OUR SETTING
Traditionally, monasteries have been placed on lofty mountains or in deserts and forests far away from the hustle and bustle of urban life and living. Dagom Geden Kunkyob Ling is an urban monastery located just north of the heart of downtown Indianapolis in a revitalized historic district. Our mission is to teach the Buddha’s Dharma in a setting that is accessible to large numbers of people. In doing so, we celebrate the diversity of urban life, and the monastery becomes a place of inclusion and refuge in a turbulent world. So, you don’t have to travel a long distance to discover teachings that have the power to transform the mind and alleviate the sufferings found in a turbulent world.
The listing of Herron-Morton Place in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 helped preserve most of the remaining structures. New Jersey Street retains the original esplanades and thus provides the best example of what the north half of the neighborhood once looked like.
To learn more, visit the Historic Herron-Morton Place Website.
Timeline of the Herron-Morton Neighborhood
Samuel Henderson, the original area landowner, was Indianapolis’ first postmaster and first mayor. By 1850, Henderson had sold his Indianapolis properties, selling some to the Tinker Family, and left for the California Gold Rush.
1859 ― The northern part of the current neighborhood was acquired for Indiana State Fairgrounds
1860 ― First State Fair held on the grounds
1861 ― Civil War induction center for Indiana volunteers and troop training named
“Camp Morton” for Governor Oliver Perry Morton
1862 ― Camp Morton becomes a prisoner of war camp, hosting more than 15,000 Confederate soldiers and where 1,700 died; just north of Tinker (16th) Street becomes “Camp Burnside.”
1865 ― Post-war State Fairgrounds expanded with vast improvements. Three businessmen purchased the old fairgrounds and divided it into 280 residential lots, renaming the area “Morton Place.” On the main streets of the new neighborhood—Delaware, Alabama, and New Jersey—were esplanades, which lined the middle of those streets. Soon after, in the southern portion of the neighborhood, the Art Association selected the “Old Tinker” homestead as the site for a new art museum and school.
1873 ― Impressive exposition building, designed by the same architect of the Indiana State Capitol, was completed on 16th and Alabama Streets
1888 ― Impressionists T. C. Steele, William Forsythe, and others, founded the “Hoosier Group” of artists, located on the Old Tinker homestead.
1891 ― State Fairgrounds moved to its current location on the old Voss Farm; “Morton Place” residential plots developed for an upscale neighborhood with distinctive architecture seen today
1902 ― Herron School of Art was founded with a growing art collection
1930-40s ― Great Depression and World War II—homes were split up into apartments or vacated
1940-70s ― Fire, neglect, and demolition further deteriorate property values
1983 ― Herron-Morton Place neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
2003 ― John Herron Art Institute building becomes esteemed Herron High School
Today ― Neighborhood revitalization continues