North Meridian Street Historic District 

The North Meridian Street Corridor is a historic residential district located between 40th  Street and Westfield Boulevard. 

Once an area of orchards and dairy farms, Meridian Street north of 38th  Street was platted as early as the 1890s, yet intensive development did not begin until the 1920s. Over half of the district’s 173 homes were built in the period between 1910 and 1930. Though the Great Depression and World War II slowed construction, additional residences were built between 1945 and 1966 on remaining lots. Most homes were individually designed and built by speculators familiar with buyers’ tastes and requirements. Despite a variety of architectural styles, the street has a generally cohesive appearance thanks to deep setbacks, large lots, and carefully designed landscaping.

Meridian Street south of 16th  Street had been the address of choice for Indianapolis’ socially prominent families in the 1880s and 1890s, and this cachet extended to North Meridian Street as the new suburb developed. Many leading citizens lived in this area, including professionals, bankers, and corporate executives. The district’s best-known resident, however, was author Booth Tarkington, who lived at 4270 North Meridian Street from 1923 to 1947. Near Tarkington’s property, two different North Meridian homes, 4343 (1947-1971) and 4750 (1975-present), have served as the Indiana Governor’s Residence.

When commercialization threatened 40th  Street homes in the 1960s, residents established the Meridian Street Foundation to preserve the neighborhood. Protection was assured with the formation of the Meridian Street Preservation Commission in 1971 and the district’s 1986 inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.