City-County Building (Indianapolis)

City-County Building
City-County Building looking northwest from Washington and Alabama streets
City-County Building looking northwest from Washington and Alabama streets
City-County Building (Indianapolis) is located in Indianapolis
City-County Building (Indianapolis)
Location within Indianapolis
City-County Building (Indianapolis) is located in Indianapolis
City-County Building (Indianapolis)
City-County Building (Indianapolis) (Indianapolis)
City-County Building (Indianapolis) is located in Indiana
City-County Building (Indianapolis)
City-County Building (Indianapolis) (Indiana)
City-County Building (Indianapolis) is located in the United States
City-County Building (Indianapolis)
City-County Building (Indianapolis) (the United States)
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeGovernment offices
Location200 E. Washington St.
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Coordinates39°46′04.5″N 86°09′12.75″W / 39.767917°N 86.1535417°W / 39.767917; -86.1535417
Construction started1959; 65 years ago (1959)
Completed1962; 62 years ago (1962)
Cost$22 million
OwnerIndianapolis–Marion County Building Authority
Height
Roof372 ft (113 m)
Technical details
Floor count28
Floor area734,447 sq ft (68,232.4 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Wright, Porteous & Lowe/Bonar; Lennox, Matthews, Simmons & Ford, Inc.
Structural engineerJ. M. Rotz Engineering Co.

The City-County Building is a 28-story municipal office building in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Completed in 1962, the high-rise houses several public agencies of the consolidated city-county government of Indianapolis and Marion County. Executive and legislative functions are carried out from the building; the county courts exited for a new courthouse in 2022.

History

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The building opened in 1962 after two years of construction,[1] at a cost of $22 million.[2] The City-County Building is notable as the first building to surpass the height of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. It remained the tallest building in the city until 1970.[1] The building's total floor area covers 734,447 sq ft (68,232.4 m2).[3]

Prior to its construction, Marion County offices were located in the Marion County Courthouse, which stood on what is now Richard G. Lugar Plaza on the south side of the City-County Building; the courthouse was demolished upon completion of the latter. Indianapolis city offices were located in the Indianapolis City Hall.[4]

Usage

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Several public agencies maintain administrative offices in the City-County Building, including the city's departments of business and neighborhood services, metropolitan development, parks, public works, and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Until 2022, the building's east and west wings housed the Marion County Courts.[5]

The building's second-floor contains the Beurt R. SerVaas Public Assembly Room, which serves as the Indianapolis City-County Council chambers and a venue for public meetings of various boards and commissions. The office of the Mayor of Indianapolis is on the twenty-fifth floor of the building.[6] A service elevator leads to a public observation deck on the twenty-eighth floor of the building.[7]

Proposal to sell to private sector

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In 2017, the city began the process to build a new criminal justice complex in the Twin Aire neighborhood that opened in 2022. As a result, there will be a large amount of empty space in the City-County Building. In 2018, the administration of Mayor Joe Hogsett began a process to determine how much office space the city-county government will require in the future, and where it should be located. One possibility is to sell the CCB to private developers and move some of the government offices to the Old Indianapolis City Hall. "Our offices struggle to reorganize around modern technology," Hogsett said. "Many of our offices are sized with the assumption records will be kept in rows and rows of filing cabinets. Why not? That's how they kept the records in 1960. That's how the (City-County Building) was built."[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "City-County Building, Indianapolis". Emporis. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ Caldwell, Howard; Jones, Darryl (1990). Goodall, Kenneth (ed.). Indianapolis. Bloomington, Indiana, United States: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-32998-1. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
  3. ^ Olson, Scott (April 23, 2018). "Hogsett explores shopping City-County Building, other downtown properties for overhauls". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  4. ^ Zeigler, Connie J. (1994). "City County Buildings". In Bodenhamer, David J.; Barrows, Robert G. (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 429–430. ISBN 0-253-31222-1.
  5. ^ Wooten, Taylor (March 28, 2024). "City-County Council committee advances $37M plan to finance jail demolition, building improvements". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  6. ^ Price, Nelson (2004). Indianapolis Then & Now. San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press. p. 38. ISBN 1-59223-208-6.
  7. ^ Indy.gov. "Observation Deck". indy.gov/activity/city-county-building-observation-deck. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  8. ^ Briggs, James; Martin, Ryan (April 22, 2018). "Old City Hall could become Indianapolis' new city hall again". Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on 2018-04-22. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
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Preceded by Tallest Building in Indianapolis
1962–1970
113 m
Succeeded by