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in the Day - Indiana's Black History
Old neighborhood is rich in history
BY RUTH MULLEN
Published: Dec. 2, 2000
History: The six-square-block neighborhood called Ransom
Place was once the hub of black life and culture in Indianapolis.
During the first two decades at the turn of the century, it was home to the
city's growing black community. Nearby Indiana Avenue also boasted many thriving
local businesses, including Madam C.J. Walker's beauty supply plant and the
theater named for her. This main artery just west of Downtown was also home
to many churches, barber shops, funeral parlors and an influential local jazz
scene. The Ransom Place Historic District was named for one resident in particular,
Freeman B. Ransom (1882-1947), an attorney and general manager for Walker who
lived in the 800 block of California Street. In the 1920s, this immaculate block
of late-19th-century homes was called the "Negro Meridian Street.'' Homes on
nearby Paca, Camp or St. Clair streets also boasted prestigious addresses. Today,
Ransom Place is still the most intact neighborhood associated with the city's
early black history. Boundaries: Ransom Place is nestled at the edge of the
IUPUI campus, bounded by 10th, St. Clair, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Paca
streets.
Architectural styles : First settled by working-class
Irish and German immigrants, Ransom Place boasts a mix of wood-frame, gabled
Queen Anne- and shotgun-style cottages built in the late 1800s. The area's demographics
shifted dramatically from an 86 percent white majority to a 96 percent black
majority from 1900 to 1920.
Prominent buildings include the Heritage Learning
Center Museum at 830 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. This 1830 Queen Anne cottage
that was originally built on Monument Circle now houses the history and artifacts
of early Ransom Place residents. The "Museum Without Walls'' is an open-air
museum documenting the lives and homes of early Ransom Place residents. About
40 signs along Camp, California and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets tell
the address, family name and occupation of the neighborhood's earliest residents.
For example, a sign on Camp Street marks the site where Sen. Robert Lee Brokenburr
lived. He was a two-term Indiana senator who also wrote the articles of incorporation
for the Madame C.J. Walker Co.
Decline: The neighborhood fell on hard times during the
Depression, when many family homes were replaced by renters who failed to keep
up the properties. The decline continued into the '60s and '70s, when highway
construction, university expansions and urban ills took their toll on the neighborhood.
This historic district once known for its pristine homes and tree-lined streets
became an isolated pocket of vacant, weed-filled lots and run-down, abandoned
homes.
Rebirth: Urban pioneers, led by well-known activist Jean
Spears, now 76, began reclaiming Ransom Place in the late '80s. She purchased
an 1885 Queen Anne on Camp Street in 1987. Spears and five others founded the
Ransom Place Neighborhood Association in 1991, followed by its listing on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Spears is also the curator, historian
and program director for the Heritage Learning Center Museum.
Housing: Over the past decade, Ransom Place has watched
its fortunes change dramatically. Property values have multiplied three-fold
in the past five years, according to Sue Solmos of Realty Mart. There are still
a few bargains to be had, for those who are willing to fork over $30,000 or
so for one of the few remaining properties that need extensive rehab. But new
and restored homes in the neighborhood range from about $140,000 to about $180,000.
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in the Day - Indiana's Black History
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