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A TIMELINE OF FAITH & COMMUNITY:

MAPLETON-FALL CREEK, 1843 TO 1995

 

1843	Methodist class begins meeting in vicinity of 38th and Meridian in a log cabin home.  The community was then known as Sugar Grove.
1850s	The community applies for post office under the name of Sugar Grove; the post office is granted, but under the name of Mapleton.
1855	Twenty-eight-member Methodist class formally organizes Sugar Grove Methodist Episcopal Church (now North Methodist Church) in August with a full-time minister; a frame building is constructed soon after at Illinois Street and Maple Road (now 38th Street).
1860s	Indianapolis street railway is extended up Illinois Street to Crown Hill Cemetery.
1870s	Mapleton continues to serve as a streetcar stop, with the turn-around west of the intersection at Maple Road and Illinois Street.  Commercial development sprouts while farms and single-family residences continued to occupy the corridor between Crown Hill and Meridian Street.  Development also is occurring on the east side of Fall Creek.
1871	Mapleton town plat is recorded.
1880s	The first residential development in the area now known as Mapleton-Fall Creek occurs, with the subdivision of a small area south of 30th Street and east of Meridian Street.
1883	Mapleton School #43 founded.
1884	Mapleton population roughly 300.  Settlement is known as a popular watering place for horses traveling between Broad Ripple and Indianapolis.
1890s	With continued improvements in public transportation to the area, developers subdivide the entire area south of 30th Street and a small section now known as the Meridian Park area.  Other residential development continues along 38th Street, east of Meridian Street.  Many are summer homes of affluent city-dwellers.
1891	The State Fairgrounds moved to a 214-acre tract of land at Fall Creek and 38th Street.
Early 1900s	Fall Creek Parkway, the neighborhood's eastern boundary, is designed as a scenic boulevard.  Affluent residents with automobiles increasingly have access to the city via the bridges spanning Fall Creek at Illinois, Central, and Meridian Streets.  The College Avenue bridge was built in 1905, the 30th Street in 1906, and the Capitol Avenue in 1911.
	With increased access to the neighborhood, developers subdivide most of the area between 30th and 36th Streets between Meridian and Birchwood Streets, leaving only the northeast corner of the neighborhood (opposite from the fairgrounds) and a small rectangular area along 34th Street bare of development.  Developers built parks at Fairview and Broad Ripple to attract a stream of weekend visitors through the area, successfully enticing many to buy homes there.
	Business and commercial interests increasingly move into old family homes along Meridian Street south of 16th Street, causing many prospering upper-middle-class residents to move north into the Mapleton-Fall Creek area.
1900	Sugar Grove Methodist Church dedicates a new, larger building at Illinois and 38th Streets in June, and renames itself Mapleton Methodist Episcopal Church (commonly known as the Maple Road Church).
1902	Mapleton is annexed by Indianapolis.
1905	Indianapolis annexes Meridian Street north of 38th to Broad Ripple, signaling the eventual population surge north.
1907	Protestant Episcopal Church purchases a lot at 30th and Pennsylvania Streets to serve the population north of Fall Creek, but soon the congregation abandons the idea—at least temporarily.
1910s	The Meridian Street corridor between Fall Creek and 38th Streets became "the" place to live in the city as wealthy families build opulent mansions and luxury apartment buildings.  By 1915 seventy-eight large, single-family dwellings exist between Fall Creek and Maple Road as well as luxury apartment buildings such as the Buckingham and Hudson Arms.  Residents compare this area to Fifth Avenue in NYC and Michigan Avenue in Chicago.  Affluent residences also go up along Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Illinois Streets and Washington Boulevard.
	Indianapolis Parks Department establishes a park at 30th Street and Fall Creek.
1913	Charles W. Fairbanks, Vice-President of the United States, builds a mansion at 30th and Meridian Streets.
	Floods badly damage Meridian and Illinois Street bridges, which are replaced in 1917.
	Maple Road is widened and surfaced, encouraging residential development along its length.  Mapleton Methodist Church, forced to move 100 yards back from the street, replaces the building on a new basement addition.
