The Official Website of the City of Indianapolis and Marion County

The Lockefield Gardens apartment complex was a Public Works Administration (PWA) project built between 1935-38.   The intent was three-fold: it provided jobs in the construction industry, cleared an area of substandard housing and replaced it with new public housing.  It was exclusively for low-income blacks in Indianapolis. The design and plan provided residents with decent, safe, sanitary, and uncrowded dwellings at a low cost.  It incorporated accessible public features including: thirteen play areas, four larger playgrounds, an elementary school, shops, and an aesthetically landscaped mall.  Lockefield Gardens was a national example for public housing built thereafter.  The complex was closed in 1976, and a number of structures were demolished in the early 1980's.  Today, the only structures remaining are those along Blake Street.