Indiana Historical Society

🏛️ The main ticket attractions are various exhibits, which each cycle into new exhibits like every 6 to 18 months. When I visited, there were: * An exhibit on Interurban Railways, focused on passenger rail in the first half of the 20th century; which radiated outwards from Indianapolis to the rest of the state, much like spokes on a wheel. * An exhibit on Hoosier involvement in the Vietnam War. * An exhibit on the most active era of the Ku Klux Klan in the state, with Notre Dame partly responsible for the exhibit. * A Cole Porter exhibit featuring an overview of his music, with a singer performing live. * On the 4th Floor, there was a great deal of information painted on the walls, about the former Indiana utopian community of New Harmony founded by Robert Owen. 📚 The William Henry Smith Memorial Library is free and open to the public. The books are mostly reference works focused on Indiana. There are also some computers to use. 🥼 A history lab is perhaps most directed at students in middle school. It's intended to show some working knowledge of the care used in preserving historical documents and artifacts. 🚻🚰 The building has plentiful well-maintained restrooms. Drinking and water bottle fountains are also around. There are also some lockers in the closet room. 🛍️ The Basile Market is a gift shop, with a focus on items related to Indiana. 🎭☕ There's also the Basile Theatre, the Stardust Terrace Cafe-Restaurant, classrooms, and other rooms.

This was a wonderful place to visit, especially during the festival of trees! Every year they put out Christmas trees on display. Every company or organization decorate a tree with a theme of their choosing. This was a great, relaxing date night! I would highly recommend going as a date. We plan to go back each year.

Went here for first time to hear an early music (circa 1600s) concert, it was fantastic! The venue was well built and comfortable and the acoustics were great! Ive already been back twice to hear more concerts and plan to go regularly.

Beautiful halls and welcoming staff! We came here for the Festival of Trees and were amazed by the beauty and effort put into this display. We had a lot of fun! We also love the woodpecker ornament.

Saw the exibit Freedom's Framework and the Interurban Railway. If you love history and geeking out on it - this place is for you. I learned a lot. Had no idea how extensive the interurban railway was - so sad it's gone. Loved having lunch by the canal.

I don't go to Indianapolis often. The Indiana Historical Society is in an interesting location. It's close to Indiana Avenue, and it's right next to the canal. There is a free parking lot. During the winter season, they have an awesome Christmas tree selection and you can vote for your favorite tree. Personally, my favorite one is the Pacers themed tree. They have a bookstore about the history of Indiana, and with scheduled appointments they have an impressive amount of archives regarding the local history of the state. My favorite part about visiting this place (I've been here twice now) is the exhibits taking place. There is a show about Interurban Indiana and its history of local transport. Next is Resist! I was really moved by the brave people and college students of Notre dame that stood up against the KKK. I didn't see this last exhibit, but I think the topic is about Vietnam. The ambience of the place (from my experience) is... warm. When I walk through the main lobby, I feel like I'm stepping back into history isolated in this white space. The people that work here are nice and accommodating- like, really accommodating. Regardless of whether you are new to Indianapolis or you come by here occasionally, this is a good spot to learn about Indiana history. There's not only the historical society but you are close to a historical landmark, Indiana avenue. If you walk a bit from the museum, you will get a good view of CJ Walker Theatre, the Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Indiana Avenue jazz musician mural.

Festival of Trees was amazing! Highly recommend, beautiful and exciting way to support your community and see some beautiful holiday decor.

My wife and I visited here on January 3rd. We didn’t know it was the last day of the Festival of Trees, but that made for a pleasant surprise as we toured the building and saw all the different trees. Along the way, we also learned about the Interurban train line, Hoosiers in the Vietnam War, and Hoosiers who resisted the Klan through the exhibits on display. We had a lovely time touring the museum and enjoying both the architecture and the history. Unfortunately, we encountered a great deal of trouble when we went to leave. The person leaving who was two cars ahead of us got their credit card jammed in the gate. It appears that their card paid for the next person in line, but then the reader stopped accepting tickets. The mechanism rejected my parking ticket and required me to pay $25 for a "lost ticket" fee in order to leave. There was already a line of cars trying to get out and the woman whose credit card was jammed was standing in the way of the machine. I walked back into the museum and spoke to someone at the ticket booth who took down my information as well as the ticket and receipt, but this all runs contrary to the museum’s promise on their website that they offer free parking. I’ve tried numerous times to contact the museum for a refund. I was even assured on January 6th that one was forthcoming, but the museum never processed it and will no longer respond to me. I am an ardent supporter of museums and of studying history, but the Indiana Historical Society’s unwillingness to correct the errors of their own infrastructure – errors that line their pockets – do a disservice to the passionate work of the docents who presented the history within the building itself.