A Historic Hand: How the Past of Windsor Park Shapes its Future
A friendly neighborhood nestled cozily below Mass Avenue. Here residents of all occupations, social backgrounds, ethnicities, and ages gather like happy little school children. A rather young community is sprouting from the seeds that were left planted from the past. Windsor Park is not only a community because of its dedicated advocates, but because of the history of the neighborhood that has inspired devotion for the betterment of the community.
Windsor Park, over the years, has seen massive amounts of change and is nearly indistinguishable from its earlier self. The Windsor Park of today is a new and upbeat community of bright colors, delightful hardworking people, and booming businesses; whereas just decades before, this improving neighborhood was a merely a barren plot of land with dilapidated gloomy houses.
Windsor Park used to be known by the name of Fletcher Triangle, or other variations thereof. Fletcher Triangle “one of Indy’s oldest continuously-used park spaces.” (Interview 2%%) The park was originally owned and used for farm space by the Fletcher family from the 1840’s to mid1860’s. When the father of the family, Calvin Fletcher, passed it on to his sons before his death. Two years later the Fletcher children decided to offer 30 acres of the land as a donation to the city of Indianapolis. However the city declined the offer, for fear it was only for private gain on another nearby property the Fletcher's owned. From this point it is not certain how exactly the city became a park, but the Indy Parks staff believes around the 1870’s it was officially a park. Fletcher Triangle was later sold around the mid-to-late 1900’s, and began to take form as the gathering place of the Near East side. Once the park came under the city’s ownership, in its prime, it was an adorable city-owned park. A quant fountain in the center, encased in thousands of plush flowers planted by the Indianapolis Parks Department, the first of many beautifying components. By the 1910’s Fletcher Triangle was the go-to gathering location, colorful wooden cottages filled with families and loving neighbors began to pop up along the land (Hostetler). However, in the words of Terri Blackstock, “Bad days will come for each one of us, and the more we've thought these things through ahead of time, the better prepared we'll be when tragedy strikes or struggles emerge.*** maybe find a better one storms?***
Since the Fletcher families platted the park before 1845, it became one of Indianapolis’ first zoned areas. “ We have a unique make up in that we have some commercial zones mixed in with our residential areas. So we have business owners in our community as well.” (Hill) This zoning brought forth the introduction of industrial companies, including the Schwitzer- Cummins Corporation. In the late 1940’s, to avoid the burden of maintaining Fletcher Triangle, the Indianapolis Parks Service gave Fletcher Triangle to this trailblazing company. In giving the park away it brought the park to not need maintenance; the Schwitzer- Cummins Corporation, an automotive manufacturing business demolished the park for more manufacturing space. Leaving behind cracked pavement of the park that could have been, but instead became a business hub.////// The institution of new businesses brought demolition to the historic landmark of Fletcher Triangle and left a desolate neighborhood with few houses and cracked sidewalks (Hostetler).
While visually the Schwitzer- Cummins Corporation terrorized the land, economically it created a new life that was previously unknown to the area. Eventually the corporation shut down in the early 1990’s became known as the Circle City Industrial Complex, nowadays when heard the name itself evokes a grunt of a roll of the eyes.(Hill)
The Circle City Industrial Complex from the While the movement of new businesses to Windsor Park benefitted the area economically, it created a major pitfall in the optimism and pride within the community, ultimately bringing the neighborhood into sorrowful abandonment.
From this point of destruction, many more mindful companies have come in and offered a more optimistic outlook for the neighborhood. What is now known as Circle City Industrial Complex has been planned and will work diligently to help lessen the impact of the earlier demolition of Windsor Park. This complex will be made up of countless offices, workspaces, restaurants, and most impactful, the maker spaces, all of which center around the people within the community. The industrial complex will offer thousands of jobs and a foundation for other businesses to do so as well. These new jobs and developmental assets will bring out the value of the ever growing Windsor Park.
Despite the growing hope and outlook for Windsor Park terms like, “gentrification” commonly fall into the terms of discussion. Of course being a younger neighborhood there is always a little tension, but price wise rates have stayed constant throughout the development. When asked about gentrification within Windsor Park many residents had the same reaction as developer and family homeowner #### “There are quite a few different viewpoints on this. Some would say absolutely. Others (including myself) see this as reclaiming areas that used to be vibrant communities and bringing that back to what our neighborhood historically was. My company has done 14 projects (to date) in Windsor Park and we live here too. Only one of those projects was occupied when we purchased it. All the others were all raw dirt or vacant homes so their social impact was only positive by bringing in new residents, a greater tax base and consumers for our businesses.” Rather than seeing gentrification even the residents and patrons of Windsor Park see benefit in the new influx of businesses, projects, and ideas.
The one piece of the past remaining constant throughout the decades of destruction: is the tracks. Back in the golden days the tracks, owned by Schwitzer corporation, offered new prosperity to the area then brought in the industrialization leading to the destruction. A memento of the past showing just how much has happened, the tracks are truly an eye back in time. Even more so of an eye into the past is the architecture. Bright houses now line the streets of Windsor Park, and provide a beautiful backdrop for young family to paint their stories on. Stories of neighborhood friends, bonding with a neighbor over painting a new compost garden the list goes on; all of which reasons the Windsor Park community has grown.
The abandonment of the old Windsor Park, during the Fletcher Triangle times has brought its enduring residents to push through and restore it. These torch bearers now pass it on to newer generations and organizations. A famous painting by Benjamin West, Woodcutters in Windsor Park, in glorious oil paint on canvas depicts men chopping wood while a group converses. The conversing men have a posture of extreme intent, they know what needs to be done and they will get it done. A painting of the past, perfectly foreshadows the future of Windsor Park, and resides as an eye into the start of it all. This painting resides in the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields as a hidden gem of the historic Windsor Park. Today’s torch bearers still work just as tirelessly as their forefathers and have even become so numerous, they have split up by specialization.
According to Carrie Gaffney, a writer for NOMEANCITY.com, the Saunders are a family focused on the betterment of the community and beauty of their home done by the work of their own hands. The Saunders are just one of many families making a home in the Windsor Park area, and one of many families helping to support the growing economy of the area. Many of the homeowners of Windsor Park call themselves “DIY-ers” which has led to an increase in spaces dedicated for that purpose, and increased the motivation of residents to beautify and fix what they think could use it.
Windsor Park also relies on various neighborhood associations to keep it on track for the future. The first and most directly involved is the WPI, Windsor Park Indy. According to windsorparkindy.com, their mission statement is, “We are Windsor Park. We are a neighborhood rich in community resources, and full of neighborhood pride. Within our streets you will find a diverse mix of residents, families, artists, and businesses. From historic homes, to modern cottages and bungalows, there’s a home to fit your needs! We are home to the Spades Park Library branch, the landmark Whittier School and our own Fletcher Park, which is a part of the Kessler Parks and Boulevards NPS National Register of Historic Places. Commercial development is in progress both within the immense multi- purpose space of the Circle City Industrial Complex and also along 10th Street.” From a time of glory and beauty, to destruction and demise, Windsor Park now resides as a budding community. Thanks to countless neighborhood associations the community has spurred into a close knit group of families, business men and women, artists, and long term residents. Just a quick glance at the neighborhood Facebook page can reassure all doubts of Windsor Park of not being a true community, captions of events including; Wicked Windsor Park, cobbler eating contest, pumpkin carving, and holiday block parties. All of which centered around the park and the people that love it