Athenaeum Building Tour

Indiana Landmarks is leading a guided tour of The Athenaeum on Sunday, October 25, from 1:30 to 2:30 PM. The tour starts just inside the building entrance at the corner of East Michigan Street and North New Jersey Street, and it's presented in partnership with the Athenaeum Foundation.

If you've walked past the building before, you know it's one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city. The tour takes you inside to see the late-nineteenth-century architecture and hear how it evolved from a German clubhouse into the hub of urban life it is today. The founders built it around the ethos of a sound mind in a sound body, and you'll see that reflected in the building's layout and features as you walk through.

Along the way, the guides connect the Athenaeum to the Vonnegut and Lieber families, two names that left a mark on the streetscape, culture, and business community of a growing Indianapolis in the early 1900s. It's a good way to get a sense of the German American influence on the city and why preserving cultural landmarks like this one matters.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for Indiana Landmarks members, and $10 for children ages 6 to 11; kids 5 and under are free. The tour runs from 1:30 to 2:30 PM on Sunday, October 25, at The Athenaeum Foundation, Inc., 401 East Michigan Street.