Riverside High School (formerly Heslar Naval Armory) (Indianapolis, Indiana)

 NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, high school, public school, charter school, 1930s construction

Central Indiana is probably the last place most people would expect to find a naval landmark of international significance. That was exactly the hope in World War II, when Navy generals and admirals—seeking to avoid the constant surveillance on the coasts—gathered regularly at the Heslar Naval Armory in Indianapolis to plan their Atlantic and Pacific campaigns. In spite of its comparative anonymity in the pages of history, the Armory has drawn appreciative local attention since its construction in 1936. With its gleaming white Art Moderne-style exterior, the building seems dropped by mistake on the banks of the White River near 30th Street—something you’d expect to see in Miami Beach, not Indianapolis.

Heslar, which had been sitting vacant since 2015, was renovated to house a high school. Riverside High School opened in 2017.

www.riversidehighschool.org