Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis

Massachusetts Avenue Commercial District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
140px
Massachusetts Avenue logo
Location	Indianapolis, Indiana
Coordinates
Architect	Multiple
Architectural style	Art Deco, Islamic, Italianate, Modern Movement, Renaissance Revival, Romanesque, Other
NRHP Reference #	82000064
Added to NRHP	1982

Massachusetts Avenue, or simply Mass Ave, is one of six designated cultural districts in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is located just a few blocks northeast of Monument Circle. Massachusetts Avenue was one of the four original diagonal streets of downtown Indianapolis in Alexander Ralston's plan of 1821. Today it lies at the heart of the city's arts district. It offers some of the city's most visible theaters and art galleries as well as a number of shops and eateries.

File:Indianapolis Massachusetts Avenue.jpg

Massachusetts Avenue, downtown Indianapolis.

Gentrification in the 1990s propelled the area from squalor to one of the city's more fashionable addresses. Currently, redevelopment of Mass Ave focuses on fostering locally owned shops, theaters, and restaurants.

Many notable buildings are located in the district:

• Athenæum: building houses the American Cabaret Theatre and the Rathskeller Restaurant, the city's oldest restaurant still in operation.
• Murat Centre: is the headquarters of the Indianapolis Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

External links

• Discover Mass Ave website
• Massachusetts Avenue Historic District, National Park Service website
• Massachusetts Avenue Commercial District, National Register of Historic Places
• Mass Ave Photo Essay @ ZapTown