This Old House magazine has named Woodruff Place -- which just finished its annual home tour yesterday -- to its list of the Best Old-House Neighborhoods, which appears in the July/August issue of the magazine. The issue is available on newsstands today.
Magazine editors tracked down 51 great neighborhoods in the United States and Canada that have "promising futures and homes that truly deserve a long-term commitment." They were looking for unique, tight-knit neighborhoods, "places might not be on your radar, but deserve to be."
They were looking for spots that fit the following criteria: Architectural diversity, craftsmanship of the homes, and the preservation momentum in the area as well as neighborhood amenities including walkability, safety and community. With the help of PreservationDirectory.com, neighborhood groups, real estate agents, and preservation societies, This Old House compiled their list of the best places to track down, fix up, and fall head over heels for.
So why Woodruff Place? Here's what the magazine had to say:
Woodruff Place
Founded in 1872 by New Yorker James O. Woodruff, this old suburb, about a mile east of downtown Indianapolis , was a self-governing town for more than 80 years. Traces of this autonomy are still evident in the tight-knit community, for Woodruffians are active in hosting social gatherings and bimonthly neighborhood meetings. Take a walk around town and you'll see broad boulevards, decorative fountains and urns, and statues surrounded by magnolia and oak trees. The inspiration for Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons, Woodruff Place is a quintessential Midwestern town and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
