Emerson Heights, like Indianapolis itself, owes much of its character to the form of transportation that was available at the time it was developed.

The Water Transportation Era
Early Midwestern cities grew along rivers because water transportation was vital for moving people and commodities. In fact, Indianapolis was located here, in part, because of the mistaken idea that the White River could be navigated by boat. The Central Canal project (remnants seen downtown and in Broad Ripple) was a failed attempt to remedy this situation by connecting the town to the Wabash and Erie Canal starting near Ft. Wayne and going through to Evansville. The canal project was to provide the landlocked region with a much-needed link to vital commerce. The project was never completed and the idea was abandoned when the state neared bankruptcy in 1839.

Without a transportation link, the growth of the town was slow. And although the National Road— what is now Washington Street— was completed through the state in 1834, it was slow, harsh going (the “road” was originally a dirt path with the remaining tree stumps to be just low enough not to catch the axle of a wagon). It was the railroad that effectively connected Indianapolis to other markets, in a big way, starting in 1847.

The Railroad Era
The railroad provided a way to move goods and people long distances, but once off of the train, they were still limited to a carriage ride or walking. It was this limitation on local transportation that governed the development patterns of the city. While wealthier households could afford the cost and upkeep associated with a horse and carriage; initially, the daily commute for most people in the urban setting was limited by how far a person could reasonably walk in a day. For this reason, older parts of the city tend to be more compact and mixed-use, with residential and small shops in the same area. It would not be until late into the automobile era that it would be practical to have the exclusively residential development on sprawling lots that we see today.

By 1855, the railroads had turned Indianapolis into the economic and transportation center of the region. In addition, the seat of state government had moved to Indianapolis in 1825, further enhancing it as an important destination. The town was a center of wholesale and retail trade – most of it not far from the train tracks. Laborers worked in the warehouse district and in manufacturing, while professionals worked in banking, real estate and law offices. The train station was a major transportation hub and the National Road went through the center of town as well. Hospitality businesses for travelers such as hotels, bars and Inns were located near these transportation routes.

But, in addition to being a bustling town, Indianapolis could be a hot, noisy, dirty place to live. Many of the homes built before 1900, particularly the crowded, inexpensive homes for the immigrant labor, did not have indoor plumbing. Horse drawn carts were common – with the resulting animal waste left in the street. Soot, from the coal that was burned to heat buildings, run the trains and later to generate electricity and power for factories, filled the air.

So while economic opportunity, commerce, culture and government attracted people to the center of town, many people, particularly wealthier households, wanted a cleaner, healthier environment— away from the town center— in which to raise their families. The Old Northside and Woodruff Place were examples of wealthier neighborhoods, where carriage houses were common, which initially developed away from the dirty central city. But in addition to the wealthy educated class, the railroad era was creating a new, broader, middle-economic class that included managers and skilled tradesmen.

The Streetcar Era
However, for most of the moderate-income households, it wasn’t practical to live far from the economic center of town until the streetcar was developed. In its first incarnation, starting in 1864, mules pulled the streetcars on tracks laid in the streets. Mule cars later gave way to electric trolleys by 1890. It was streetcars, particularly the electric trolleys, which made development of the mostly residential neighborhoods far outside of the mile square, including Emerson Heights, economical, practical and possible.

Emerson Heights was planned and developed, by necessity, as a transit-oriented walkable community around 1911. At that time, the automobile was still not common—the automobile era would not begin, in earnest, until the 1920’s. However, the trolley lines ran along Michigan, Emerson and 10th streets. The neighborhood was developed as a place for middle-income families to live away from the dirt and noise of the city, while still having easy access to employment, commerce and entertainment. Residents could walk to one of the trolley lines to get a ride into downtown or a destination along the way. At the same time, neighborhood shops were located within walking distance on some of the major streets, primarily 10th street. Deliveries were still made with horse and cart and later with one of the new trucks. A marketing piece for the real-estate developer in 1914 shows photos of the neighborhood, as it was being developed, with trolley tracks along Michigan and Emerson Streets. It also shows photos of both a horse drawn carriage and an early automobile.

The railroad enabled the city to grow and broaden the middle-economic class, but the economic activity also helped to push residences out of the center of town. Thus it was the availability of mass-transit on the edges of our neighborhood, which were accessed by walking, that enabled the flight from the center-city by families of a broadening middle socioeconomic class. These factors provide some of the basic influences on the design of our neighborhood. Emerson Heights today remains an excellent example of a streetcar-era planned community in Indianapolis.