greek letter organizations realize the advantages of a central location and six are at this time serving their membership from this city.

SCOTTISH RITE CATHEDRAL

General

Indianapolis is located near the center of both the corn and wheat belts of America. This fact has made Indianapolis the fourth largest corn market in the United States and also one of the leading wheat centers. The Indianapolis Board of Trade is one of the six largest grain markets in the country. The supervision of a business involving $40,000,- 000 a year is entrusted to this organization. The following were handled through Indian- apolis in 1937: 4,301,000 bushels of wheat, 12,275,000 bushels of corn, 7,404,000 bushels of oats and 703,000 bushels of rye. The principal agricultural products of the territory surrounding Indianapolis, in addition to wheat, corn, oats and rye, are dairy products, beef, mutton, pork, fruit, potatoes, poultry and eggs, hay and canning vegetables. Produce and fruits are raised extensively in the districts surrounding Indianapolis, and furnish raw materials for canning factories and packing and preserving plants.

The Union Stock Yards in Indianapolis is one of the largest markets of its kind in the country. Following are stockyard receipts for the year 1937: Hogs, 1,582,582; cattle, 340,859; calves, 172,328; sheep, 441,647.

One of the largest army posts in the country, Fort Benjamin Harrison, covering 2,415 acres, is located six miles northeast of the Indianapolis city limits.

Indianapolis has three daily newspapers, one of which publishes a Sunday edition. In addition to this, a daily commercial newspaper, several weeklies and a number of regular neighborhood publications are published here.

Two radio stations carry the "Voice of Indianapolis" to the world. WIRE and WFBM are, from a civic standpoint, outstanding achievements for the city. The 1930 Census showed 46.524 radios in the city.

A large municipal market helps to reduce the cost of living in this most ideal residence city.

Funds for the maintenance of the city's charities are secured through the Community Fund.

The achievements of such Indianapolis personages as Benjamin Harrison, James Whit- comb Riley, Meredith Nicholson, Booth Tarkington, Thomas R. Marshall, Charles W. Fair- banks and Albert J. Beveridge speak well for the city's culture and its spirit of endeavor. Indianapolis long will be remembered as the birthplace of many cherished poems known all over the United States as the work of James Whitcomb Riley. the beloved Hoosier poet. Indianapolis is characteristically a city of sociability. Pervaded by the well-known spirit of Hoosier hospitality and culture, this city stands high as a social and cultural center. Nine Indianapolis clubs own their own buildings. Four of these are conveniently located in the down-town district. Each of these serves a particular function in the city's social life and is supported by a substantial membership.

INTRODUCTION

AMERICAN LEGION NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

Seven country clubs, located in private estates, maintaining swimming pools, golf links and tennis courts, add to the social life of the city.

The slogan, "The Crossroads of America," is appropriate. Within sixty miles, to the southwest, is the center of population of the United States. At a less distance, to the northeast, is the center of manufacture. The nation's east and west traffic must traverse the plain extending from the Great Lakes on the north to the Ohio River on the south. A large volume of this through traffic, both automobile and rail, passes through Indian- apolis. The National Road and the Dixie Highway cross here.

General Population Figures

1930 population-Indianapolis

364,161

1930 population-Marion County.

422,666

Population within 100 miles (estimated) .

2,000,000

Population within 200 miles (estimated)

15,000,000

Classification of Manufacturing Industries (Estimated, 1934)

Meat packing

$ 33.000.000

Foundry and machine shop products

19,000,000

Wearing apparel

17,000,000

Motor vehicles

10.000.000

Printing and publishing-newspapers and periodicals.

8,000,000

Bread and other bakery products

7,000,000

Canned fruits and vegetables

7,000,000

Railroad repair shops-steam

7,000,000

Printing and publishing-books and job

6,000.000

Electric machinery apparatus and supplies

5,000.000

Paints and varnishes

4.000.000

Boxes-paper

3,000,000

Furniture, including store fixtures

2,500,000

Coffee and spices

1,000,000

Confectionery

1.000.000

Ice cream

1,000,000

Ice

1,000.000

Lumber and timber products

1.000.000

Nonferrous metal products and alloys

1,000,000

Structural and ornamental metal work

1,000,000

* Other industries

3.000.000

Butter

1,000.000

Copper, tin, sheet iron work

92,000,000

Total $231,500,000

*"Other industries" includes some whose value of production equals or surpasses some shown in the classifications, but which cannot be classified without disclosing individual operation.

