Woodruff Place, Indianapolis
Encyclopedia
Woodruff Place is a neighborhood in Indianapolis
located about a mile east of Downtown Indianapolis
. It was established in the 1870s as an early suburb
of Indianapolis. Woodruff Place's boundaries are: 10th Street on the north, West Drive on the west, Michigan Street on the south, and East Drive on the east. This community was an independent municipality
and maintained autonomy, even as the City of Indianapolis grew and expanded around the neighborhood, enclosing the community well within the city limits. Woodruff Place was incorporated in 1876 and remained an independent town until 1962 when it became one of the final municipalities to be annexed by the City of Indianapolis prior to the merger of city and county governments in 1969.
Woodruff Place is bounded on the west by the campus of Arsenal Technical High School
,
which opened in 1912 on the former site of the Indianapolis Arsenal, and which still uses several historic buildings from the arsenal.
Woodruff Place was once considered to be one of Indianapolis's more affluent neighborhoods before beginning a gradual decline as the automobile led to the development of newer upscale subdivisions beginning in the late 1910s. By the 1950s many of the grand homes had been subdivided into apartments; previously, the neighborhood had only a modest collection of duplexes and smaller apartment buildings which were added beginning in the early 1910s. The neighborhood reached its lowest point in the 1960s, prompting community organizing in the early 1970s to encourage neighborhood revitalization. The 1980s and 1990s saw extensive neighborhood rehabilitation, and Woodruff Place is now considered a highly desirable historic inner-city address. Its design reflects the developer's plan to build a prestigious enclave. Most of the homes in Woodruff Place are expansive, Victorian
style homes from the late 19th century. The layout of the neighborhood is simple; three drives that run north-south (appropriately named East, West, and Middle) and a cross drive (not surprisingly, named Cross Drive). The streets are lined with magnolia
and oak
trees and have a central median. A fountain sits at each one of the intersections. Smaller fountains line the medians.
Woodruff Place was the inspiration behind Indianapolis native Booth Tarkington
's successful novel The Magnificent Ambersons
. Artist T. C. Steele
's son Brandt, a noted designer and architect in his own right, and his family were also Woodruff Place residents, living in a home designed by Brandt Steele.
In 1972, Woodruff Place was added to the National Register of Historic Places
. In 2001, the neighborhood was officially designated a local historic preservation district by the City of Indianapolis.
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
located about a mile east of Downtown Indianapolis
Downtown Indianapolis
The term Downtown Indianapolis refers to the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The boundaries of downtown Indianapolis have varied over time as the city has grown. The city's original platted area, the Mile Square, is sometimes used to denote the downtown area...
. It was established in the 1870s as an early suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Indianapolis. Woodruff Place's boundaries are: 10th Street on the north, West Drive on the west, Michigan Street on the south, and East Drive on the east. This community was an independent municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and maintained autonomy, even as the City of Indianapolis grew and expanded around the neighborhood, enclosing the community well within the city limits. Woodruff Place was incorporated in 1876 and remained an independent town until 1962 when it became one of the final municipalities to be annexed by the City of Indianapolis prior to the merger of city and county governments in 1969.
Woodruff Place is bounded on the west by the campus of Arsenal Technical High School
Arsenal Technical High School
Arsenal Technical High School is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States which is run by the Indianapolis Public Schools school system. Established in 1912, the school consists of a , multiple building campus east of downtown Indianapolis and is the only such type school in...
,
which opened in 1912 on the former site of the Indianapolis Arsenal, and which still uses several historic buildings from the arsenal.
Woodruff Place was once considered to be one of Indianapolis's more affluent neighborhoods before beginning a gradual decline as the automobile led to the development of newer upscale subdivisions beginning in the late 1910s. By the 1950s many of the grand homes had been subdivided into apartments; previously, the neighborhood had only a modest collection of duplexes and smaller apartment buildings which were added beginning in the early 1910s. The neighborhood reached its lowest point in the 1960s, prompting community organizing in the early 1970s to encourage neighborhood revitalization. The 1980s and 1990s saw extensive neighborhood rehabilitation, and Woodruff Place is now considered a highly desirable historic inner-city address. Its design reflects the developer's plan to build a prestigious enclave. Most of the homes in Woodruff Place are expansive, Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
style homes from the late 19th century. The layout of the neighborhood is simple; three drives that run north-south (appropriately named East, West, and Middle) and a cross drive (not surprisingly, named Cross Drive). The streets are lined with magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
and oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees and have a central median. A fountain sits at each one of the intersections. Smaller fountains line the medians.
Woodruff Place was the inspiration behind Indianapolis native Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams...
's successful novel The Magnificent Ambersons
The Magnificent Ambersons
The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington which won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize for novel. It was the second novel in his Growth trilogy, which included The Turmoil and The Midlander . In 1925 the novel was first adapted for film under the title Pampered Youth...
. Artist T. C. Steele
T. C. Steele
Theodore Clement Steele was an American Impressionist painter known for his Indiana landscapes.Theodore Steele's paintings are in many public collections, including those of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Indiana University Art Museum in Bloomington,...
's son Brandt, a noted designer and architect in his own right, and his family were also Woodruff Place residents, living in a home designed by Brandt Steele.
In 1972, Woodruff Place was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. In 2001, the neighborhood was officially designated a local historic preservation district by the City of Indianapolis.