On a recent Saturday morning, a group of Emerson Heights residents met in Joe Wade’s yard to hear about the Adopt-a-Block program sponsored by our partners at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB). Sarah Grain from KIB explained that the program is designed to help neighbors build a sense of stewardship of their block and reduce trash.

How It Works
Residents sign up to become a Block Coordinator and organize other people on their street. Together, these neighbors work to keep the public areas, including the street and alley, free of trash. Representatives from KIB and the city then score the blocks on a scale of 1-4 each month through the warm weather. A block that averages a “2” or better will receive free flowers from KIB in the spring. Sarah also provided participants with gloves, trash bags, brooms, litter grabbers, etc. to help in the efforts.

If Adopt-a-Block participants are successful, for the streets that have medians, the flowers can be used in flower beds at the cross streets. On other streets, the flowers can be used in front yards or in flower boxes / planters to enhance the curb appeal of the neighborhood.

Example: 700 Block of Wallace
Chris Coy is the Block Coordinator for the 700 block of Wallace and he was so excited he rushed and put door hangers on each door on his block. He received a great response. Within an hour of putting the door hangers out he was weeding curbs and was joined by two adults and five kids. Together, they picked up trash for hours!

Chris, Barb, Frankie, Margaret, Jasmine, Courtney and Cade

In addition to the streetcar lines, another large influence on the design of our neighborhood was the City Beautiful movement. And although it’s important to understand and appreciate all of the design elements in our neighborhood, the esplanades are particularly prominent features that are reflective of this movement. These esplanades help to make Emerson Heights unique and they deserve the neighborhood’s attention as it nears its centennial in 2011.

City Beautiful was an urban planning movement prevalent around the turn of the last century. It was a response to what had become crowded, dirty and disorderly cities. It was reform minded with the goal of not only introducing order, improving sanitation and such, but also using urban design to inspire the inhabitants to moral and civic virtue.

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11/13/07 Update! The first phase of this project, from I70 to 21st Street has been awarded funding! Please join us for an Open House on 12/10/07 to celebrate!

The Emerson Avenue Corridor Gateway Project will improve the appearance of Emerson Avenue and create a sense of entry to the eastside of Indianapolis. The project is a collaborative, grassroots effort of neighborhoods along the project length, from the I-70/Emerson Avenue Interchange and south to Washington Street and on to the proposed Pennsy Trail.

Project Path
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Street Scene
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Commercial Intersection
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Concept plans as of 2/15/07
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The Emerson Heights Community Organization is made up of residents, just like you, who donate their time and a little bit of their money to make the community a better place to live.

We need volunteers to help with specific tasks such as the cleanup and yard sale, or with ongoing projects such as marketing, revitalization and the newsletter.

In addition, we need are asking for your financial support.

In the past, much of our financial support has come from corporate donors, some fund raising activities and donations from a relatively small group of residents. We are very grateful to all of them for their help. But now it’s time for the residents of Emerson Heights to become more active in supporting their own organization.

If you would like to become a dues paying member of EHCO, we would welcome your annual contribution.
Levels of Membership are as follows:

1. Friends: $12 a year
2. Poets: $25 a year
3. Literary Giants: $50 a year
4. Emersonians: $100 a year

You may make your check payable to Emerson Heights Community Organization and mail it to:

Emerson Heights Community Organization
PO Box 11686
Indianapolis, IN 46201

In addition, if you are interested in sponsoring or volunteering for a specific event, such as the cleanup, yard sale, the website, tree plantings, etc. please let us know.

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.

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New Photos including the Steer-In, Northway Drive-In and the Bank.

New Additions:
Old photos including the the Steer-In and the Northway Drive-In
Thanks to Jim Schrum for the photos.
Historic Photos Including the Steer-In

Advertisements for our neighborhood when it was being developed.
Newspaper Ads for Emerson Heights


Photos of the neighborhood being developed
This book was put together by the development company, Emerson Heights Realty Company, that developed the neighborhood.

Note: Some of the home addresses have changed since this was published – see if you can find your home.
You can add comments to the photos if you find your home by clicking on "No Comments have been submitted yet" at the bottom of the photo.

Thanks to Rick and Tina Jones for providing the scans.

To see all of the neighborhood photos, go to the neighborhood photo gallery.

Expert information on local historic sites, including many on the eastside.

Included are a number of our own near eastside treasures, such as Cottage Home and Woodruff Place neighborhoods, Brookside Park and Tech High School. The Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology researched and wrote the text. The National Park Service hosts the site as part of its Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary series.

The site is http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/indianapolis/.

Bicycle and driving map of Indianapolis in 1899, about 12 years before Emerson Heights was developed.

Click on the image below to open the large file. It is a very big jpeg (about 5 meg). The detail is such that you can clearly read the street names.
On some browsers (Firefox) you may need to click on the new window to see the image full size.

A high definition file is available (250 meg). Contact Kurt Wiegand - webmaster@emersonheights.org
The map was a gift from Rebecca, many thanks!

Posted on 12/01/07