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IHC HOME Indiana Humanities Council 1500 North Delaware Indianapolis, IN 46202 Phone: 317.638.1500

 

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 Wald's offer was withdrawn a few days later because "opposition was too spirited," according to an Indianapolis Star article which appeared May 9, 1933.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.