5 Infamous Presidential Assassinations and Attempts

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While only four sitting American presidents have been assassinated while in office, there have been at least 17 attempts to murder a president in the country’s history. Each of the successful assassinations came during or after moments of tremendous change in America, while many of the attempts were attributed to mental illness. These are five presidents who succumbed to or survived assassinations.

John F. Kennedy

President John F. Kennedy. Reprinted from John F. Kennedy’s North Carolina Campaign by John Allen Tucker, courtesy of UNC (pg. 45, Arcadia Publishing, 2012).

Most of us are familiar with the story of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. During a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas in 1963, a gunman shot and killed the president. At midday, the open top car carrying the Kennedys turned into the plaza where the streets were lined with people. The parade was interrupted when gunfire erupted into the scene. JFK was shot in the neck and head and the city’s governor was shot in the back. The car sped to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where the president was pronounced dead thirty minutes after the first bullet flew. 

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested less than an hour later, but during a transfer to the county jail two days after the attack, he was shot at point blank by Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner. On November 25, 1963, JFK was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, where Jackie Onassis joined him after she passed. Today, the graves are home to the eternal flame, and see millions of visitors every year.

Ronald Reagan

President Ronald Reagan had been in office less than 100 days when an attempt was made on his life. On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. shot the president outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington. The president was injured by a single bullet as he was entering his car at 2:27 pm. Upon review, it was ruled that the Secret Service had securely protected the president during his speech at the hotel, but failed to keep the crowd far enough away when Reagan exited through “President’s Walk.”

There were six shots fired in total, but five of them missed the president. One hit police officer Thomas Delahanty in the neck and another struck Timothy McCarthy in the abdomen as they shielded the president from the attack, but no one was killed. The other three bullets hit either surrounding buildings or the car. The shooter was found not guilty by reason of insanity, as he claimed he wanted to kill the president to impress actress Jodi Foster after seeing her performance in Taxi Driver. Ironically, the assassination attempt boosted Reagan’s general approval ratings, and some claim this helped him win the 1984 election. 

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Reprinted from Warm Springs by David M. Burke and Odie A. Burke, (pg. 71, Arcadia Publishing, 2005).

On a warm afternoon in Miami in 1933, a mentally ill and unemployed bricklayer named Giuseppe Zangara shouted, “too many people are starving!” before firing at President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt had been delivering a speech at Miami’s Bayfront Park, and had just left in an open top car when Zangara fired six rounds, hitting five people – none of whom were the president. The one person killed was the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak. 

People in the crowd attacked Zangara until Roosevelt told them to stand down and let the authorities handle it. The FBI interviewed Zangara, who revealed that he didn’t hate FDR personally, he simply hated anyone who was rich. He also noted his chronic stomach pains, “since my stomach hurt, I want to make even with the capitalists by killing the president.” Because of the death of Cermak, Zangara was found guilty at trial and killed by the electric chair. 

Abraham Lincoln

The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln is one of the most infamous in American history. America had just found relief with the end of the Civil War when the president was shot point blank while attending a performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C.. The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was a well-known actor of the day. He leapt onto the stage from the president’s box where the crowd cheered, thinking the attack part of the performance, but the screams of Mary Lincoln told them it was not. 

Soldiers carried Lincoln to a boarding house across the street where a doctor who had also been attending that night’s performance tried to save the president’s life. Alas, the surgeon general arrived, and pronounced Lincoln dead at 7:22 a.m. on April 15, 1865. The country was devastated by the loss of their president. The subsequent search for Booth was one of the largest manhunts in history, involving 10,000 federal troops, detectives, and police. It lasted until April 26, where a fatally wounded Booth was hiding in a barn. Union troops set fire to the barn, but Booth remained inside. When a sergeant caught sight of Booth, he fired, killing the assassin. 

William Howard Taft

President William Howard Taft and his wife, Nellie. Reprinted from Beverly Revisited by Beverly Historical Society (pg. 42, Arcadia Publishing, 2010).

The 1909 meeting between William Howard Taft and Mexican president Porfirio Diaz was slated to be historic. It would be the first meeting between leaders of the two countries, and the first time an American president would step over the U.S.-Mexico border. They agreed that the Chamizal strip between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez would be neutral territory, with no flags of either country present during the meeting. However, news of the meeting led to an influx of assassination threats against both presidents. Texas Rangers, U.S. and Mexican troops, Secret Service agents, FBI agents, and U.S. Marshals were all enlisted to provide security.

On October 16, the day of the summit, a Texas Ranger was alerted by a man who appeared to be carrying a pistol. The man was standing in the crowd at the El Paso Chamber of Commerce along the route both presidents would take. The ranger disarmed and restrained the man as Taft and Diaz passed just feet away. 

