This represented a shift in racial demographics away from the mostly working class poor population of Irish and German immigrants that lived around Indiana Avenue during the early years of Indianapolis.

Walker, jazz greats including Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Coe, Noble Sissle, Erroll "Groundhog" Grandy and Wes Montgomery.

By 1965, the plight of the community left the Madam Walker Building closed to abandonment, removing a vital economic anchor for the area.

[citation needed] By the 1980s, instead of the city attempting renewal or regeneration, much of the area was demolished and replaced by office buildings or townhouses.

Through the financial support of the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission, formed by Mayor Bart Peterson in 2002, community stakeholders are planning the regeneration of the area.