The Indiana Humanities Council is located in the house of the late Meredith Nicholson. "The House of
a Thousand Candles," where this famed Indiana author penned his best-selling
novel of the same name, has changed owners several times since Nicholson
sold it in 1923. With each sale, residents of the historic Old Northside
neighborhood where the house is located have hoped that subsequent owners
would preserve its rich heritage and historical significance. Indeed, residents
were outraged when, in 1933, Wald Funeral Directors wanted to convert the
beloved house into a funeral home. Wald's offer was withdrawn a few days
later because "opposition was too spirited," according to an Indianapolis Star article which appeared
May 9, 1933.
The Indiana Humanities Council's acquisition of the house in 1986 would have
probably been met with pleasure by Meredith "Nick" Nicholson. He was a great
believer in community service, a man of letters, who was happiest when he
was in his native state of Indiana. Nicholson often said that the key to success
is to stick close to home. In one of his better-known works, The Hoosiers, Nicholson
commented on the social and cultural history of Indiana. In 1941, the Indianapolis
Times reported that he loved to reminisce, allowing listeners the opportunity
to live through his era.
The Indiana Humanities Council continues Nicholson's tradition of community
service by promoting the humanities through project grants to Indiana non-profit
institutions. The humanities include literature, history, philosophy, languages
and related disciplines, and are understood through exploration of questions
related to values, traditions, aesthetics, criticism and logic.
Nicholson, born in 1866 in Crawfordsville, moved
to Indianapolis at age five. Except for three years in Denver and ten years
in diplomatic service, he spent most of his life in Indianapolis, where he
died December 20, 1947, at age 81. A high school dropout, Nicholson was largely
self-educated, fluent in Latin, Greek, French and Italian. He worked at odd
jobs-- as a drug store clerk, a gofer in a print shop, and as a law clerk,
which led him to study law briefly. Abandoning a law career, he worked as
a reporter at the Indianapolis News for 12 years. During his literary career,
he wrote approximately 30 books, plays and essays before retiring from writing
in 1929 to pursue a career in diplomatic service. A stanch Democrat, he was
appointed US Ambassador to Paraguay by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
in 1933. A year later he was transferred to Venezuela and, in 1938, to Nicaragua.
Nicholson returned to Indianapolis in 1941 and lived in retirement at the
Indianapolis Athletic Club until his death.
The Meredith Nicholson House, built in 1903-1904, is believed to be the first
Georgian/Colonial Revival style home in Indianapolis. After its purchase in
1979 by Bob Beckmann, Jr. from the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indianapolis, the house was refurbished from
its state of decay to its present state of historical beauty. Its magnificence
is evident inside and out. The symmetrical facade boasts brick laid in Flemish
bond, quoins, multi-paned windows and pedimented roof dormers. An elliptical
fanlight greets visitors as they enter the house. Three distinctive native
Indiana hardwoods grace the floors of the house. Moldings, doors, interior
pillars, multiple fireplaces and original mantelpieces grant a unique character
and a special feeling to the structure.
After selling the house in 1923, Nicholson, living briefly in
apartment 9A in what is now the Winter House Apartments, moved his family
to the Golden Hill area. Carl Taylor and his family lived in the house until
1933. President of Taylor's Carpeting Co., he urged customers to "Pay cash,
bank the difference." In 1934, the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music was
housed at 1500 N. Delaware when the house was sold to Mary B. Keller. During
the time Keller owned the house, it served as a restaurant (the Meredith Manor
Dining Room), a doctor's office for two osteopathic physicians, and an apartment
building. John E. Allen, the executor of Keller's will, moved into the house
in 1971 and continued to place candles in the front windows at Christmas,
a tradition begun by Mrs. Nicholson when her husband's book, The House of a Thousand Candles, became a best-seller.
During the last half of the 19th century, the Old Northside was the home of
some of Indianapolis' most prominent citizens. As current resident of the
Nicholson house, the Indiana Humanities Council is part of an active neighborhood
whose residents have a profound interest in protecting the quality and aesthetic
character of this historic district.
