I am fortunate to be a "Big Sister" to a lovely young lady who attends Shortridge, so I have been lucky enough to get behind the velvet ropes to tour the interior of this beautiful school.
I wasn't cheeky enough to snap pictures on the inside; I didn't want to post them on this blog only to find I was suddenly persona non grata there--after all, my "Little" takes precedent over my blog. But, as usual, I digress.
The first time I visited Shortridge, I had the luxury of time to drink in its architectural splendor at my leisure, as opposed to the quick-sip glance typically afforded on may way up Meridian. It seems exponentially more imposing when you are on foot and standing at its front doors. I couldn't help admiring its mammoth scale, symmetry and beauty. The inside is also filled with beautiful architectural details (and a scrumptious Hoosier art collection).
The building behind it, Caleb Mills Hall is also aesthetically pleasing in its own right. I include it in my mention here because I found it particularly interesting that when Shortridge moved to 34th and Meridian in 1928, so too, came the companion entertainment venue as well. Note here the Caleb Mills Hall of yesteryear and that of today. The previous location of the high school and Hall was at Michigan and Pennsylvania Streets.
The previous incarnation of Caleb Mills Hall
The one thing I think everyone knows about Shortridge is that it was the alma mater of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Hoosier author extraordinaire. (I am happy to report, the Shortridge students embrace that to this day--I noted a student made poster board in one of the hallways with pictures and information about their famous graduate).
And though this is a well-known quote, the pride it illicits makes it worth repeating again: “It's my dream of America with great public schools. I thought we should be the envy of the world with our public schools. And I went to such a public school. So I knew that such a school was possible. Shortridge High School in Indianapolis produced not only me, but the head writer on the I LOVE LUCY show (Madelyn Pugh). And, my God, we had a daily paper, we had a debating team, had a fencing team. We had a chorus, a jazz band, a serious orchestra. And all this with a Great Depression going on. And I wanted everybody to have such a school.” Beautifully said.
The pre-1928 Shortridge at Michigan and Pennsylvania Streets
If you ever wondered from whence the names came: Abram C. Shortridge (b. 1833, Henry Co., IN) was one of the earliest Superintendents of schools in Indiana and a pioneer for the state in the education of youth.
Alternate view of same
Caleb Mills (b. 1806, New Hampshire) was one of the first organizers of classes and head of the English Department at what is now Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Also the first superintendent of public instruction for the State of Indiana.
This would have been a super-extra-special Friday favorite if the quality of education in public schools and graduation rates remained as high as when these former views of Shortridge were current.
"A Disciplined Mind and a Cultivated Heart are Elements of Power." Caleb Mills
To learn more about the history of Shortridge High School, you may want to check out the book Shortridge High School 1864-1981 In Retrospect by Laura Sheerin Gaus published by the Indiana Historical Society.
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