Moveable Feast: Give to Grow, Grow to Give

Getting fresh produce into the hands of people who live in what we today refer to as "food deserts," apparently isn't a new problem. These drawings made in 1920 by Indianapolis architect Edward Pierre for Servu Stores Corporation show how he designed for the problems intrinsic to a travelling grocery store: sloped shelving that can be moved, cold storage, aisles for shopping, and a place for the cash register. It's not known if these vehicles ever hit the streets in 1920, but ones like it today are experiencing tremendous success.

An example of a modern-day version of Pierre's motor market is Chicago's Fresh Moves, which began in 2011. With a donated Chicago Transit Authority bus and design assistance from Architecture for Humanity, the Fresh Moves grocery store on wheels brings healthy food into local communities that need it.

To see the above drawing as well as plans for the motor market transportation routes in Indiana, visit our online Pierre & Wright Collection.



Image: Details of Motor Market for Servu Stores Corporation, 1920. Pierre & Wright Architectural Records, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Delaware County Transportation Study Available in the Archive

A recent article in The Muncie Star Press entitled, "Is Muncie finally ready to take pride in McGalliard?" highlights the numerous recommendations for improvement to SR 332 / McGalliard Road, a main artery into Muncie, that have been made by Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning since the college began in the 1960s.

One particular study cited in the article, The Gateways of Delaware County: A Study of the Major Vehicular Routes of Delaware County and Muncie, Indiana published in 1991, assessed the cluttered and undefined state of SR 332 / McGalliard Road and offered suggestions to improve circulation and create a sense of place.

The Gateways of Delaware County study is available for research in the Drawings and Documents Archive, located in the College of Architecture and Planning.

Images: The Gateways of Delaware County: A Study of the Major Vehicular Routes of Delaware County and Muncie, Indiana, 1991. College of Architecture and Planning Collection, Drawings and Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Mass transit in Indiana, 100 years ago

The Interurban network in Indiana had a profound impact on towns and cities, as well as architecture during the first thirty years of the twentieth century. What was the Interurban? The Interurban was a series of electrically-powered railcars that had their own rail lines and traversed the entire state, from South Bend to Evansville and Richmond to Terre Haute. The term “interurban” was coined by a Hoosier native named Charles L. Henry. Henry, born in Pendleton, Indiana, was a lawyer, businessman, and politician. While attending the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, he saw the electric streetcars transporting people between the fairgrounds and the city and thought why not use this same technique to transport people and freight between towns and cities.

In 1898, Henry established the first Interurban company in Indiana, which operated an Interurban line from Anderson to Alexandria. This company, the Union Traction Company of Indiana, was the first of dozens of Interurban companies that would be created during the early twentieth century. Over time, the Interurban was replaced with bus routes and the automobile. The last Interurban line that still exists is in Indiana is the South Shore Line, which runs from South Bend to downtown Chicago.

The Interurban fueled the population growth and development of new residential neighborhood in towns and cities throughout the state. The Interurban companies built multiple office buildings, depots, and warehouses. Regrettably, many of these historic structures have been demolished, including the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. The Indianapolis Traction Terminal was purported to be the largest Interurban station in the entire United States. It was located on the northwest corner of Market and Illinois Streets in downtown Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Traction Terminal was designed by Daniel Burnham and constructed in 1904. The terminal featured a large train shed constructed of steel and a nine-story office tower that contained a large station and various shops in the first floor and office space for various Interurban companies in the upper floors. The terminal was built to be the central hub where all of the Interurban lines that traveled through Indianapolis would use. Thousands of people traveled through the terminal each year. For example, in 1918, over seven million passengers traveled through the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. The train shed was demolished in 1968 and the office tower was razed in 1972.

Today, the site of the former Indianapolis Traction Terminal is home to the Indianapolis Hilton Hotel. This fine example of Interurban related architecture has been lost to history, but lives on in historic photographs and postcards, such as the one above.

Submitted by Ryan Shrack, graduate assistant in Historic Preservation

Image: Traction Terminal Building, Indianapolis, Ind., color postcard. Part of the Drawings + Documents Archive's postcard collection.

Connecting the Corridor: Indianapolis to Noblesville Light Rail Exhibit

If you travel from Hamilton County to Indianapolis on a regular basis you know there's a real need for effective public transportation to connect the Northeast corridor. The combined effects of increased fuel costs, congested roads, and concern for the environment have created a climate ripe for innovative solutions to the problem of getting from point A to point B as painlessly as possible. A proposed light rail line, installed on existing Nickel Plate Railroad track, would help alleviate the traffic congestion and provide commuters a more environmentally friendly choice for getting to work.

Federal funding may actually make this a possibility in the near future and it is no surprise that Ball State students and professors have been involved during the planning process. Students in Professor Harry Eggink's graduate architecture class and Professor Scott Truex's urban planning class spent the semester envisioning the northeast side of Indianapolis after a proposed light rail line is up and running. The line would run from 146th Street in Noblesville to South Street in downtown Indianapolis along the existing Nickel Plate rail line.

You can see their work in a new exhibit, Next Generation Neighborhoods: Investing in Transit, on display at the Ball State Indianapolis Center through August 21st. The public is welcome to stop by the Center at for this free exhibit. The Center is located at 50 S. Meridian Street, suite 302 and is open from 8-4.

CIRTA (Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority) http://www.cirta.us/ and the Ball State College of Architecture and Planning www.bsu.edu/cap/ teamed up to create the exhibit. Approximately 20 display boards showcase transit history and depict new employment hubs, the revitalization of urban neighborhoods and specific station stops as well as the challenges of opportunities of each of those stops.

"The exhibit is meant to help us see the possibilities," said Ehren Bingaman, executive director of CIRTA. "A lot of people have been talking about the possibilities, but when you get a chance to 'see' what a transit stop at 22nd Street or 116th Street could look like and how it could affect a neighborhood, it takes the vision to a whole new level."

"Projects like this reflect the impact Ball State students are having on Indiana's economy," said Ball State President Jo Ann M. Gora. "These initiatives are tangible, practical and, simply put, are helping Hoosier companies and communities move forward. And from an academic perspective, our students are receiving an education grounded in immersive learning experiences that cannot be duplicated anywhere else."

The idea of light rail in Indiana may seem really revolutionary to some but probably not to anyone over the age of 65 or historians. Those who remember the interurban or have researched it will tell you that Indiana used to have a highly effective public transportation network that connected neighborhoods within Indianapolis and small towns and large cities throughout the state from approximately 1900-1941. For more information on the rich history of interurbans, contact the Indiana Historical Society at http://www.indianahistory.org/. Here are a few images from their collection:
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