West Washington Street

West Washington Street has been a base for Latin American immigrants in Indianapolis for decades. The area near Belmont Street contains an array of historic mixed-use store fronts. This may be a controversial point, but I believe this might be most fully-functioning “Main Street” type of area in the city. Most of the buildings are occupied, and there is a diverse array of services provided to the Latin American community.

First off is a nicely designed store:
These old one story banks are all around the city. It’s a shame that this one is no longer in use:
At the western end of my walk, a nice brick 2 story:

I walked back to the east. Here’s a glimpse of a church at the center of the community:
Across the street, multiple houses have been converted in to niche businesses:

On the south side of the street, I tried to take this picture discreetly. There was a very good restaurant here, looks like they are working on refurbishing it now:
On the same block, notice the sign pointing out the trash can. Also notice that it has unfortunately been ignored:
Mobile taco stands like this are all the rage in larger cities:
I bought a tamarind flavored soda in this store. The produce in here looked very good, btw:
Proof that converting a house into a new use is not an new trend, here’s a funeral home that was converted some time ago:
In the middle of the neighborhood is Washington Community School:
More colorful storefronts:



Finally, a great old home:

Comments 5

  • TACO CART! We ride our bikes to that taco cart from downtown. They have incredible tacos al pastor. Served up with salsa and radishes.

  • Oops, looking at it, we usually go to the one in the gravel parking lot.

  • I teach at George Washington! It's a great area of the city and deserves more love. Thanks for posting this!

  • On my birthday last year, I went to La Frontera to get some elote (Mexican corn-on-the-cob), which I then followed with some tacos and horchata from that same taco cart. Good eats!

  • I think it's great the Latin community is living the so called 'American Dream' more than most people who inhabit this country. I happen to love this strip of commercial paradise in Indy! Just not much of it around anymore.

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