Some of the most tragic losses in American history have come from the deaths of acting presidents. These are just five presidents who have either been victims of successful assassinations or managed to escape with little to no harm. The stories of these attempts, successful or not, have forever marked the history of the nation. 

What does the name Arcadia mean?

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We here at Arcadia have started to wonder recently where the name behind our company may have come from, so we’ve started doing a little research of our own… Explore it with us below!

Arcadia: A Grecian Paradise

The earliest mention of Arcadia comes from the regional unit (similar to a US region like the Northeast) of Greece, which has existed since antiquity. In its earliest days, Arcadia was a loose coalition of Grecian towns, which gradually came together to form a group of city-states known as the League of Arcadians. This league included many major Ancient Greek cities, including Mantinea and Megalopolis.

The main purpose of the League of Arcadians was to protect the region (situated on the Peloponnese peninsula) from invaders, particularly the city-state of Lacedaemon, better known as Sparta. The League successfully withstood attempted invasions from Sparta in the 7th century BCE.

Ancient Arcadia was also well-known in Greek mythology as the home of the god Pan, the god of the wild, shepherds, fields, and the mountains. This association was shaped by Arcadia’s mountainous landscape, with large valleys and plains in between the foothills. Due to the vast topography, the population of Arcadia lived in mostly rural settlements, with some small cities in the valleys, similar to the pastoral images associated with Pan.

As the home of Pan, Arcadia was viewed as a version of paradise in Ancient Greece, where Pan and his court of nymphs and fairies could exist in harmony. This idealization of the area and prominence in Greek mythology led to the area being heavily featured in ancient art and literature, where it was imagined as an unspoiled, rustic country, whose people lived close to nature, rather than society.

This image of Arcadia was even featured as the setting of the prominent Roman poet Virgil’s Eclogues, a series of poems that primarily depicted shepherds in Arcadia’s rural landscape, conversing with one another and performing amoebaean singing, a type of Ancient Greek singing competition. The Eclogues were massively successful when performed in Rome, and led to Virgil becoming a celebrity in his own right.

The Renaissance Loss of Innocence

Virgil’s vision of Arcadia in the Eclogues was extremely influential, especially during the European Renaissance from the 14th to 17th centuries. Virgil’s influence caused Renaissance artists and writers to imagine Arcadia as a sort of untouched paradise, shielded from the influence of human civilization.

In many Renaissance works, Arcadians are depicted as living a natural lifestyle that has been “lost” with the dawn of modern civilization. The most well-known artwork featuring Arcadia is possibly Nicolas Poussin’s Et in Arcadia ego, an oil painting depicting a gathering of the idealized shepherds of Virgil’s Eclogues around a tomb:

The tomb the shepherds have gathered around is inscribed with a memorial, a scene which is also described in Virgil’s Eclogues V. Virgil’s influence extended much further than the Renaissance, however – even in more modern artwork, Arcadia is still depicted as an Eden-like paradise, where the people live in harmony with nature, rather than civilization.

Arcadia Today

Although Arcadia may no longer be the home of Pan and his dryads, it is still a thriving regional unit of Greece. It is much larger than it was in antiquity, making up approximately 18% of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is the largest regional unit on the peninsula, with its capital at Tripoli. Arcadia is also still known for its mountainous areas, and has a popular ski resort on Mount Mainalo, which is located near the capital.

The region is still heavily referenced in popular culture, with TV shoes like Guillermo del Toro’s Tales of Arcadia, and mentions in video games such as the popular series Bioshock. The name Arcadia has also come to be used as a popular name for cities and towns around the world, including a dozen or so in the US, like Arcadia, California.

Here at Arcadia Publishing, our mission is to showcase America’s unique history through the places and people that have helped to create it. That’s why we Googled our own name – to learn the history behind the name that we’re so proud of today!

7 Creative Ways to Celebrate Mother’s Day

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Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday of May every year. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with giving the standard bouquet of flowers and a card, many people want to choose a more unique to celebrate the day. After all, your mom is one of a kind! She deserves to be honored in a way that’s as special and amazing as she is. 

The following are just a few suggestions for making Mother’s Day a little more creative this year. Don’t be afraid to personalize them or allow them to inspire new ideas of your own. 

Recreate treasured family photos.

If your family is like most, there are candid snapshots, and then there are cherished family photos that everyone loves. Get together with your siblings and choose one or two group photos from your childhood. Then bring those moments back to life by recreating those same shots. The key to success here is to nail the location, clothing, and key accessories from the original photo. Frame the best one and give it to your mom as a gift. 

Pack a picnic to enjoy together.

