A few days ago, Lost Muncie member Tom Stark sent me a tip about a growing mound of concrete debris and detritus near the former Sears Auto Center at Muncie Mall. Construction fencing has surrounded both Sears and JCPenney since last October, but after the three-screen cinema was recently demolished, that fresh activity suggests Sears could be next.
Continue reading “It looks like Sears is next on the chopping block”
If there’s one thing Indiana takes seriously, it’s basketball. As it turns out, so do I! Us Hoosiers’ love affair with the game extends far beyond packed gyms on Friday nights- it’s reflected in the buildings themselves. Would you believe that thirteen of the fifteen largest high school basketball gyms in the United States are right here in Indiana1? Topping them all is the legendary New Castle Fieldhouse, a cathedral of high school hoops that can seat more fans than many college arenas.
Continue reading “The biggest high school basketball gym in the United States”
Have you ever spotted a giant fiberglass statue standing along the side of the road? Chances are, you found a Muffler Man. Manufactured by International Fiberglass of Venice, California1, the icons stood between eighteen and twenty-five feet tall2 and became some of the most recognizable advertising figures along roadside America. Originally designed to sell practically everything, they haven’t been manufactured in fifty years3. Still, Route 66 is still home to at least four famous Muffler Men4. Now, Richmond can proudly add another to the list.
Continue reading “A new Muffler Man in Uranus”
Back in March, I published a post called “One last trip to the Muncie Mall.” As it turns out, I’m a liar! Last week, I wanted to see how the inside’s holding up now that demolition has started on the exterior. The results were not surprising.
Continue reading “Inside Muncie Mall after demolition began”
If you’ve already forgotten it, yesterday marked the 250th anniversary of the United States- the nation’s semiquincentennial. It’s a milestone well worth celebrating! Here in Delaware County, members of the Paul Revere Chapter of the DAR have embraced the occasion with vigor. They’ve devoted countless hours to commemorating the Revolutionary War Patriots who eventually made Delaware County their home. Recently, one of those efforts finally began to publicly unfold, and I’m especially proud and honored to have played a small part in bringing it to life.
Continue reading “Stories behind the stones: Patriot history at your fingertips”
Back in the early days of the COVID pandemic when social distancing left few options for getting out of the house, I found myself wandering back from my vaccine with a new-to-me DSLR in hand. One of my earliest stops was Elizabethtown Cemetery. Nearly two centuries after the village itself vanished, its burial ground is just about all that remains.
Continue reading “Elizabethtown’s ancient cemetery”
If you’re a fan of roadside architecture and vintage signage, behold this monstrosity just west of New Castle’s Raintree Hotel. Beneath all that awkward paneling and decades of modifications, guess what I think is hiding underneath: my money’s on the framework of one of Holiday Inn’s landmark Great Signs. Those towering neon beacons were icons of the American highway!
Continue reading “This motel isn’t, but its sign may have been Great”
I’ve always been drawn to basketball and to the places where its echoes still linger. You might miss it if you blink while passing through Matthews, Indiana, but the town’s basketball story unfolded inside a modest structure at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and East 6th Street.
Continue reading “The home of the Matthews Minutemen”
I’ve noticed an odd pattern lately: it seems like every recent dental appointment has been followed by the discovery of a new-to-me artesian well! I know correlation doesn’t equal causation, but at this point I’m suspicious enough that I’d happily endure thirty root canals and thirty painful extractions if it meant finding sixty more flowing wells. Fortunately, unlike my last post-dental adventure, Madison County’s J.H. Rent Well was still doing exactly what an artesian well is supposed to do- flow with water.
Continue reading “Madison County’s J.H. Rent flowing well “
The day has finally arrived: exterior demolition at Muncie Mall is underway. The first area in the wreckers’ sights is the old Muncie Mall 3 cinema. For those of us who’d hoped for one last glimpse inside the theater, we finally got our chance! It just happened to be through a gaping hole in the wall.
Continue reading “Updated: Muncie Mall Cinema is being destroyed right now”