Apr 5, 2024
From a massive former factory on the eastside of Indianapolis that's been repurposed into two charter schools to a 1950s-style diner in Plainfield and a former Masonic Temple in Greenfield, sites along U.S. 40 in Indiana will be in Hoosier History Live's spotlight. We also will explore a bygone barbershop that was owned by a formerly enslaved African American entrepreneur as well as two early automobile manufacturing plants , one of which is set to become a music venue.
Stretching from Richmond to Terre Haute, U.S. 40 bisects the state and follows the route of the National Road, which was completed across the Indiana wilderness during the 1830s. Its designation as U.S. 40 came in the 1920s. That's also when P.R. Mallory opened a massive factory on the highway (which enters Indianapolis as East Washington Street) that eventually employed thousands of Hoosiers who made electronic components and dry cell batteries. After sitting vacant and decaying for more than 30 years, the plant (the birthplace of the Duracell battery) has been repurposed as the home of Purdue Polytechnic High School and Paramount Englewood Middle School.
It's among the historic sites – current, bygone or repurposed – that Nelson and his guests will "cruise by", although they won't leave the radio station. He will be joined by two board members of the Indiana National Road Association:
David Steele of Indianapolis, a business and civic leader who has crusaded for six Indiana Historical Bureau markers. Along those lines, the Indiana National Road Association has erected 15 interpretive panels along the U.S. 40 route in Indiana.
And Bob Hunt of Greenfield, who is retired from Eli Lilly & Co. With his wife Beverly, Bob renovated a former Masonic Temple that was considered one of the largest lodges in the state when it opened in 1895. The historic building on U.S. 40 now is a banquet and event center in Greenfield owned by Bradley Hall Events.