Lots of people take their mothers out to brunch or dinner on Mother’s Day, but why fight the inevitable crowds and waste this important day waiting in line? Instead, pack a portable picnic just for two. Include all of her favorite foods, especially any that evoke special memories from your childhood. Then take her to her favorite park or garden so that you can enjoy it together.

Give your mother a guided tour of where you work.

Does your mother constantly tell others how proud she is of your career? Is she always full of questions about your coworkers, your office, and how you are an integral part of the company? Consider bringing your mother to your workplace and introduce her to your coworkers. It will be a meaningful experience for both of you.

Make a difference together.

For many mothers, their giving spirit doesn’t stop at home with their own children and family. They care just as much about their community as well. If that sounds like your mom, consider volunteering together this Mother’s Day. Choose a cause she’s passionate about and spend the day giving back as a team. Invite your siblings to come, too! 

Write her something heartfelt.

Short on cash this Mother’s Day? Looking for a gift that’s extra meaningful for reasons of your own? Nothing is more important to a mother than knowing she’s made a difference in the lives of her children. Consider turning your own words and gratitude into a gift to remember. 

If you’re good at creative writing, compose your very own Ode to Mom in either poetry or prose form. Print out a decorative copy in a pretty font and frame it. Not much of a wordsmith? Try making Mom a list of the valued skills, lessons, and wisdom she’s taught you over the years instead. 

Stage a photo shoot.

What better way to commemorate a special day than with pictures? Start the day by taking your mom to her favorite department store. Treat her to some new cosmetics, accessories, or clothes of her choice. Then treat yourselves to a photo shoot to commemorate the special day.

Plant flowers together.

Instead of simply handing your mother a bouquet of flowers, treat her to something more meaningful—time spent planting beautiful living things in the yard. Visit a nursery together to choose some new seedlings or other options for her vibrant garden. Then gather your siblings together to help Mom plant them. Alternatively, you could all spend some time contributing to a community garden—the perfect way to spend everyone’s favorite spring holiday!

5 Important Reasons to Teach Your Kids American History

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If you’re a parent, then you probably don’t need to be told why it’s important to be involved when it comes to your child’s education. Children with parents that consider involvement important grow up to be better adjusted and more self-aware. They tend to have better relationships with not only their parents, but other people as well. 

However, it can be difficult to figure out which subjects you should prioritize now, and which can wait until they’re older. American history is one of the most frequently overlooked subjects when it comes to extracurricular educational material, but it really shouldn’t be. Here we’ll take a closer look at why you absolutely should expose your children to American history. 

1. Children appreciate history to a greater degree when they learn it early.

Think back to your own childhood and the time you spent learning from one or both of your parents. The chances are pretty good that the skills you were taught to appreciate then translated into good habits and deep passions later on in life. Wouldn’t it be great if your children grew up appreciating American history to the same degree your own parents taught you to appreciate cooking, fishing, or art? 

Children love fascinating stories and fun tidbits of information. Spend some time talking to them about the history of the great nation in which they live. Provide them with opportunities to seek answers to questions they may have about certain events or concepts. Read to them from children’s history books and provide them with learning tools like history-centric puzzles, games, or coloring books. 

2. Your children may not be learning everything you consider important in class.

While it’s definitely important to encourage kids to pay attention in history class and to answer them correctly when they ask you why history is important, it’s just as important to realize that their classes can only take them so far when it comes to learning about American history. Most history classes cover just the basics, and American history is about so much more than just names and dates. 

Spend time personalizing historical figures and events for your children. Provide them with opportunities to learn more about topics, historical figures, or important events that they may be learning about in class. Make sure you include lessons on people of other cultures and ethnicities as well. 

3. Learning history helps children develop a sense of identity.

It’s the most natural, normal thing in the world for human beings to want to know who they are and where they come from. American history can provide people of any age with a better sense of identity, and this absolutely includes children. 

Early exposure to American history will help your child develop his sense of patriotism and pride in his country. It will teach him to respect the sacrifices and struggles of his ancestors. He’ll learn more about the cultural traditions and heritages that he’s a part of. In other words, it will help him identify and appreciate his place in a rather long, complex, and wonderful human story. 

4. History can help your child develop qualities like compassion and empathy.

Just as learning about your ancestors and cultural heritage is very important, so is learning about people who are different. Learning about people from other countries or other backgrounds can help your child learn to relate to people who are different from herself. She’s more likely to grow up to be compassionate, socially aware, and tolerant. 

That said, it’s important for all children, regardless of their ethnic heritage, to study African-American history and immigrant history on a year round basis, not just during Black History Month or on certain cultural holidays. 

5. Learning local American history helps children build connections to their community.

It’s important to realize that regional and local history is just as important as general American history. However, the local history of your city or region is much less likely to be taught in school. 

