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Mass Ave Cultural Arts District
Indianapolis Cultural District
Clockwise from top left: 300 block of Massachusetts Avenue, Old National Centre, The Athenæum, and Bottleworks Hotel
Interactive map of the neighborhood
Coordinates: 39°46′30″N 86°8′55″W / 39.77500°N 86.14861°W / 39.77500; -86.14861
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Marion
City	Indianapolis
Area code	317 / 463

The Mass Ave Cultural Arts District, colloquially known as Mass Ave, is one of seven designated cultural districts in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The district centers on 0.86 miles (1.38 km) of its namesake Massachusetts Avenue, from its southern terminus at New York and Delaware streets to its northern terminus at Bellefontaine Street. The avenue is one of the four original diagonal streets included in Alexander Ralston's plan of 1821. Mass Ave also contains the Massachusetts Avenue Commercial District, a historic district included on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982.

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.

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.

Massachusetts Avenue Commercial District

Massachusetts Avenue Commercial District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Show map of IndianapolisShow map of IndianaShow map of the United States
Location	Roughly bounded by one block to either side of Massachusetts Ave. from Delaware St. to Interstate 65, Indianapolis, Indiana
Architectural style	Art Deco, Islamic, Italianate, Modern Movement, Renaissance Revival, Romanesque
NRHP reference No.	82000064 (original) 100004725 (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 2, 1982
Boundary increase	December 4, 2019

Landmarks

• Athenæum (Das Deutsche Haus): building houses Young Actors Theatre and the Rathskeller Restaurant, the city's oldest restaurant still in operation.
• Old National Centre: is the headquarters of the Indianapolis Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

References

1. "Massachusetts Avenue Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
2. "History". DiscoverMassAve.com. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
3. "Massachusetts Avenue Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved September 1, 2008.

External links

• Mass Ave Merchants Association
• Massachusetts Avenue Historic District, National Park Service website

v t e Indianapolis Cultural Trail
Cultural districts	Canal and White River State Park Fountain Square Indiana Avenue Market East Mass Ave Wholesale
Parks	American Legion Mall Hudnut Commons Military Park Richard G. Lugar Plaza The Idle White River State Park
Public art	Ann Dancing Care/Don't Care Chatham Passage E Pluribus Unum Glick Peace Walk Looking Through Windows Moving Forward Poet's Place Prairie Modules 1 & 2 Swarm Street Talking Wall
Related	Gene B. Glick Indiana Pacers Bikeshare
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