Biographical/Historical Sketch
Processed by
Stephen J. Fletcher
2000
Revised by Dorothy Nicholson
21 May 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
1 box of photographs, 1 box of oversized photographs, 1 oversized folder of photographs |
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COLLECTION |
1918–1923 |
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PROVENANCE: |
St. Joseph County Archives & Records, 1140 S. Lafayette Blvd., South Bend, Indiana 46601 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
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ACCESSION |
2000.0945 |
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NOTES: |
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Herschel G. Wray was born in Oxford, Ohio, on 20 April 1890. Wray received a civil engineering degree from Purdue University in 1913, and began his career with the Pennsylvania Railroad in June of that year. He was married to Ruth C. Irvin on 14 October 1914 in Union County, Indiana.
He worked with the Pennsylvania Railroad for ten years where he was in charge of grade separation construction in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Cleveland, Ohio. After completion of this project, Wray joined the Indianapolis city engineering staff as assistant engineer. Following this he became the city engineer of South Bend, Indiana, in January 1926. He returned to Indianapolis to form his own consulting business in 1935. From 1940 to 1949 Wray served with the War Department and the United States Corp of Engineers. He then joined a Chicago firm as a public relations engineer.
After his retirement Wray resided in Liberty, Indiana, where he served on the town council. Indiana Governor George N. Craig appointed Wray to the State Highway Commission in April 1953. Three months later while on a visit to Indianapolis he suffered a fatal heart attack and died on 3 July 1953.
The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway was created through mergers on 29 August 1890. On 1 January 1917, through more mergers with the Vandalia Railroad and other smaller lines, the company was reorganized as the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, which came to be operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad on 1 January 1921.
The “elevated tracks movement” in Indianapolis was a controversial topic at the end of the 19th century, with political and legal battles going on for years between local civic and political leaders. Railroad tracks in the city, especially those surrounding Union Station and running south of the Warehouse District, created the dual problems of traffic congestion and public safety. Progress was slow but by 1888 a tunnel was constructed under the tracks on Illinois Street, and later in 1905 a temporary trestle was built at East 10th Street and Massachusetts Avenue. It was not until 1912 that the first large-scale track elevation project of the Pennsylvania Railroad began in Indianapolis. The photographs in this collection document part of that project from 1918 to 1922.
Sources:
“Dynamic Men of South Bend,” South Bend Tribune, 13 May 1927.
“Elevated Tracks Planned.” Indianapolis Journal, 11 May 1899, page 3.
Geib, Miriam K. “Railroad Track Elevation.” In The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Robert G. Barrows, p. 1160. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1994. General Collection F534.I55 E4 1994.
Gray, Ralph D. “Transportation.” In The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Robert G. Barrows, pp. 191–192. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1994. General Collection F534.I55 E4 1994.
“H. G. Wray, Highway Commissioner, Dies,” Indianapolis Star, 4 July 1953.
Herschell, W.M. “Elevation of ‘Old Madison’ Line between South and Morris Streets the Beginning of Important Work in the City’s Central Traffic District.” Indianapolis News, 4 May 1912, page 15.
http://search.ancestry.com/ accessed 14 May 2004.
“State Roads Member Dies,” Indianapolis News, 3 July 1953.
“Track Elevation in Indianapolis, Problem for Many Years and Issue in Bitter Struggles Finally Has Won and Now Nearing Completion.” Indianapolis News, 27 April 1918, Page 15.
“Track Elevation in the Downtown District Will Be Completed During the Year 1921.” Indianapolis News, 14 January 1921, page 39.
“Twenty Year Battle for Elevated Tracks in Central Part of City Nears Realization.” Indianapolis News, 26 December 1921, page 24.
This collection contains photographs that document two railroad construction projects: the construction of railroad track elevations and facilities in the mile-square area of Indianapolis between 1918 and 1922, and a track elevation project in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1923. The photographs were once owned by Herschel G. Wray, the Pennsylvania Railroad’s chief engineer for the projects.
The images are arranged in two series to reflect the two separate construction projects. Researchers will find that most of the photographs have captions written in the lower right corner with the date, image number, and location of the scene. Each series of photographs is arranged in numerical order beginning with the earliest date. In the Contents section of the collection guide the processor has written an abbreviated description of the images in square brackets [ ], noting the street names and buildings from the captions along with the range of the image numbers and the dates.
Series 1: Indianapolis, Indiana, documents the progress of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s elevated track construction between 1918 and 1922. The images dated 6 September 1918 to 22 October 1919 have captions that identify them as either the Indianapolis or Louisville divisions of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railroad. The remaining photographs omit this identification.
