National Register of Historic Places

Shortridge High School

Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
Listed
September 14, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
83000078

About this property

Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Shortridge is the home of the International Baccalaureate and arts and humanities programs of the Indianapolis Public Schools district (IPS). Originally known as Indianapolis High School, it opened in 1864 and is Indiana's oldest free public high school. New Albany High School (1853) was Indiana's first public high school, but was not initially free. Author Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Shortridge class of 1940, said that Shortridge was: "... my dream of an America with great public schools. I thought we should be the envy of the world with our public schools. And I went to such a public school. So I knew that such a school was possible. Shortridge High School in Indianapolis produced not only me, but the head writer on the I LOVE LUCY show (Madelyn Pugh). And, my God, we had a daily paper, we had a debating team, had a fencing team. We had a chorus, a jazz band, a serious orchestra. And all this with a Great Depression going on. And I wanted everybody to have such a school."

Location

3401 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
39.81912, -86.15545

Categories

EDUCATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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Nearby Historic Sites

Shortridge-Meridian Street Apartments Historic District
Industrial
0.2 mi
Meridian Park Historic District
Listed
0.3 mi
Glossbrenner, Alfred M., Mansion
Industrial
0.4 mi
Beth-El Zedeck Temple
Industrial
0.4 mi
Meier, George Philip, House
Industrial
0.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Shortridge High School listed on the National Register?

Shortridge High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 14, 1983.

What type of historic resource is Shortridge High School?

Shortridge High School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Shortridge High School?

The period of significance for Shortridge High School is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Shortridge High School?

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