What's New - Encyclopedia of Indianapolis

There’s always something new and exciting happening in Indianapolis! The Encyclopedia is always growing, too. Explore the latest featured content.

Featured Articles

ArtMix

ArtMix is an Indianapolis-based not-for-profit organization that works to transform the lives of people with and without disabilities through the creation of art. The organization started as an annual arts festival in 1980, during a time when adaptive arts programs for people with disabilities were rare in Indiana. Since then, the organization has evolved to provide five core programs: Artists in Residence, Community Classes, the Lolly Project, Entrepreneur Artisans, and Urban Artisans. With these programs and additional special projects, ArtMix provides arts education and vocational arts employment to more than… Read More »ArtMix

Shirley’s One Way

Shirley’s Place was a bar and restaurant in the neighborhood of Indianapolis from October 1983 to May 1994. At the time, there were substantially fewer lesbian bars in Indianapolis than bars aimed at a gay male clientele. The bar also played a key role in making drag performances more mainstream and exposing its straight clientele to the art form. Transgender people also felt welcome at Shirley’s Place when compared to other alternative lifestyle bars that implemented strict dress codes in Indianapolis at that time. Though Shirley’s Place served both lunch… Read More »Shirley’s One Way

Talbott Street Night Club

The Talbott Street Disco was a popular dance club for Indianapolis’s LGBTQ+ community in the 1980s. Located at 2145 N. Talbott Street in the neighborhood, the club was inside a multi-story 1920s building formerly used as a 1,000-seat silent movie theatre. Though the nightclub changed names and catered to different clientele throughout its existence, it is remembered among former patrons for its expansive, 13,500 square-foot dance floor, varied forms of entertainment, and internationally renowned DJs. Before the Talbott Street Disco opened, the building housed several dinner theaters in the 1960s… Read More »Talbott Street Night Club

The 21 Club

The 21 Club, located on Indianapolis’s Talbott Street, was a 1980s gay bar and nightclub well-known for its oversized dance floor and welcoming ambience for gender non-conforming patrons. Longtime gay bar proprietor Paul Eckert operated The 21 Club from 1983 to 1989. Previously, Eckert and business partners John Martin and Donald Martinelli had operated another gay bar, Deja Vu, from 1973 to 1975. Eckert and Martin then went on to open a prominent LGBTQ+ nightclub called Johnny’s Place, located in a building they co-owned in the neighborhood, which lasted from… Read More »The 21 Club

The Famous Door

The Famous Door was a popular Indianapolis entertainment venue that inspired future LGBTQ+ bars and clubs in the city by bringing the city’s drag scene to widening audiences and communities. The club provided an upscale environment and high-end performances, and, unlike many of its peer businesses of the era, it catered to a clientele that was diverse in terms of race, gender, and sexual orientation. The venue used the same name as an earlier Indianapolis business that “Maurice Britches” Brown, Forest McBain, and Ernest “Rip” Brown owned on , though… Read More »The Famous Door