James E. Roberts School Flats (Indianapolis, Indiana) | Streamline Moderne (architecture), NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, apartment building, 1930s construction

 Streamline Moderne (architecture), NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, apartment building, 1930s construction

www.indianalandmarks.org/2017/01/new-use-slated-former-...

The unusual Art Moderne design of James E. Roberts School #97 matches its unique early function as a state-of-the-art facility for educating physically handicapped students. Named for a philanthropist who made substantial gifts to aid handicapped residents of the city, the 1936 school includes ramps for wheelchair users as well as stairs and an elevator. In addition to the standard classrooms, the building once held areas dedicated to occupational and physical therapy, hydrotherapy, medical facilities, and a sun deck. Showing the city’s early commitment to the education of people with disabilities, the school is viewed by many as a civil rights landmark. The two-toned brick building occupies an important corner on the northern edge of the National Register-listed Arsenal Technical High School campus, between the historic Cottage Home, Windsor Park, and Woodruff Place neighborhoods.

The threat: Indianapolis Public Schools’ (IPS) claims the building is structurally unstable and plans to demolish School #97 for a parking lot and expanded playground for an adjacent, non-historic middle school. Demolition of the unusually hip-looking Art Moderne structure would create a void on a corner that touches four landmark areas. Most important, School #97’s loss would diminish the city as a whole by removing a positive civil rights landmark. The threat escalated after the 2005-06 academic year, when IPS closed the middle school that had occupied School #97. The landmark is now vacant.

Progress in the past year: The NESCO History & Preservation Committee received a matching grant from Historic Landmarks for a professional assessment of the building’s condition and cost of repair. IPS allowed access to the school by James Kienle & Associates, the firm hired to complete the study, which will be available in February (2007). Residents and organizations in the surrounding neighborhoods, alumni, and people with disabilities have signed petitions.

In 2017, Indianapolis-based Core Redevelopment announced plans to renovate the school into 30 market rate apartments. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 3, 2021.