1914	Indianapolis plumbing and sewage lines are extended to the neighborhood.
1915	IPS School No. 66 is built.
	Tabernacle Presbyterian church moves to 34th Street and Central Avenue—the third location of a congregation founded in the 1850s—and builds a temporary frame chapel.
	Governor's residence is established at 101 W. 27th Street, a Tudor Revival home.
	Parish of Church of the Advent (later Trinity Episcopal) is established in April; the congregation meets at 33rd and Meridian Streets, the site of a former Baptist mission.
	The Lutheran congregation that would become Our Redeemer Lutheran Church begins meeting at Garrick Theater (30th and Illinois Streets) in December; the following year the congregation is formally organized.
1920s	Population influx continues.  Much of the neighborhood's housing is built at this time, filling most lots in the area.
	Affluent residents along Meridian Street begin to fear encroaching commerce.  Meridian Street Association proposed to preserve aesthetic values of the area.  Meanwhile, the stretch of Meridian north of 38th Street was becoming known as "the" place to live, as it attracts Indiana's nationally known writers.
	Third Christian Scientist Church is founded; the congregation meets in temporary structure at 34th Street and Washington Boulevard until the stone sanctuary and building are finished.
1920	Area laymen receive approval from the bishop to organize a new Methodist congregation to service the growing northern population.
	Meridian Street is paved and designated U.S. 31, bringing increased traffic through and past the neighborhood to settlements now sprawling far north.
	St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church organizes with 200 families.  The building was located at 42nd and Ruckle Streets, and the parish serves much of the Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood.
1921	Mapleton Methodist Church merges with the new Methodist congregation and is renamed North Methodist; the congregation purchases land at 38th and Meridian Streets, and begins plans for construction while still meeting in the old Mapleton Methodist Church.
	School #76 opens in a temporary structure at 30th Street and Fall Creek Parkway (additions in 1922, 1924; named Paul C.  Stetson School 1938).  The school services southeast portions of the neighborhood.
1922	Church of the Advent (Episcopal) builds a new stone building, responding to growth in the congregation.
	Our Redeemer Lutheran Church building is dedicated at Fairfield and Park Avenues.
1923	IPS School No. 76 PTA is organized and subsequently provides aid to needy students and families in the area.
	Indianapolis Life Insurance Company purchases Fairbanks mansion, signaling extension of business up Meridian Street and into the neighborhood.
	The present sanctuary building of Tabernacle Presbyterian is dedicated.
1925	Indianapolis Parks Department acquires what is now known as McCord Park at 3600 Watson Road from Joss-Kuhn Lumber Co., as well as Watson Road Bird Preserve at Guilford Street and Watson Road from Fletcher Savings & Trust.
1927	Marott Hotel opens at Meridian Street and Fall Creek .
	Member of Tabernacle Presbyterian starts church's first basketball team, which temporarily practices in the basement.
	Mapletonians hold the first meeting of the Old Mapleton Association in September.  The reunion meets at North United Methodist and includes singing, a pitch-in meal, business meeting, story-telling, and prizes.  The group continues to meet through the 1970s.
	Broadway Methodist dedicates its current building at Fall Creek and Broadway in October; the congregation founded in 1871 and moved several times following the population's northward pilgrimage.
1928	Shortridge High School moves to new location at 34th and Meridian Streets.
1929	Dorchester Apartments built at 3720 N. Pennsylvania Street.
	Former Rauh home, 3024 N. Meridian Street, becomes a branch library and remains so until it is demolished in the 1970s for The Children’s Museum expansion).
	Tabernacle Presbyterian dedicates new three-story educational and recreational and chapel building.
1930s	Shortridge PTA sponsors scholarships for needy students; IPS School No. 76 sponsors annual Spring Field Day along Fall Creek Parkway; IPS School No. 60 hosts music appreciation classes for entire school system as well as adult-education classes.
	There are reportedly twenty-seven luxury apartment buildings between 30th and 38th Streets.
	All previously undeveloped areas of the neighborhood are subdivided, and the Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood is now totally surrounded by other urban neighborhood development.