INTRODUCTION

Distances from Indianapolis to Surrounding Large Cities

Chicago 183 miles

Cincinnati 110 miles

Cleveland

284 miles

Columbus, Ohio

181 miles

Detroit

276 miles

Louisville

111 miles

St. Louis

242 miles

MARION COUNTY COURT HOUSE

Miscellaneous Facts-Indianapolis (1937 figures, unless otherwise specified)

Altitude

739 feet

Area (34,667 acres)

54.16 square miles

Assessed Valuation.

122,709

Banks-Number of (3 national, 7 state, 6 trust)

Bank Resources

$290,993,000

Bank Deposits $261,746,000

Bank Clearings.

$956,086,000

Boulevards-Miles of.

Building and Loan Associations-Number of. Resources

Building and Electrical Permits-Number of

6,937

Value Building and Electrical Permits ...

$8,496,019

Car loadings (outgoing) carried by six railroads.

139,037

Car loadings (inbound) carried by six railroads

211,509

Churches, all denominations-Number of.

481

Climatic Data-Average January temperature Average July temperature.

33.2 degrees

Clubs-Down-town

Clubs-Luncheon

Clubs-Country

Electric-Service Meters.

131,487

Fami ies-Indianapolis (1930 U. S. Census) Fire Hydrants-Number of. 6,042

98,610

Gas Mains

992

miles

Gas Meters.

Golf Courses (18-hole) 4 municipal, 7 private. (9-hole) 2 municipal, 2 private Grain (handled through Board of Trade), Bushels-Wheat, 4,301,000; corn, 12,275,000; cats, 7,404,000; rye, 703,000

82,673 15

Airports

Distance north and south 12.66 miles; east and west 9.28 miles $517,444,020

Automobiles-Passenger (Marion Co.).

$55,698,789

75.4 degrees

INTRODUCTION

Hospitals (major) 1 U. S., 2 state, 1 city, 6 general.

Hotels-Providing 2,500 rooms-first-class

Others-providing 5,500 rooms 71

Interurban Lines entering city 5

Interurban Station-Cars in and out per day. 140

Latitude 39 degrees, 46 minutes, 10 seconds

Library-603,175 volumes-20 branches

Live Stock Receipts-Hogs, 1,582,582; cattle, 340,859; calves, 172,328; sheep, 441,647 Longitude .86 degrees, .09 minutes, 45 seconds

Manufactured Products-Value (estimated 1934) $231,500,000

Manufacturing Establishments (estimated 1934) 800

Metropolitan District Population (1930) 417,685

Monument-Soldiers' and Sailors'-Begun, 1887; completed, 1901; cost, $600,000-284 feet 6 inches in height.

Motion-Picture Houses

Parks

Park Acreage

3,061

Post-Office Receipts (1937)

$4,427,993

Radio Broadcasting Stations-WIRE and WFBM.

Radio Sets (1930 U. S. Census) 47.1% of total number of families

46,524

Railroads-6 lines

16 divisions 126,029

Residences-Number of (114,699 houses; 11,330 apartment units) Retail Stores-Number of in 1935.

4,757 129

Schools-Public and parochial

Sewers

618 miles

Sidewalks

664.72 miles 190.1 10,150

Tax Levy (Payable in 1938)

$3.20

Telephones

80,634 6

Trains-Passenger, entering and leaving city daily.

113

Transient Population (estimated)

30,000

Union Station-all tracks elevated, covers 7 acres

Water Mains 670 miles

76,271

Wholesalers and Jobbers-1935 census, number of 735

FACTS ABOUT INDIANA

Area: 36,045 square miles; ranks 37th in area among the states.

Indiana in 1816 became the nineteenth state.

State Flower: Zinnia.

State House built 1878-1888, at a cost of $1,980,969.

State Tree: Tulip Tree.

Vital Statistics-Births, 53,800; deaths, 42,308 (1936).

Population (1930): 3,238,503; ranks 11th in United States.

Distribution: Males, 1,640,061; females, 1,598,442; native whites, 2,981,002; foreign-born whites, 135,134; Negroes, 111,982.

Number of Families (1930 U. S. Census), 844,463.

Industry: Number of establishments, 4,097; number of wage-earners, 212,614; value of products, $1,394,212,819 (U. S. Census of Manufactures, 1931).

