Woodruff Place was once considered to be one of Indianapolis's more affluent neighborhoods before beginning a gradual decline as the automobile led to the development of newer upscale subdivisions starting in the late 1910s.

Previously, the neighborhood had only a modest collection of duplexes and smaller apartment buildings that had been added beginning in the early 1910s.

The 1980s and 1990s saw extensive neighborhood rehabilitation, and Woodruff Place is now considered a highly desirable historic inner-city address.

[2] Woodruff Place was the inspiration behind Indianapolis native Booth Tarkington's successful novel The Magnificent Ambersons.

In 2001, the neighborhood was officially designated a local historic preservation district by the city of Indianapolis.