In 1924, the Odd Fellows organization built Indianapolis Lodge No. 465. Fifty years prior, this fraternal lodge was born when the order was granted a charter on September 24, 1874. The Lodge No. 465’s first home was at Moh’s Hall, where the Fountain Square Theater Building is located today. In 1887, the Lodge moved to 822-824 Virginia Ave – a building now lost to the interstate. With a membership of nearly 1,200, the Lodge needed a bigger space. And in 1924, architect Donald Graham designed a large, tan brick building trimmed in limestone, containing a large assembly room and lodge room. Graham, an accomplished architect, also designed the Crane Naval Ammunition Depot, the Rivoli Theater, and the Granada Theater. During the 1924 cornerstone ceremony, a copper box containing historical records of the lodge was placed in a cornerstone block. 

Just a few years later, the Second Reformed Church moved into the building. In 1972, the City of Indianapolis’ neighborhood program established Southeast Community Services, or the Southeast Multi-Service Center, and relocated into the space. The center offered a variety of services, including health care, technology classes, senior fitness activities, counseling, social services, addiction counseling, and unemployment assistance. The SCS continues to expand its community services today at this site, and is now also the home of the Fountain Square Presbyterian Church. 

One of the biggest supporters of Southeast Community Services was Sam Masarachia, a former steel worker and union organizer. After his retirement from the United Steel Workers of America in 1968, he began volunteering in Fountain Square, his neighborhood since 1923. An Italian immigrant, Masarachia helped establish the senior center which provided seniors with informational speakers, health screenings, exercise, games, field trips, meals, and other activities. He also established a $1.25 million endowment for scholarships at IU-Indianapolis’ School of Liberal Arts for students interested in labor, senior, and community advocacy. Masarachia once said, “The great use of life is to spend it on something that would outlast it.” 

: A sanborn map addition, or paste-up of changes, of the 1924 Second Reformed Church.
Credit: 1915 Sanborn Map, MapIndy, City of Indianapolis,

The church interior, now used as a community meeting space.
Credit: Second Reformed Church, interior, 1930, Bass Photo Co Collection, Indiana Historical Society, 1930.

Exterior of the health center during renovation; note the historic Italianate house where the parking lot entrance is today.
Credit: Southeast Health Center, ca. 1972, The Indianapolis Foundation Records, IUPUI University Library, 1972.

A portrait of Sam Masarachia.
Credit: Via IUPUI via Rob Schneider, “Donor Leaves Legacy of Championing Justice,” Indianapolis Star, November 17, 2004.