Series 2: Cleveland, Ohio, depicts a Pennsylvania Railroad track elevation project in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1923. The images have captions that begin “Cleve. Trk. Elev.” followed by a “GR” number. Street names found on the captions and signs seen in the photographs confirm that this set of photographs was made in Cleveland, Ohio. These photographs, dated from 18 May to 1 June 1923, illustrate only a two-week period during this project.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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[Hawthorne Yard, Pennsylvania Ave. track elevations: 6 Sept. 1918, No. 7101–7109] |
Photographs, |
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[Hawthorne Yard, Pennsylvania Ave. track elevations: 27 Sept. 1918, No. 7153–7158] |
Photographs, |
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[Pennsylvania Ave. track
elevation: 31 Oct. 1918, |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view of Pennsylvania Ave. track elevation: 31 Oct. 1918, No. 7211] |
OVB Photographs, |
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[Hawthorne Yard, Pennsylvania
Ave. track elevations: |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view of freight
houses, 9 April 1919: |
OVB Photographs, |
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[McCarty St. Yard office, South
St. Subway: |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view of Pennsylvania Ave. track elevation: 19 Sept. 1919, No. 7547] [2 copies of 7547] |
OVB Photographs, |
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[Delaware St. Yard office: |
Photographs, |
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[Outbound freight house, McCarty
St. Yard office, Pennsylvania Ave. elevation: |
Photographs, |
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[Track elevations from Virginia
Ave, Nobel St., Davidson St., and Cruse St.: |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view of Virginia Ave.
track elevation: |
OVB Photographs, |
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[Bridge over Virginia Ave., and track elevation at Noble St.: 24 August 1920, No. 12633, 12635] |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view of Track elevation of Bridge over Virginia Ave.: 20 August 1920, No. 12634] |
OVB Photographs, |
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[Track elevation at Noble St.,
and Davidson St.: |
Photographs, |
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[Views of Asylum building, and Davidson
St.: |
Photographs, |
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[Track elevation at Davidson St.,
and Noble St.: |
Photographs, |
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[Track elevation at Delaware St.,
and Davidson St.: |
Photographs, |
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[Delaware St., Virginia Ave.,
and Davidson St.: |
Photographs, |
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[Davidson St., Virginia Ave.,
and Delaware St.: |
Photographs, |
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[Davidson St., Delaware St., and Georgia St. Team Yard: 28 December 1920, No. 12974–12977] |
Photographs, |
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[Delaware St.: 12 January 1921, No. 12994, 12995] |
Photographs, |
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[Union Station train shed, Delaware St. and Virginia Ave.: 27 January 1921, No. 13010–13013] |
Photographs, |
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[Cruise St., Davidson St., Virginia Ave. team yard, and Delaware St.: 10 February 1921, No. 13041–13046] |
Photographs, |
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[Davidson St., and Delaware St.: 25 February 1921, No. 13067, 13069–13070] |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view south west from Delaware
St.: |
OVB Photographs, |
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[Davidson St., Virginia Ave., Delaware
St., Georgia St., and Noble St.: 17 March 1921, |
Photographs, |
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[Davidson St., Delaware St., and
Georgia St.: |
Photographs, |
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[Davidson St., and Georgia St.: 26 May 1921 , 13182, 13183, 13185] |
Photographs, |
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[Delaware St., and Noble St.: 13 June 1921, |
Photographs, |
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[Train shed, Illinois St., Meridian St., Pennsylvania St., Georgia St., Delaware St., Virginia Ave., and Noble St.: 22 June 1921, No. 13370–13381, 13383–13391] |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view of Virginia Ave.
and Delaware [St.]: |
OVB Photographs, |
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[Noble St.: 14 July 1921, No. 13424–13426] |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view of Delaware Ave.
[sic] and yard: |
OVB Photographs, |
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[Views of yard and Delaware Ave. [sic] 21 July 1922, No. 14018, 14019] |
Photographs, |
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[View of yard from Delaware St.:
? August 1922, |
Photographs, |
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[View of yard from Delaware St. showing waterproofing: 18 August 1922, No. 14097] |
Photographs, |
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[View of Delaware St.: 21 August 1922, No 14099] |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view of Delaware St.: 21 August 1922, No. 14099] |
OVB Photographs, |
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[Driveway from Pennsylvania Ave., and Georgia St., manhole on Pennsylvania Ave., over and under Delaware St. bridge: 1 September 1922, No. 14140–14145] |
Photographs, |
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[Delaware St., team yard, and Pennsylvania Ave. retention wall: 14 September 1922, No. 14196–14199] |
Photographs, |
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[Tracks from Delaware St. and Delaware St. bridge: 29 September 1922, No. 14230, 14231] |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view of Delaware St.
bridge: |
Oversized Photograph: Flat Files, FF1-a |
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[Panoramic view north on Delaware St.: 18 October 1922, No. 14312] |
OVB Photographs, |
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[Delaware St.: 18 October 1922, No. 14313, 14314] |
Photographs, |
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[North portal of Delaware St.: 27 October 1922, |
Photographs, |
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[Panoramic view west of Delaware St.: 27 October 1922, No. 14355] |
Oversized Photograph: Flat Files, FF1-a |
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[Panoramic view from Delaware St.: 8 November 1922, No. 14367] |
OVB Photographs, |
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[North portal of Delaware St., tracks and Pennsylvania Ave. [sic] wall: 8 November 1922, No. 14366, 14368, 14369] |
Photographs, |
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[Delaware St. and Pennsylvania Ave.: 22 November 1922, No. 14413, 14414, 14417] |
Photographs, |
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[View of completed wall on Pennsylvania Ave.: no date, |
Photographs, |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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[West and east end of trestle no. 1, Central Ave., Quincy Ave., Grand Ave. subway bridge: 18 May 1923, No. 14986–14911] |
Photographs, |
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[Central Ave., Quincy Ave., Woodland Ave., and Platt St.: 1 June 1923, No. 15030–15033] |
Photographs, |
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[Two views of elevated tracks: no dates, no numbers] |
Photographs, |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, P 0383).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.