The newest book from the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) Press, “An Unusual Urban History of Indianapolis” by Connie J. Zeigler, details the unsung, underappreciated or lost-to-memory people, places and culture of the Hoosier state’s capital city.
Throughout the book, Zeigler takes columns that appeared monthly in the Indianapolis Urban Times newspaper between November 2007 and October 2016 to profile individuals, city neighborhoods, historic events and more to showcase how these all marked our community’s past, present and future.
People profiled include, among others, The New Yorker columnist Janet Flanner, designer Norman Norell, editor Margaret Anderson, singer Flo Garvin and architect Leslie Ayres. Indy neighborhoods such as Emerson Heights and the Grandview Addition, as well as individual homes such as Tuckaway and the multifamily developments of Lockefield Gardens, Riley Towers and Marcy Village are also featured. The city’s story is also told through the history of public buildings, including the Indiana Statehouse, Old City Hall and the Marion County Courthouse.
In addition, readers of this book will learn about the city’s restaurants, how the New Deal shaped the urban environment, battles between the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of Columbus, the effect of the influenza pandemic, how the holidays were celebrated and much more.
“An Unusual Urban History of Indianapolis” is available through IHS’s Basile History Market for individual, school or library orders. To order wholesale, contact Becke Bolinger at 317-234-3683 or bbolinger@indianahistory.org.
For more information about the book or the IHS Press, call 317-232-1882 or visit www.indianahistory.org.
About the Author
Connie J. Zeigler is an architecture and design historian who had been working in Indianapolis for more than 20 years prior to a recent move to Rhode Island. She has taught about the history of design at Purdue University, writes a monthly history column for an Indianapolis newspaper, and has been hired by a graphic design firm to write at least one design-related publication each year for the last eleven years. She has been interviewed by several publications including Curbed and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Connie has a master’s degree from Indiana University.
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Title: An Unusual Urban History of Indianapolis: The Unsung, Underappreciated, or Lost-to-Memory People, Places and Culture of the Capital City
Publisher: Indiana Historical Society Press
Pages: 272
Size: 6×9
Cover: Paperback
Publication Date: Aug. 19, 2024
Cost: $24.95
Print ISBN: 978-0-87195-452-7