1930	Shopping center built at 38th Street and College Avenue boasts a drugstore and grocery.
1931	North Methodist completes Gothic sanctuary and social building (which includes an assembly room, dining hall, and kitchen) in May; the dedication includes week-long activities.
1934	The last interurban train through the area ceases service, and public transportation from the neighborhood to downtown is replaced by trackless trolleys (electric buses).  But automobiles fulfill the bulk of residents' transportation needs, and shopping and services are increasingly available in or near the neighborhood.
1940s	Most neighborhood institutions (especially schools) create war-service committees who supervise bond and war stamp sales, scrap drives, and other war-relief efforts.
	Watson Road Park Neighborhood Association is organized.
	Shortridge High School adopts neighborhood attendance boundaries.
	Affluent residents begin moving out of the neighborhood to the townships and suburbs.
1942	Tabernacle Presbyterian purchases a tract of land at 34th Street and Washington Boulevard for a playground/recreational field; a government survey rates the church recreation program as one of the five best of its kind in the nation.
1944	Shortridge students have bought $1.3 million worth of war bonds; reportedly the highest amount raised by a high school nationally.
1945	Governor's residence moves further north on Meridian Street, out of the MFC neighborhood.
	Religious education classes started in neighborhood schools.
1946	The Children's Museum moves to mansion at 3010 N. Meridian Street.
1948	Tabernacle Presbyterian inaugurates intramural athletics program—an expansion of its existing recreation program.
1949	State desegregation law passes, and Shortridge enrolls African-American students for first time at new location (by 1953 African-Americans are fifteen percent of student body).
1950s	With the building of North Central High School at mid-decade in a nearby district, Shortridge enrollments of whites drop to 72 percent, and fewer incoming students are college-bound.  Parents and educators begin to talk of the "tipping point" at which quality is perceived to decline.
	Businesses continue to filter into area along the neighborhood's edges—some converting older homes along Meridian Street and others building new facilities on 38th Street.
	Baby boom in area results in overcrowded schools.
	As many residents exit to the suburbs, more residences become rental properties.
1951	North Methodist completes Education building, which includes classrooms and recreational rooms.
	First Fall Festival, hosted by the Mapleton business association, attracts 10,000; it includes rides, concessions, prizes, and proceeds go to scholarships and school equipment.
1952	Watson Road Park Association incorporates.
	Tabernacle Presbyterian purchases additional property in March for the recreation field.
	Mayor Alex Clark attends Fall Festival to dedicate thirty-five-car "off-street" parking lot.
	Advent Episcopal—newly renamed Trinity Episcopal—completes its new building at the same location in December.  The architecture is 13th century English Gothic.
1953	Broadway Methodist builds a new addition with a youth center, chapel, and parlor.  Membership has expanded from 1,500 to 3,200 in five years.
1954	Shortridge radio station WIAN opens in October; initially it can be heard in the few blocks surrounding the school.
1955	Purdue University Extension (later IUPUI) purchases former Standard Oil complex across from State fair grounds and begins offering science courses.
1956	Memorial Clinic, precursor to Winona Memorial Hospital, opened as the city's first private, for-profit hospital at 3202 N. Meridian Street.
1957	Shortridge is ranked as one of the top thirty-eight high schools in the nation by a Newsweek and Time survey.
	Trinity Episcopal opens church school building, named St. Richard’s.
1959	Shortridge PTA holds public meeting to discuss the "Shortridge problem," recommending that IPS redraw the school attendance boundaries so that white attendance does not drop below fifty percent.
1960s	Neighborhood racial composition changes from 98 to 54 percent white, with most incoming blacks clustering in the area bounded by Central Avenue, 30th Street, and Fall Creek.  MFCNA encourages integration and resistance to white-flight.
	Small stores gradually close along business corridors—victims of the suburban shopping malls and rising crime rates.
	Racial tension increases at Shortridge as more extra-curriculars become integrated, black students become more militant, and percentage of African-American students rises to over 75 percent.  Students form Human Relations Council, and parents and alumni organize "Save Shortridge" campaign.
