From the 1930s until the early 1970s, families from Indianapolis’ west side could go to the Westlake Beach Club on High School Road to forget about their troubles.
The club was located south of West 10th Street, along Interstate 465, back when the interstate was only two lanes wide.
Its main feature was a large, artificial lake and beach. The club also featured a dance pavilion with a retractable roof, a miniature golf course and a drive-in movie theater.
Some of the teens who were able to experience the club said their experiences were some of their happiest childhood memories.
Clippings from the Aug. 4, 1957 issue of the Indianapolis Times show Westlake Beach Club in its heyday.
But today, little remains of the club and its many amenities.
The club closed in 1971. Membership was in decline due to less visibility after the expansion of I-465 and the urban sprawl that followed. The Westlake Drive-In lasted a decade longer, closing in 1981. The property where it once stood is now an apartment complex.
Some westside residents don’t want the memories of the club to die, so they hold a reunion every year to reminisce about the club and classmates that aren’t around anymore. This year, the 18th Annual Westlake Beach Club Reunion was held June 7 at Clermont Lions Club Park.
“Every year we lose people. The older we get, the less we have,” said Rusty Vermillion, a 78-year old who would sometimes visit the club. “We’re here to celebrate the ones that are still alive.”
Remembering Westlake
Several dozen westsiders attended the reunion and spoke about their time at Westlake.
Jane Penrose and Jan Shirrell have been friends for six decades. Both graduated from Northwest High School in 1965.
“We’re trying to recognize everybody, but we don’t all look the same (as we did back then),” Penrose said. “A lot of times somebody has to say who they are. (Shirrell) looks the same, but I won’t call her any names for it.”
Once everyone figured out who was who, they began thinking about the old days.
The club’s main attraction during the daytime was West Lake, a large artificial lake in the center of the property where people could swim or boat. During the 1950s, the club commissioned a replica of the boat from the 1951 film “The African Queen” to cruise the lake.
West Lake was stocked with bass, catfish and bluegill. A large sandy beach surrounded the lake.
That’s where Pam Taylor and her Ben Davis High School classmates in the late 1960s would spend most of their summer days.
“We would jump in the back of somebody’s truck and pick all the girls up, go swimming, put on baby oil and iodine and burn,” Taylor remembered.
The club also had a dance pavilion that attracted major bands of the time.
“They held the dances every Sunday and Wednesday night,” remembered Connie Brethman, 77. “The girls would all be on the floor dancing. All the boys didn’t dance back then, so they would just walk around the outside of the floor and check out all the girls.”
The pavilion also had a retractable roof, a feature that made some nights even more special for teens like Shirrell, who is now 77.
“(The memories) feel fresh,” she said. “It was nice. Especially if you had a boyfriend. They would roll the roof back and you would be under the stars while you did a little slow dance.”
The club wasn’t accessible to everyone, though. A seasonal membership cost about $5 in 1966 or about $50 in today’s dollars, which prevented low-income families from attending, at least regularly. It was also for white people only, like many other private and public facilities at the time.
Some people, like Penrose, were able to go despite financial difficulties.
“We were poor, but we didn’t know it. We had no clue. We were just out having fun,” she remembered.
For some, the reunion isn’t just about remembering the club. It’s about sharing time with old friends.
The former site of the Westlake Beach Club along Beachway Drive, seen here June 9, 2025, is now the Boardwalk at Westlake apartment complex.
“I’ve known most of these people since I was 12 years old,” said Becky McNichols, 71. “We all went our different ways, but now that a lot of us are retired, it’s fun to get together. Life’s short.”
Most of the attendees say they will keep coming back to meet old friends as long as they’re able to.
“These memories with everybody are wonderful,” Brethman said. “What would we do without them?”
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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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