Physical Modifications to History Center Make Indiana Experience Possible

Indianapolis—As the Indiana Historical Society developed programmatic elements of the Indiana Experience, it also prepared plans for physical modifications to the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center that would maximize the new visitor experience. The History Center is located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.

Returning visitors to the History Center will be welcomed into a spacious lobby area with a new welcome desk/box office at the center of the space, which was made possible by filling in the area that served as a mezzanine for the café on the lower level. A new enclosed coat room has been added in Lacy Gallery, just west of the Frank and Katrina Basile Theater. The architectural changes made to the theater mezzanine have in turn created a new location for the Basile History Market, which will be located across from the theater.

The new “roof” for the Stardust Terrace Café, created by the flooring addition, offered the opportunity to reinvent that space, which resembles a Victorian streetscape. Additional space for dining or private rentals is also made available through the remodeled multipurpose room adjacent to café seating. Hoaglin To Go will continue to operate the café, offering its signature sandwiches, soups and snacks. During the warmer weather months, patrons can still enjoy lunch along the Central Canal at a table on the Kruse Family Stardust Terrace.

With the Basile History Market moved to its new location, the spaces occupied by the History Market and staff lounge were remodeled into one space that now houses Destination Indiana, a facilitated, interactive opportunity for visitors to “travel through time” using innovative digital technology, touch screens and immersive displays of historic images and documents to explore and understand the story of Indiana as a place.

The Rapp Family Exhibitions Gallery, still located on the first floor, will host two You Are There experiences: three-dimensionally recreated historic photographs that include trained first-person interpreters who interact with visitors and elicit personal connections to the past, allowing visitors to step back in time and become part of that history. Some office space at the west end of the building on the second floor has been renovated to create room for a third You Are There.

The Cole Porter Room, as well as the Rapp Gallery and Destination Indiana spaces, has been fitted with new glass doors to provide a welcoming and open atmosphere for guests. The Cole Porter Room has also been redesigned to evoke the feeling of the Waldorf Astoria, the hotel where one of Indiana’s most famous musicians lived the later years of his life. The most stunning addition to the room is the Yamaha digital player piano, which will partner with first-person interpreters to make Porter’s music come alive for visitors.

Following the 2008 pilot of the Indiana Experience, the Fortune History Lab received some updates but is still hands-on demonstration lab that allows visitors to learn and participate in conservation and preservation activities. Within that space and around Eli Lilly Hall’s mezzanine level, INvestigation Stations provide a series of activity areas for visitors to engage in the process of “doing” history as they learn how to analyze historic documents, research their family tree, search for clues in historic photographs and explore careers in history.

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.

Regular operating hours for the Indiana Experience and the William H. Smith Memorial Library are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Basile History Market is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the Stardust Terrace Café is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

IHS members and children younger than five receive free admission to the Indiana Experience. Regular admission cost is $7 for adults, $6.50 for seniors (60 and older) and $5 per child (ages five to 17). Group rates for adults, seniors and students are available. Admission to the William H. Smith Memorial Library, Basile History Market and Stardust Terrace Café is free.

Parking is complimentary for members visiting the History Center, with paid admission to the Indiana Experience, for patrons of the William H. Smith Memorial Library and/or with a $7 purchase at the Stardust Terrace Café or Basile History Market.

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. 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.

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To receive an electronic copy of this press release, more information and/or images, or to schedule an interview, please contact Amy Lamb, Media Relations Manager, at (317) 232-1878 or alamb@indianahistory.org.

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