calleft.blogg.se

Its history is intertwined with the housing and educational opportunities for Black families in Indianapolis.Īs part of the New Deal, in 1934, the United States government approved the development of local complexes built explicitly to provide quality housing for low income citizens. They were rehabilitated, and 11 new buildings were constructed with 493 total units, 199 of which are in the historic structures.Lockefield Gardens is a rental community located along Indiana Avenue. The 7 remaining original buildings were designated as an official Indianapolis historic district that same year (see Historic Districts). Under this plan, all but seven of the original buildings would be demolished, replaced with new construction, and the remaining original buildings renovated.ĭespite determined opposition from local preservationists and interested citizens, the demolition occurred in 1983. In 1980, as part of a general proposal billed as a revitalization of Indiana Avenue, the neighborhood-based Midtown Economic Development Industrial Corporation (MEDIC), IUPUI, and Wishard Memorial Hospital agreed to a plan to vacate some of the lands the development occupied, primarily for the expansion of the university. Hugh Dillin interpreted the plan as a means of perpetuating residential-and thus educational-segregation. In the 1970s the city attempted to devise a redevelopment program for the complex, but federal Judge S. Units became vacant, and the development fell into general disrepair. With new housing options open to more affluent members of the African American community, and with many residents being excluded from Lockefield by new income restrictions, the development gradually lost residents. Lockefield Gardens maintained this central role until the 1950s when there was national pressure to make housing available to Blacks in what had traditionally been white residential areas. The popularity of the league resulted in the Police Athletic League organizing a tournament there known as the Dust Bowl Tournament which became an annual event, drawing thousands of spectators and creating a venue where African American youth developed athletic skills, sportsmanship, and a strong sense of community.

Known as the dust bowl, the court became a popular after-school spot for young African American basketball players growing up in the apartments. Within two years of opening, a Lockefield Gardens resident established an athletic league at the complex’s cinder and gravel basketball court. The apartment complex formed the heart of the African American community just northwest of Mile Square. Initially, Lockefield was racially segregated, but it offered Black residents a community-oriented place to live. Monthly rents ranged from $20.80 for a three-room apartment to $30.10 for a four-room group house. Opened in February 1938, Lockefield Garden Apartments offered comfortable apartments at a reasonable price.