	Broadway Methodist makes decision to stay in the neighborhood and embarks on urban ministry programs.
1961	Broadway Methodist community-service program expands into Neighborhood Ministries, employing a full-time coordinator.  Broader programming includes a food pantry, thrift shop, and health services.
1962	Mapleton/Fall Creek Neighborhood Association is founded; eventually becomes known as one of the most active neighborhood groups in the city.
1964	200 Shortridge students march to IPS school board meeting in September to support the school and integrated education.
	The Children's Museum holds first haunted house, and 26,000 attend.
1965	IPS Board votes to implement the "Shortridge Plan," making Shortridge an "academic" school with entrance requirements.  It is implemented the following year with much disapproval—mostly from outside the immediate community.
	Broadway Methodist completes another addition—educational and administrative buildings.
	Former Van Camp mansion torn down and replaced with a Stouffer’s Hotel.
1966	Our Redeemer Lutheran dedicates an educational building, having decided to stay in the neighborhood instead of moving to a northern suburban location.
	Winona Memorial Hospital moves to 3232 N. Meridian Street in December and expands its facilities.
1967	North Methodist establishes a legal clinic.
	Due to overcrowding, IPS School No. 76 boundaries are redrawn.
	Mapleton-Fall Creek Neighborhood Improvement Program is inaugurated and city executes Concentrated Code Enforcement Program, a plan to bring infrastructure and housing in the area up to building and health codes.  Program continues until 1970 and is the first in the city to be implemented.
1968	City officials decide to extend Code Enforcement Program due to slow start in the first year; at that time fifty-seven home improvement grants and loans had been distributed, in addition to several capital-improvement projects.
	Broadway Methodist opens medical clinic under the Marion County Health and Hospital Corp. and offers a variety of services, including well-baby care and health education.
	City officials conduct a neighborhood study from March through August for a long-range improvement plan.
	Lilly Endowment sponsors a small park at 29th and Talbott Streets.
1969	Three-year pilot neighborhood improvement program is implemented by city planners.
	Trinity Episcopal dedicates a new addition in March.
1970	Neighborhood population estimated at 13,801—seventy-four percent black.
	IPS Board votes to return Shortridge to a comprehensive high school status, and white attendance dropped to eleven percent.
	Mid-North Church Council organizes with three member churches:  North United Methodist, Our Redeemer Lutheran, and Tabernacle Presbyterian.
1971	MFCNA incorporates.
	Mid-North Council begins sponsoring "Family School of Christian Living," a series of educational programs.
1972	IPS School No. 48 converted into an Open Concept School, named Louis B. Russell, Jr. School.
	Broadway celebrates 100th anniversary with year-long celebration.
	Lilly Endowment moves offices into current location at 2801 N. Meridian Street.
1973	Indy Parks acquires Talbott Park from Lilly.
	Broadway Methodist joins Mid-North Church Council.
1974	City evaluation of Concentrated Code Enforcement Program finds that the deterioration of buildings is continuing.
1975	MFCNA adopts the slogan, “Unity in Diversity.”
	MFCNA sponsors first youth neighborhood summer clean-up using city funds.  Paid youth workers to do odd jobs, assist poor and elderly with home maintenance, and landscape.
1976	Unification church becomes a five-state regional headquarters.
1978	Shortridge School of Performing Arts opens as a magnet high school.
	Mid-North Church Council and MFCNA sponsor a year-long series of town meetings involving business people and residents to discuss neighborhood problems.
	MFCNA revives neighborhood fall festival and parade.  Floats sponsored by area block clubs, local organizations, and city government.
1979	Mid-North Church Council sponsors a housing survey.
	MFCNA sponsors first annual clean block club contest.
1980s	Marott Hotel restored as luxury apartments.
	Census reports home ownership drops from over fifty percent in 1980 to approximately thirty-two percent by 1990.
1980	McDonalds, the first national chain in the area, opens at 38th and Illinois Streets, and exemplifies the already existing trend of replacing small, locally owned shops with national franchises.
