The 1910s to the 1950s was a significant “Golden Era” period of development for the Fountain Square and Fletcher Place neighborhoods. This thriving, working class community continued to develop, with the population of the general area peaking at over 27,000 residents by 1950. The neighborhood was densely populated with both wood-sided and brick dwellings, many individual homes and some duplexes. Demand for housing led to some apartment construction as well. Apartment buildings began to pop up – like the L’Avon (615 S College Avenue), the Ada (549 Fletcher Avenue), the B&B (522 Fletcher Avenue), and the Pinex (808 Fletcher Avenue). 

Other significant changes to the architecture of the neighborhood included the construction of multiple movie theaters and larger commercial, retail, and manufacturing businesses to serve the residents of our community. This frenzy of development and success was expressed in the 1915 May Day Celebration South Side Bulletin: “A stranger in the city now naturally turns north. We want a chance to have him turn south as frequently as he does north. We have here as beautiful building property as any section…” 

Fountain Square was unique in that it contained many movie theaters. According to the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Plan, Fountain Square had more theaters than any other part of the City in the first half of the twentieth century, including: the first Fountain Square Theatre in 1909 (1058 Virginia Avenue), the Airdome/Green/Bair Theatre from 1910-1930s (1044-1046 Virginia Avenue), the Fountain Airdome/Sanders Theatre from 1912-1952 (1106 Prospect Street), the second Fountain Square Theatre from 1928-1960 (1105-1115 Shelby Street), and  the Granada Theatre from 1928-1991 (1045 Virginia Avenue). 

Besides theaters, businesses continued to grow and thrive in the area. Important developments included: the Fountain Block (1902), the Wheeler-Schebler Carburetor Co. Factory (1911-1914), the Woessner Building (1915), the Virginia Avenue State Bank (1924), the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 465 (1924), the Olivet Baptist Church (1927), Fountain Square Theater Building (1927-1928), the new St. Patrick’s Church (1929), and the merging of the Granada Theater and Schreiber Block to create what we know today as the Murphy Building in 1951. 

Fountain Square had developed into quite the shopping and commerce center. Whether you were shopping for bicycles, automobiles, hardware, hats, shoes, jewelry, furniture, coffee, or meat, or looking for the service of a druggist, plumber, undertaker, contractor, florist, or banker, many of the community’s business needs could be met within the district. 

While the community’s Golden Era did not last forever, the success and optimism was captured well in the 1915 South Side Bulletin: “Stop for an instant and think-when you turn your mind from Washington Street corners, where can you find as much business activity as in Fountain Square? Then the business centers on Virginia Avenue and Meridian Street are growing amazingly…” But things would soon change in the middle of the twentieth century.