Leodis Watson fought the Nazis in World War II. The Indianapolis native was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he braved enemy fire to bring supplies from D-Day invasion beaches to troops on the front lines.
But when Watson came back from the war, he found discrimination. Redlining and neighborhood segregation prevented him from using his GI Bill housing benefits in most parts of the city.
That’s when Flanner House stepped in. The organization convinced the city after the war to buy a portion of land north of Crispus Attucks High School, the city’s first all-Black high school, and allow the organization to redevelop it to build homes for Black veterans and other residents.
Now, those residents and their descendants are trying to preserve the neighborhood, called Flanner House Homes.
Leading the effort is Watson’s daughter, Disa Watson-Summers, 64, who inherited the three-bedroom home her father built on Brooks Street.
She says the neighborhood’s proximity to locations such as the new IU Health downtown hospital, 16 Tech Innovation District and the Canal Walk have drawn the attention of investors who want the properties but not the homes — or the history.
“We need to do something to help protect the existing structures,” Watson-Summers said, “so people are not just buying the house and tearing it down and just building something new.”
Watson-Summers, a member of the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission, wants the city to officially recognize the neighborhood as a historic site. If that happened, developers would be forced to ask the commission, which is part of the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, for permission to demolish or alter homes in significant ways.
But getting that designation requires other homeowners to sign on.
Meeting planned to discuss historic site designation
Recognition from the preservation commission isn’t just symbolic. It also brings additional red tape.
Jose Orellana, 65, who purchased his home on Drake Street in 2023, doesn’t object to the historic designation. He doesn’t think an extra layer of bureaucracy will slow interest in the properties.
“I don’t think a historic designation will hinder me if I try to sell the house,” Orellana said. “Whoever wants it will work to get it, because it’s really well built.”
But renters like Michael Armstrong, 54, worry that if property values go up and homeowners can’t find buyers because of the historic protections, people like him will end up paying more for rent.
Despite that chance, Armstrong believes the historic homes should be protected. He heard about the neighborhood’s history from his mother and other adults growing up.
“I remember my mom and them telling me about how they had to work hard to make a home for the family and kids with almost nothing,” he said. “I think they should try to build the neighborhood up instead of trying to tear it down.”
The preservation commission can approve a neighborhood as a historic district, such as Irvington, or as a conservation district, such as Ransom Place. Conservation districts have fewer restrictions.
In order to receive either historic area designation, the commission first looks for substantial support among property owners. If that exists, the commission votes on a declaratory resolution at a public hearing. If it passes, the resolution heads to the Metropolitan Development Commission for a vote. If approved, the designation becomes a part of the Marion County comprehensive plan.
To satisfy the first step, the Historic Flanner House Homes Property Owners Association will meet at 11 a.m. Sept. 20 at 16 Tech, 1220 Waterway Blvd..
Watson-Summers expects homeowners to vote in favor of the historic designation.
Then the matter would head to the preservation commission.
Flanner House Homes were built by WWII veterans
For Watson-Summers, the historic designation is not intended to tell people how to live or to keep new people out of the neighborhood. It’s to protect the hard work of people from her father’s generation.
Leodis Watson was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943 at age 18. He was assigned to the segregated 821st Amphibious Truck Company, where he trained to serve as a squad leader aboard a DUKW, a modified truck known as a “duck.” Watson and his crew served in France after the D-Day invasion, bringing supplies from the port in Cherbourg to troops on the front line until he was discharged in 1946.
His military experience helped him secure a spot in the second wave of Flanner House Homes construction.
The Indianapolis Redevelopment Commission purchased the neighborhood for $150,000 and gave it to the Flanner House to redevelop.
A family takes a break while working on a new Flanner House Home in the early 1950s. Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
Flanner House Homes construction, circa 1950. The sign in front of house reads “This work to be done under a no-lien contract between owner and principal contractor. Owner, Flanner House Homes Inc.” Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
A man carries a beam while working on a Flanner House Home. Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
Flanner Houser Homes construction, circa 1950. Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
John White, the first Flanner House Homes recipient, and his daughter move a shovel of dirt at the ground breaking ceremonies in 1950. Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
Providing finishing touches to a Flanner House Home, circa 1950. Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
Flanner House Homes, circa 1950. Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
Flanner House Homes aerial view toward north, 1952. Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
Children play on a makeshift seesaw during Flanner House Homes construction in the early 1950s. Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
The card used to solicit contributions for the erection of homes for low-income families by Flanner House Homes, Inc. Credit: Flanner House of Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society 
Flanner House Home owner Leodis Watson’s draft card. Credit: National Archives
Every prospective homeowner was required to put in at least 20 hours of work on the 950-square-foot homes every week. No one could move into their house until all the homes in a section were built.
But the homeowners didn’t build the homes alone. Besides support from Flanner House foremen, they also had the help of groups such as the Quaker-led American Friends Service Committee, and the American Jewish Society brought high school and college students to help out with painting, clearing landscapes and other jobs.
In all, according to Watson-Summers, 181 homes were built.
Three homes built by veterans already gone
The Flanner House Homes have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2003, but the designation does not prevent homeowners from altering the property or restricting its use.
Watson said three veteran-built homes in the area have been demolished because they were in bad condition. But, stopping more homes from being lost would require protections from the city.
“It’s really important to me to make sure everybody knows this history and brings that respect to it,” Watson-Summers said.
Watson-Summers and other neighbors have been pursuing a historic designation since 2015, but deaths and illnesses among the original homeowners throughout the years made it difficult to make the case to the commission.
But this year, she hopes to finally get the neighborhood homes the recognition and protections she thinks they deserve.
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Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.
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