	Maple Road Development Association receives $41,000 in block grant funding for storefront renovation around 38th and Illinois Streets.  Neighborhood leaders gave input into the process and administer the grant themselves, marking a new hands-off policy for the city.
	Mid-North Church Council and city government co-sponsor a paint-up, fix-up project.
1981	Mapleton-Fall Creek Gazette begins publication as a neighborhood newsletter.  It eventually expands into a full-fledged newspaper.
	Trinity Episcopal joins Mid-North Church Council.
	IPS Board votes in February to close Shortridge High School at the end of the school year, despite student, alumni, and parent protests.
	Eight-block area around 38th and Illinois Streets is declared an urban renewal area (first in city), and city assists in rehab efforts to prevent further decay.  The action is later challenged by some area property owners and stalled by court proceedings.
	School # 76 closes in June and sold to business interests; with the IPS desegregation decision, all students south of 34th Street are bused to township schools.
	Butler-Tarkington Community Center renamed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Multi-Service Center in Fall, with an expanded mission to service entire central-north area.  The facility relocates to 38th and Meridian Streets.
1982	Residents fight a supermarket expansion proposal to be constructed just north of 38th Street at Illinois Street.
	North Methodist inaugurates programming for neighborhood seniors.
	Institute of Cultural Affairs organizes "Mid-North Indianapolis Symposium II" in September, with 100 city, business, neighborhood, and religious leaders in attendance.  Recommendations include housing, elderly, education, employment, crime, and health initiatives.
	Lilly Endowment funds study of Catholic urban ministry, which includes the Mapleton-Fall Creek area.
	First annual North Meridian Street Fair.
1983	Ivy Tech moved to its current location at Fall Creek and Meridian.  It expands in 1990, building a new technology building at this site.
	MFCNA sponsors a medical clinic, an all-volunteer operation on Saturday mornings.
	Three neighborhood organizations (Mapleton-Fall Creek, Meridian-Kessler, and Watson Road), having formed College Corridor Coalition to revitalize the commercial area around 38th Street and College Avenue, conduct a resident survey, hold a public meeting, and establish six volunteer task forces.  Targeted area includes 36th-40th Streets between Park and Guilford.
	City rescinds its urban renewal designation for 38th and Illinois area in August, saying the neighborhood can help itself better.
	City planners adopt new development plan for Mapleton-Fall Creek sub-area in December (update of 1969 plan).  Report notes potentially historic areas and makes proposals for expanded recreational space and improvement of commercial areas.
1984	Mid-North Church Council sponsors Home Help program, providing home help and medical care for seniors.  It is discontinued in 1986 because are hospitals are providing the service.
	Maple Road and College Corridor groups unite in March to conduct a resident survey of business/shopping needs.
	Trinity Episcopal Church funds study of neighborhood housing rehabilitation program; James Keating hired to conduct the study.
	Residents protest renewal of liquor licenses for two 500 liquor stores, claiming the stores hamper efforts to renovate area.
	Shortridge re-opens as a junior high school in fall, with several unique language programs.
1985	Mapleton-Fall Creek Housing Development Corporation (MFCHDC) is established by the member churches of the Mid-North Council and the MFCNA, with all institutions appointing two board members each.
	Mid-North Church Council starts an "Adopt-a-Block" program on a small scale and a Job Start Program.
	College Corridor Coalition successfully attracts new businesses to 38th Street intersection.
1986	First MFCHDC home rehabilitation completed in partnership with Community Interfaith Housing Corporation.  A second home is finished in 1988.  All work is done by volunteers.
	St. Joan of Arc joins Mid-North Church Council.
	MFCNA pays for two off-duty police officers to patrol the neighborhood on foot during the summer.
	Neighborhood youth rally and festival in June held at nearby St. Joan of Arc Catholic School.
	American Fletcher bank branch opens at College Avenue and 38th Street.
1987	Trinity Episcopal donates $250,000 for revolving loan fund in the neighborhood.
	First annual Meridian Park Home Tour held in June.
1988	MFCHDC drafts five-year plan.  Components include neighborhood clean-ups, senior home repair and winter weatherization programs, home-improvement loan fund, rehab and resale of abandoned homes and rental properties, removal of dilapidated homes, in-fill construction of new homes.  Plan is implemented the following year.
