Indianapolis City Market Catacombs Tours 2022 - With Indianapolis City Market

In partnership with Indianapolis City Market, Indiana Landmarks offers guided tours of an unusual site usually hidden from public view. These tours explore the Catacombs, a Roman-looking expanse of brick arches beneath the outdoor Whistler Plaza of City Market. Along the way, guides share stories of two historic buildings, City Market and Tomlinson Hall. The Catacombs qualify as both a ruin and a redevelopment opportunity. They’re what remains of Tomlinson Hall, an imposing building whose main hall seated more than 3,500 people. Dietrich Bohlen designed the hall and City Market in 1886. He also designed Indiana Landmarks’ Morris-Butler House. Tomlinson Hall burned in January 1958, turning Market Street into an icy lake as firefighters battled the blaze. The city took down the remains later that year and today an arch from the hall is all that remains above ground. Our Catacombs don’t have bones or crypts—at least none that we know of—but rather scores of brick barrel-vaulted arches that remain from what was the basement of Tomlinson Hall. Tours last approximately 30 minutes and depart from the mezzanine level of Indianapolis City Market, 222 E. Market Street, Indianapolis.