If the ivy-clad walls surrounding the old Bush Stadium could talk, they would tell us about home runs, championship games and player superstitions of the past. The stadium may be vastly different than when it was built in 1931, but the ivy adorning the brick outfield remains the same. Flourishing over the walls in the summer, the ivy has a story all its own, but more importantly, it has been there since day one and continues to grow to this day.
Indianapolis locals have seen a lot of changes at Bush Stadium, now Stadium Lofts, a one-of-a-kind apartment complex literally on the baseball field. Stadium Lofts is in the Tech 16 area on the northwest side, close to downtown and IU campus. Driving down 16th Street, you cannot help but notice the well-manicured baseball field with three stories of balcony apartments.
Bush Stadium opened in 1931, first named Perry Stadium after Owner James Perry. In 1967 the stadium was renamed Bush Stadium in honor of the Indians former President Owen Bush. Built on West 16th street, this Indianapolis relic has hosted many legendary games and several championships over the years. The Indianapolis Indians won four consecutive American Association championships from 1986 to 1989 at Bush Stadium, marking it an unforgettable era.
Bruce Schumacher, current chairman of the board for the Indians, has seen over 40 years of change in his time with the Indians.
“All the champions in the ’80s were my favorite times; we won regular season titles in ’84, then overall championships in ’86, ’87, ’88, ’89 – you don’t get to do that very often,” he said. “We had a lot of amazing young talent, of course Razor Shines, who is an Indianapolis baseball legend, was part of those teams.”
Schumacher started coming to baseball games as a child with his father, Max Schumacher, the previous Indianapolis Indians chairman and president. Max brought up both of his sons, Bruce and Mark, on baseball – so much so that they both play vital roles with the current Indians enterprise. Mark Schumacher is the current director of merchandise, while Bruce is the chairman of the board.
Bush Stadium not only holds tales of baseball legacies, but also had its time on the big screen. The film “Eight Men Out” was shot at Bush Stadium in 1987, and Schumacher remembers it like it was yesterday. He not only oversaw the production moving in on the field, but even got a small role in the film.
“It was interesting because they used Bush stadium as both the Chicago and Cincinnati ballparks,” he said. “They had to transform our stadium, taking down tower lights and moving everything. Chicago was first, then the production team took some days off and changed things around to make the field look like the Cincinnati ballpark. Altogether I think they were on-site about five weeks,” Schumacher said.
Bush Stadium has been a host to many great teams, players and baseball fans. The outfield walls are a story themselves, covered in ivy growing wildly since the stadium opened. In fact, the ivy that grows abundantly on the outfield walls spurred the leaders at Wrigley Field in Chicago to take on a similar look.
“Mr. Wrigley wanted his ballpark to look more like a park, with trees and greenery,” Schumacher said. “Bill Veeck, famous White Sox promoter, had been to Bush Stadium many times and told him about the ivy on our walls. They planted their own ivy at Wrigley and now everyone in the world knows they do, but the idea came from Indianapolis.”
The heritage of Bush Stadium will never be gone. However, change is inevitable, and the Indians eventually made the move to a newer, more modern home base. Enter Victory Field, the Indians stadium since 1996. It was a long process with a lot of back and forth from Bush to Victory, but it was a needed upgrade.
Now when you drive by West 16th Street, you will still see the original iconic scoreboard, large tower lights and even the press box. Bush Stadium has been transformed into Stadium Lofts, a modern apartment complex boasting 138 units. On the Tech16 campus, Stadium Lofts developers kept as much original charm as possible when turning the stadium into lofts unique to Indy. The original roof, exterior walls, concrete floors and field were all reused. The original brick walls and large high windows were restored to allow light to flood into the lofts.
“This apartment really found me,” said Alex Dunn, a resident at Stadium Lofts. “I was looking for a place downtown that had full-sized laundry in suite, and Stadium Lofts had it. I stepped into the door of this loft and was shocked at the size. The apartment is over 1,000 square feet with 13-feet-high ceilings. This is the biggest apartment I’ve ever seen, and I got it.”
The Stadium Lofts leaders opened its doors in 2013 after major renovations, and it’s still a hot commodity, with a wait list for some of the sought-after lofts. During development, as many original items as possible were kept, including the original two ticket windows that greet you upon entrance. The high ceilings and smooth, cool concrete floors have added a unique take on apartment living.
“I joke that I live in the apartment from the movie ‘Big’,” Dunn said. “It’s a perfect hosting space. The sky is the limit to how you fill the space. All the open space is my favorite part about this loft, I can even skateboard if I want.”
Dunn’s first-floor loft even boasts an outdoor patio with an actual garage door that can be closed for privacy. Having instant access to the outdoors opens the space up even more and is great for functionality – especially for Dunn, a cyclist who keeps four bikes in his apartment along with a ping pong table, a pinball machine and a basketball goal.
“This is the dream location for me as a cyclist,” Dunn said. “I’m often riding on the White River Trail, Fall Creek Trail and Canal Towpath. The towpath takes me to Broad Ripple, Fall Creek takes me across the city, and White River to the cultural trail. I’m plugged into the whole city here via bike.”
