Towns and Nature: Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis Traction Terminal

(Satellite, the office building fronted Illinois, and it used the whole block from Market to Ohio.)

It was an interurban depot from 1904-37 and a bus terminal from 1937-68. [1:11:24 video @ 6:31] Last interurban cars using it was in 1940-41 [11:40].

IndianaMemory-ca1915
"View of the Traction Terminal Building and shed full of interurban cars on the northwest corner of Illinois and Market Streets."

IndianaMemory
The building was demolished in 1972.

IndianaMemory-1921
View looking north from W. Market Street into the Traction Terminal Shed with nine tracks and multiple interurban cars. The Traction Terminal Building is to the right.
A 1911 view of the trainshed

safe_image for 1/3/2023...The Rise and Fall of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal (ITT) 1904-37 by Roger Robison MD
The latest program for the MONROE COUNTY HISTORY CLUB has now been uploaded to YouTube for those to view who were not able to attend the live program on Jan 3, 2023. Roger Robison MD gives a presentation titled THE RISE & FALL OF THE INDIANAPOLIS TRACTION TERMINAL (ITT) 1904-37. And FDR VS SAM INSULL & WENDELL WILKIE. The Indianapolis Traction Terminal was built by five Traction companies and was the world’s largest electric inter-urban center. Twelve lines merged into nine tracks entering the Terminal. In 1918 the ITT serviced 7.5 million passengers via 500 trains per day. Following the stock market crash of 1929 these Traction lines went bankrupt as did 90% of electric inter-urbans. Dr Robison describes in detail with words and images the rise and ultimate demise of this impactful transportation system.
[The talk begins at 6:00.]

IRM Strahorn Library posted

"Traction Terminal Building, Indianapolis, Ind."

Illinois Railway Museum Strahorn Library Postcard Collection.

The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals, and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of the United States.

The Strahorn Library is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois. It is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays, and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail (strahorn@irm.org), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary).

All materials are available for non-commercial purposes and according to the “fair use” provision of the U.S. Copyright Law, which permits the use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

1:11:24 video @ 12:26

Five companies ran 12 lines into Indy.

@ 17:38

@ 22:18

I quit watching the video around 41 minutes.

During its bus station days.

Photo courtesy Indiana Historical Society, Bass Photo Collection via HistoricIndianapolis

Two photos from many in the IndyStar.

a
Sectional view of the traction freight terminal at Ohio and Capitol Avenue. Nov 30, 1925. Indinaapolis News photo INDIANAPOLIS NEWS PHOTO

This is another example of demolition with a clamshell bucket.

b
The Traction Terminal Building was demolished in April 1972. Once home to interurban offices, a barbershop, various professional offices a drug store and the like, it eventually came into disrepair. BOE DOEPPERS/THE NEWS

Phil Beeson posted five images with the comment:

I recently discovered the missing pieces I have been seeking that show the full trolley network that I have been fascinated by for a long time. It's bewildering to see how comprehensive it was and to think that this doesn't still exist, even in a small capacity like many other cities have done.
🚂 When Indianapolis Was the Electric Rail Capital of America
Before the rise of the automobile, Indianapolis was home to what was once the largest interurban trolley network in the world. The Indianapolis Traction Terminal, located right across from the Statehouse in downtown Indianapolis, was the heart of this massive system.
At its peak around 1915, over 500 trolleys a day came and went from the terminal. This system linked the city not just to its own neighborhoods but to regional hubs like Louisville, Fort Wayne, Muncie, Chicago, and beyond.
From Mule to Electric: The city's public transit journey began even earlier. The very first public transit in Indianapolis was a 12 seat, mule drawn trolley that started running in 1864. This system underwent a major transformation, with the first electric trolley introduced in June 1890. By 1894, the last of the mule drawn lines were replaced, establishing the high tech, electrified trolley network that would soon become world renowned.
The attached maps show just how deeply connected the region was:
The Regional Network: The "Union Traction Co." map shows the vast interurban trolley lines radiating from Indianapolis, connecting nearly every corner of Indiana and linking to systems in Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky.
The Suburban Lines: The "Arion County Suburban electric railways" map details the trolley lines that pushed into the surrounding counties, with spurs to places like Crawfordsville, Lafayette, Connersville, and Columbus.
The City Trolleys: The "Indianapolis City streetcars" map reveals the intricate web of local trolley lines that wove through every neighborhood within the city limits.
The Local Stops: As the close up maps show, you could hop on a trolley at neighborhood stops in Wanamaker, Southport, or Beech Grove. The Beech Grove line, for instance, had stops that ran all the way down its Main St to 1st Ave (now Emerson Ave). On a personal note, my Great Grandfather John Beeson was a Motorman/driver on the trolley line down Main St in Beech Grove. A perfect example of the system's legacy is the blue line (Indianapolis Columbus & Southern) which ran right down Madison Avenue. This line ran on a regular hourly schedule, and the local trolleys would stop at all the designated rural crossings. The designated stops - Stop 10, Stop 11, Stop 12, and Stop 13 (the county line) - became so ingrained that they remain the names for the cross streets in that area today.
The End of an Era
This incredible trolley system's dominance was short-lived. By the late 1920s, the growing popularity of cars, trucks, and buses began to take over.
The last interurban trolley rolled out of Indianapolis in 1941, and the magnificent Traction Terminal was demolished in 1968. Today, IndyGo carries on the public transit legacy, but it is remarkable to remember when Indianapolis was truly the electric trolley capital of America.
Source: Information & maps for this post were compiled from various places through Google, Indiana State Library, fiftythreestudio & City of Indianapolis sources, with the assistance of AI.

David Welsh: I am an admin for the Historic Village Of Acton page and have done some research as the interurban originally ran down what is now Swails Street through Acton.

An interesting note is the interurban brought electricity to Acton before lines were ran to homes. The only issue is the power was cut after the last car ran until the following day. One person even said his grandparents on Acton Rd would lose power at 9:30 PM and it would not come back in until 6:00 AM the next morning.

The Franklin Township Historical Society at 6510 S. Franklin Rd, has a section of the original interurban on display outside.

John Jones: David Welsh ah, the same down here in Saint Paul. When the last car got to Greensburg they shut the power off till the first car ran in the morning. Dc. power originally then it was converted to AC around 1924

The public service commission (iurc ) passed a ruling that you couldn't be a power company and a transit company 1928? That is why a lot of the old right of ways are owned by the power company's today.

Glenn Carter: At one time, Indianapolis had the world's largest public transit system.