The Wheeler-Schebler Carburetor Company had a factory building constructed on this site to manufacture carburetors for the growing automobile industry. Originally founded in 1907 as the Indianapolis-based company the Schebler Carburetor Co., inventor G.M. Schebler formed a partnership with F.H. Wheeler in 1909. Wheeler invested his money while Schebler provided the technical expertise. The company hired local architect D.A. Bohlen & Son to design a new two-story factory complex in 1911-1914. F.H. Wheeler also became part owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway along with Carl G. Fisher, James Allison, and Arthur C. Newby. With the popularity of the automobile, the company saw success in the sale of millions of carburetors. Wheeler-Schebler supplied carburetors to national companies including Ford and Dodge. 

In 1951, Harper J. Ransburg Corporation purchased the building for their display and painting equipment operations. The Robert L. Hartley Corporation used the space for styrofoam packing processes throughout the 1960s until 1985. In 2000, one of the factory buildings was renovated and adaptively reused as the Wheeler Arts Center, a partnership between Southeast Neighborhood Development and the University of Indianapolis. The building contained work-studios for artists, as well as gallery spaces and a theater. In recent years, the building was renovated again. 

The factory complex is most likely one of the earliest reinforced concrete structures in Indianapolis. The complex consisted of a core making room, moulding room, pattern shop, cleaning and polishing shop, machine shop, soldering area, packing area, and assembly room. By 1931, the factory produced about 700 carburetors daily. 

The Wheeler & Schebler and Langsenkamp-Wheeler complex in 1915. The orange color denotes fireproof construction on the map.
Credit: 1915 Sanborn Map, MapIndy, City of Indianapolis.

The Shelby Street facades of the factory complex, all demolished; note the streetcar lines in the middle of Shelby Street.
Credit: Langsenkamp Wheeler Co., 1930, Bass Photo Co. Collection, Indiana Historical Society, 1930.

An aerial view of the carburetor manufacturing complex.
Credit: “Brass Works and New Carburetor Company Give Jobs to 50 Men Here,” Indianapolis Star, November 1, 1931.

The demolition of part of the factory complex in 1961.
Credit: “Down to Brass Tacks,” Indianapolis News, February 24, 1961.