Downtown Indy, Here We Come!

We hoped for character, plenty of natural light, a high walkability factor, and simplicity. I think we got it. It's a two-story, red brick school house—the Horace Mann #13 Indianapolis Public School built in 1873.

I think every time I enter the double-door entrance, I'll wonder about the teachers and students that stepped into this school for almost 100 years, until its final year of classes in 1970. I'll wonder what grades were taught in our #4 condo unit, and what the rooms were really like back then. What did they have for desks when school began in the fall of 1873? How exciting to begin classes in a brand new school. I can just imagine the teachers in their long dresses, hair up in a bun, and the girls in their pinafores, and boys in knickers.

Named after politician and editor, Horace Mann (1796—1859), the school sits on the former property of Calvin Fletcher's farm land, thus the name of this endearing Indy neighborhood, "Fletcher Place." With only days away from our move-in date, we couldn't be more eager and excited to settle in to our new home and community.

Fourteen-foot ceilings with 12-foot high windows gives the character we hoped for, not to mention a few exposed brick wall spaces and a built-in, glassed-doored hutch made from what some think was a dumbwaiter to lower or raise food to the individual classrooms. Our entrance door looks like it could have been an original with its frosted window pane and transom window above the door.

Indy's city circle, with its grand monument and fountain, is less than a mile away. The newly built Cultural Trail takes in seven miles of the city and was created for biking, running, and walking, with designated sides for whichever mode you prefer. It's as close as a couple blocks, and I'm planning to do all three, learning my way around the city. A Thai restaurant is one block down on the corner, and the Calvin Fletcher Coffee Company is less than a quarter mile away.

And, better than all that, we're less than a mile from Julie, Josh, Kari, Stella, and Leo. I really had resigned myself to the fact that I would probably never live near my kids or grand-kids. Now, here we are, walking distance from each other. We even pass a quaint DQ in Fountain Square on our way to Fletcher Avenue where the kids live. I have a feeling the DQ is going to be a frequent stop this summer.

I'd say the red brick school house in Fletcher Place is going to be a great fit for us.