Products: Iron and steel products, automobile bodies and parts, railroad cars, foundry and machine shop products, pharmaceuticals, hosiery, clothing, food and meat prod- ucts, radios and radio parts, etc.

Assessed Valuation of Taxable Property (1936) : $3,700,000,000.

Roads: 75,757 miles of roads (9,182 miles in the State Highway System, of which 7,847 miles are high-type paved).

Agriculture: Number of farms, 187,000; acreage, 18,700,000 (1935 estimate).

Center of population of United States is near Linton, Greene County, Indiana.

Prominent Indiana Statesmen: President Benjamin Harrison, Vice-Presidents Thomas R. Marshall, Charles W. Fairbanks, Thomas A. Hendricks and Schuyler Colfax, Senator Albert J. Beveridge, Senator and Postmaster-General Harry S. New, and Senator James E. Watson.

THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The one organization in a community which upholds the ideals of good citizenship, right living and active co-operation among individuals and organizations making up the city's life is the Chamber of Commerce. It surveys the community with a telescope to see the whole at once, and at the same time, with a microscope, to search out the details. It encourages and co-ordinates individual efforts, and takes its prominent place in all worth-while community activities. The Chamber of Commerce is the guide, philosopher and friend of the home city and the community. With this background in mind, any community must thoroughly realize that the efforts of community upbuilding tend toward evolution. It, therefore, becomes of the utmost importance to each of us to realize that the Chamber of Commerce is an organization through which public-spirited citizens in a community may express themselves collectively on questions of community welfare and through which they may make their collective desires effective. Cities do not happen- co-operation builds them. In business, as in life, he gets most out of it who gives most to it. The dividends are based on the investment.

Street Car and Bus Lines-Miles of

Street Lights-Number of

Streets 802.77 miles

Theatres (legitimate, vaudeville, etc.)

Water Meters

CAPITAL CITY PAINTS

NU.DA

INDIANAPOLIS PAINT & COLOR CO

Indianapolis Paint & Color Co. for many years has been the leader in developing the highest quality paints, enamels, varnish, and similar paint products.

From the laboratories of this company have come such successes as Nu-Da and Capital City House Paints, Nu-Da Enamel, Nu-Da Semi-Gloss, Nu-Da Varnish, and Nu-Da Floor, Porch and Cement Paint.

Constant striving for excellence has made the products of Indianapolis Paint & Color Co. the choice of the most exacting purchasers.

Use Indianapolis Paint & Color Co.'s paint products-call or write us for the name of the dealer near you.

INDIANAPOLIS PAINT & COLOR CO. LIncoln 1521

640 N. Capitol Ave.

POLK'S INDIANAPOLIS CITY DIRECTORY 1938 Copyright, 1938, by R. L. Polk & Co.

Miscellaneous Information

For information not found in this department see regular Alphabetical Section or under proper headings in the Classified Business Directory

CITY GOVERNMENT

City Hall nw cor Ohio and Alabama OFFICIALS

Mayor-Walter C Boetcher

Secretary of the Mayor-Joseph B Tynan City Clerk-Daniel J O'Neill jr

Deputy City Clerk-Mrs Frata MeCabe

Chief Probation Officer-Solon O Vial

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

Controller-H Nathan Swaim

City Controller Deputy-Herschel M Tebay Barrett Law Bookkeeper-George D Yeazel

Accounting Clerk Senior-Francis A Muelbacher

DEPARTMENT OF LAW

Corporation Counsel-Floyd J Mattice

Attorney-Michl B Reddington

Assistant Attorneys-Clyde E Baker, John M Connor, John L Coleman, Adolph A Schreiber, Adolph G Emhardt City Prosecutor-John J. Cooper

Assistant Prosecutor-Norman E Blue

Claim Agent-Martin Logan

BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SANITATION Louis C Brandt, Maurice E Tennant Member and Sanitary District Mgr.

Executive Sec-Ernest F Frick

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING

Civil Engineer-H B Steeg Asst City Civil Engineer M G Johnson

Street Dept Head-James E Loer

Sewer Dept Head-Raymond C Cassady Chief Clerk-John H Schilling

Chemist-Chambers H Underwood

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Polk's Indianapolis (Marion County, Ind.) city directory, 1938, Part 3

Author: Publication date: 1938 Publisher: R.L. Polk Number of Pages: 2004

Author:
Publication date: 1938
Publisher: R.L. Polk
Number of Pages: 2004