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Better Babies Contest at the Indiana State Fair

The Better Babies Contest, a competition for Indiana infants, was one of the most popular and controversial attractions at the from its 1920 inception through 1932. The annual event was the centerpiece of campaign to eliminate childhood disabilities and produce “better” future citizens in the state of Indiana. As director of the Indiana Board of Health’s Division of Infant and Child Hygiene, Schweitzer used the contest to champion the concept of “scientific motherhood,” or mothering guided by scientific expertise and medical advice. She also used the contest to advance the… Read More »Better Babies Contest at the Indiana State Fair

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Indianapolis

Día de los Muertos, a Mexican cultural holiday occurring on November 2, has been marked in Indianapolis through institutional events since the late 1980s. Organizations participating in such local festivities have sought to bring Mexican and Mexican American cultural expressions to wider Indianapolis audiences while providing participants a sense of civic belonging. As celebrated in Indianapolis, Día de los Muertos incorporates traditions used to mark the holiday in Mexico. The holiday traces its origins to Mesoamerican Aztec, Mayan, and Tolec commemorations marking the lives, memories, and afterlife of deceased community… Read More »Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Indianapolis

Feliciano “Félix” Espinoza

Feliciano “Félix” Espinoza was a merchant and civic leader in Indianapolis. In 1960, he opened what was possibly the city’s first Mexican grocery store, El Nopal Mexican Market. His political activism helped marshal the local Latino community’s support for Indianapolis mayoral candidate in 1967. Later, in 1969, he and other area Latinos organized the Hispano-American Association with the help of Mayor Lugar and his staff. Espinoza remained civically active throughout his life, co-founding the Hispano-American Multiservice Center in 1971 and hosting a Spanish-language radio show, La Voz Latina, on WIAN-FM… Read More »Feliciano “Félix” Espinoza

Julietta Hospital

Julietta Hospital, also known as the Marion County Asylum for the Incurable Insane at Julietta, was a medical facility that opened in 1900 in order to house and treat patients with mental illness. Julietta’s creation provided a separate, county-administered facility for patients whose illnesses were deemed to be severe and irreversible. This allowed for their segregation from the poor, elderly, and other financially dependent groups housed at the county’s general poorhouse, the , located at 21st Street and Tibbs Avenue. In fewer than forty years, problems with the hospital led… Read More »Julietta Hospital

The Congregations of 312–314 Bright Street

For more than 105 years, the building at 312–314 Bright Street was home successively to three different Baptist congregations in Indianapolis: first the Garden Baptist Church, then Friendship Baptist Church, and finally Western Star Baptist Church (see ). Over its lifetime, the building was also used as a distribution hub for religious material, a venue for burgeoning musicians, and a hub for women’s social activities. eventually acquired the property, razing the church structure in 1976. The first occupants of 312–314 Bright Street were the congregants of the Garden Baptist Church.… Read More »The Congregations of 312–314 Bright Street