The County Line
Know anyone who needs an office building with a gymnasium or perhaps a location for a private school? Maybe the building at 1448 Conner St. in Noblesville would be the answer.
For the past 48 years it’s been the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, but the historic 94-year-old building was originally the newest portion of Noblesville High School. An even older connected building, located to the west of the structure, was torn down about 1970 when the Boys and Girls Club came into possession of the school property.
Back in 1923 NHS was in need of more space and lacked indoor athletic facilities. To meet the need a building was built with several offices and classrooms in front and a large gym to the rear . . . large for the time that is. Basketball was becoming king of sports in Indiana in the 1920s, and for the next seven years Noblesville had the largest gym in Hamilton County seating several hundred fans.
The twin buildings served as the high school until 1955 when a new school, now the IVY Tech facility, was completed. The Conner Street school then served as the junior high until 1968.
Meanwhile, the Noblesville Boys Club, located on the third floor of a downtown building, needed a new home with more space, and took over the school. Since that time additions have been added to the east and west. But, growing participation at the club necessitated plans for an entirely new facility. In January next year, the club will move into its new home on North 17th Street.
So, the old building is up for sale; asking price is $849,000. That gets the buyer a three-level, 27,000 square-foot building on two-thirds of an acre with a parking lot for 44 vehicles.
Now the building is about to be adapted for a new, yet unknown use. It’s, a building where hundreds of Noblesville youngsters formed memories of enjoyable activities as members of the Boys and Girls Club and hundreds of an older generation have memories of school day classes and evenings of basketball and social activities. It’s a community institution in every sense of the word.