	A.C.T.I.O.N.  (Adolescent Care Team In Our Neighborhood) opens at 925 E. 38th Street.
	Marion County Health Department opens a clinic on west 38th Street for adolescents and the location also serves as a youth-related, social services agency outlet.
	Accelerated Neighborhood Pilot Revitalization Project inaugurated.   MFCNA hires Institute of Cultural Affairs (a non-profit research and training group located in the neighborhood) to oversee the project.
1989	MFCHDC hires executive director and staff, with offices housed in Our Redeemer Lutheran Church.  In addition to government monies, area churches raised $42,000 for the budget; Tabernacle Presbyterian and Trinity Episcopal Churches donated $30,000 for a challenge grant, and North Methodist donated $26,000 for the Richard Blankenbaker Memorial Loan Fund (a subsidy and low-interest revolving loan program); Lilly grant of $190,000 funds a trades training apprentice program.
	MFCHDC sponsors first annual Energy Forum, a winterization program for low-income households.
	MFCNA board votes in December to discontinue Accelerated Neighborhood Project because of rising debts and personality clashes.
1990	Tabernacle Presbyterian Church starts a tutoring program for neighborhood junior and senior high students.
	MFCHDC sponsors the "Handyman Program" with city funding, a teen 16-week apprenticeship program that makes repairs to neighborhood homes.  Also inaugurates first annual awards dinner.
	Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood population estimated at 9,555.
	Meridian Park, a sub area of the neighborhood, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
	Fall Creek Parkway between 46th and 21st Streets designated as part of urban enterprise zone.
	Mid-North Church Council and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana sponsor "Sacred Spaces Tour" in September, focusing on Gothic architecture and church social-service programs.
	Lilly Endowment supports expansion of the "Adopt-a-Block" program.
1991	St. Richard's School and Trinity Episcopal Church sponsor first annual Medieval Mayfair.
	Coburn Place opens in summer in former IPS School 66 building, an assisted living facility.
	With neighborhood leaders’ input, city planners complete Mapleton-Fall Creek Housing Improvement and Neighborhood Plan in December.
	Blankenbaker Memorial Loan Fund receives $40,000 from Indianapolis Foundation.
1992	30th Street bridge closed for construction for one year.
	King’s Kids—a speaking group of African-American males ages four to fourteen—is organized at the MLK Center.
	Tabernacle Presbyterian Church purchases former dentist's office across from the church in July and turns it into the Allison Christian Community Center—a center that houses urban ministries, including a food pantry.
	Watson Road and Central Court areas apply for historic landmark status in October through National Register of Historic Places.
	Phillips Temple CME moves into former Third Christian Scientist Church.
	MFCNA celebrates 30th Anniversary in November.  Mayor Steven Goldsmith declares November 12th “MFCNA Day.”
1993	Indiana Black Expo purchases headquarters building in the 3100 block of Meridian Street.
	New Walgreens drugstore opens at 38th Street and College Avenue.
	MFCHDC implements Reclamation I project to assist renters in becoming homeowners; Phillips Temple CME votes to join MFCHDC.
	MFCNA moves offices to Allison Center in October.
1994	IUPUI moves last program from 38th Street campus.
	Phillips Temple CME joins Mid-North Church Council; there are now six members.
	Tabernacle Presbyterian launches a legal aid and medical clinic at the Allison Center.
	MFCHDC completes rehabilitation of two more homes in neighborhood.
	First phase of Tarkington Park renovation completed.  Work is mostly done through private donations coordinated by a “friends of the park” group.
	MFCNA sponsors Pre-School Academy for neighborhood four- and five-year-old children Saturday mornings at IPS School No. 48.
1995	Residents fight renewal of "500" liquor license.
	MFCNA Comprehensive Youth Group presents "Shatter Faith" in March at Shortridge Middle School; "No Crime Tolerated" rally held at Antioch Missionary Baptist, sponsored by MFCNA.
	Weekly marches on suspected crack houses, organized by MFCNA, being in April.