Neighborhood Focus

In the early twentieth century, Indianapolis’s Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood developed as a dense, walkable suburb north of the city, where residents built handsome homes in popular styles of the period – including Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, and Arts and Crafts – on streets surrounding George E. Kessler’s scenic Fall Creek Parkway.

Today the neighborhood remains vibrant and diverse, but some of its historic houses suffer from neglect, with deteriorated exteriors and boarded windows. In 2022, the neighborhood reported a 21% vacancy rate, more than double the rate for Marion County as a whole. With an active neighborhood association working to engage residents, Mapleton-Fall Creek holds great potential but needs additional investment to restore housing occupancy and improve quality of life.

To strengthen existing efforts, Indiana Landmarks is targeting multiple preservation projects in the area, including the recent turnkey rehabilitation and sale of a 1922 Colonial Revival-style house at 3306 N. Ruckle Street. Indiana Landmarks acquired the vacant home in 2019 and completed interior and exterior rehabilitation before selling to new occupants in 2022.

We recently listed another property for sale at 3302 N. Park Avenue. Built c.1911, the Craftsman-style house still exhibits unique architectural features that have lasted more than a century: wooden gable brackets, dormer shingles, and textured brick.

Indiana Landmarks also seeks a buyer for the former Beth-El Zedeck Temple, arguably the neighborhood’s most significant historic structure. Dedicated in 1925, the neoclassical landmark is the city’s oldest standing synagogue. The temple’s congregation dwindled as the neighborhood’s early residents migrated to other parts of the city during the 1950s and 60s, and the building has been vacant since the early 2000s.

Designed by the renowned Indianapolis architecture firm Vonnegut, Bohn, and Meuller, the former temple’s imposing exterior and expansive interior offer potential for any number of uses enhancing Mapleton-Fall Creek’s ongoing revitalization.

To prepare the building for development, we’ve completed a feasibility study, installed a new roof, repaired and replaced its ground-floor windows, conducted an environmental site Assessment and asbestos remediation, and listed the property in the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit. A new owner will need to complete a full interior and exterior rehabilitation.

Both 3302 N. Park Avenue and the former Beth-El Zedeck Temple will be sold with protective covenants to ensure their long-term preservation. To learn more, contact Indiana Landmarks’ Central Regional Office, 800-450-4534, 317-639-4534, central@indianalandmarks.org.