IHS’s You Are There 1920: Busted! Prohibition Enforced Now Open

Indianapolis—The Indiana Historical Society takes guests back to a headline-making prohibition bust with its latest addition to Indiana Experience, You Are There 1920: Busted! Prohibition Enforced. The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, home of the IHS and its Indiana Experience, is located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.

In the newest element of the Indiana Experience at the History Center, guests visit Indianapolis police headquarters on Dec. 9, 1920, where officers have just returned to unload the still from Indiana’s largest bust to date.

“This project has been in development since the original conception of the You Are There series, based on the fun opportunities for design, storytelling and the visitor experience,” said Eloise Scroggins, IHS director of exhibitions research and development.

The photograph, from the Bass Photo Co. Collection, features bootlegger Roy Taylor’s still from a rural area on the southeast side of Indianapolis – New Bethel, now called Wanamaker.

Guests can enter the patrol barn where officers are displaying their find, get the inside scoop about the raid, learn the fate of the bootleggers, meet members of the temperance movement and more—becoming part of the frenzy surrounding the headline-making arrest.

Guests will encounter several real-life individuals from the time and place, portrayed by historical interpreters. Some of these include: Roy Taylor, the perpetrator who has been apprehended; Lt. Victor Houston, an officer who aided in the raid on the New Bethel still; Emma Baker, one of the original women (and the first black woman) to join the Indianapolis Police Department’s women’s police bureau; Soloman Ralph Lambert, a streetcar conductor turned mounted patrolman; and Clara M. Sears, an ardent supporter of Prohibition and active member of the community.

You Are There 1920: Busted! Prohibition Enforced will be open through Feb. 5, 2012, and is presented by Wine and Spirits Distributors of Indiana and the Indiana Beverage Alliance. The Indiana Rail Road Company is the 2011 official sponsor of the Indiana Historical Society. For more information, call (317) 232-1882 or visit www.indianahistory.org.

About the Indiana Historical Society
Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society has been Indiana’s Storyteller, connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving, interpreting and sharing the state’s history. A private, nonprofit membership organization, IHS maintains the nation’s premier research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest and presents a unique set of visitor exhibitions called the Indiana Experience. IHS also provides support and assistance to local museums and historical groups, publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; and provides youth, adult and family programming. The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, home of the IHS and the Indiana Experience, is located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. Normal operating hours for the History Center and the Indiana Experience are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

About the Indiana Experience
The Indiana Experience brings both the people of the state and visitors from around the world a uniquely Indiana experience. Interactive and high-technology experiences allow the IHS to share the tremendous archival holdings of the IHS, including 1.6 million photographs, in easy and enjoyable ways. For more information, call (317) 232-1882 or visit www.indianahistory.org.

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Images of You Are There 1920: Busted! Prohibition Enforced are available upon request. Photography is allowed in the space upon request—please contact Amy Lamb, IHS Media Relations Manager, at (317) 232-1878 or alamb@indianahistory.org for details.

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