Take your children to visit local landmarks and historical points of interest. Take them to history museums and teach them to see their hometown or the places your family goes on vacation as an important part of American history. Educate them in regards to various cultural groups and their contributions to local history. Your children will grow up feeling connected to their community on a very special level. 

In addition to a large selection of local interest books on a multitude of topics, Arcadia Publishing also features a line of regional interest books for kids. Include them as part of your child’s ongoing education in American history!

Discover more books from Arcadia Publishing.

6 of Oregon’s Most Notable Women

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Western states experienced some of the earliest forward motion for women through the 19th and 20th centuries. Shortly after the 1848 women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, women across the country began stepping into roles of authority, and speaking out for political and social change. Women in Oregon were no exception. For Women’s History Month, we remember how some of these women became pioneers in their chosen fields, setting records and raising the bar, while others proudly stood for legislative change that better represented the state’s female population.


1. Stacy Allison

Climber Stacy Allison. Reprinted from Woodburn by Beverlee Jory Koutny, courtesy of WBM (pg. 124, Arcadia Publishing, 2012).

Stacy Allison spent most of her adolescence in Woodburn, Oregon, and started rock climbing while she was a student at Oregon State University. At age 21, she made her first extensive climb on Mount Huntington, a notable pyramid-shaped mountain in Alaska. Not long after, she reached the top of Alaska’s Denali, the highest peak in North America. Within that same year, she was a member of the all-women’s climb to the top of the 22,495-foot Ama Dablam in Nepal. In September 1988, Allison turned her attention to Mount Everest. After a failed first attempt due to an unexpected violent storm, she tried again and became the first American woman to summit the daunting mountain.


2. Lola Baldwin

Lola Greene Baldwin. Reprinted from Notable Women of Portland by Tracy J. Prince and Zadie J. Schaffer, courtesy of W and OHS bb003191 (pg. 32, Arcadia Publishing, 2017).

Aurora “Lola” Greene Baldwin became the first policewoman in the United States in 1908. She was first sworn in as Superintendent of the Women’s Auxiliary to the Police Department for the Protection of Girls. Baldwin grew up in Rochester, New York, then later moved to Lincoln, Nebraska where she was a teacher and married. Baldwin, her husband, and their two sons moved to Portland in 1904, when Baldwin was 44 years old. In 1905, she was hired to protect the single women and girls working at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. After this success, she was frequently hired for similar roles until 1908, when she was formally hired as a police officer. During her tenure, she was an advocate for women’s rights and incarceration reform. She died in Portland in 1957 at the age of 97.


3. Laura Stockton Starcher

Laura Stockton Starcher. Reprinted from Remarkable Oregon Women: Revolutionaries & Visionaries by Jennifer Chambers, courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society (pg. 74, The History Press, 2015).

In 1916, Laura Stockton Starcher defeated her husband twenty-six to eight to become mayor of Umatilla, Oregon. Four additional women joined Starcher in being elected to council seats, leaving just two men on the council. Over the next four years, the council funded projects to improve streets and sidewalks, improved electrical and water maintenance, and fashioned the city’s first “Cleanup Weeks.” They also founded a town library, created monthly garbage pickup, and appointed a city health official during the 1918 smallpox epidemic. Unfortunately, Starcher was only able to serve eight months of her two-year term due to illness. When she left office, another woman, Stella Paula, was elected mayor in 1918.


4. Abigail Scott Duniway

Abigail Scott Duniway. Reprinted from Abigail Scott Duniway and Susan B. Anthony in Oregon: Hesitate No Longer by Jennifer Chambers, courtesy of the Library of Congress (pg. 22, The History Press, 2018).

Born in Groveland, Illinois, Abigail Scott Duniway was one of the many pioneers to venture west on the Oregon Trail in 1851. By October, her family had reached the Willamette Valley. Duniway taught school for a short time before marrying and giving birth to six children. After her husband suffered an immobilizing farming accident, it was up to Duniway to support the family. She moved them to Portland in 1871 to found The New Northwest, a weekly newspaper dedicated to women’s rights. She was persistent in her fight for gender equality. In 1912, Oregon became the seventh state in the country to pass women’s rights amendments. Duniway was the first woman to register to vote in Multnomah County. She died at the age of 80 in 1915.

5. Millie R. Trumbull

 Millie R. Trumbull served as the first executive secretary of the Oregon Board of Inspectors of Child Labor, and spearheaded many early Oregon laws restricting child labor. She was born in Dubuque, Iowa in 1866 and in 1887, she settled in Chicago with her husband. It was here that she was exposed to the harsh realities of child labor. After attending a lecture by Florence Kelley in 1892 on “The Sweating System,” Trumbull learned about the frail child labor laws currently in place. In 1990, her husband’s job was transferred to Portland, Oregon, where Trumbull continued her fight to regulate child labor, and pushed several restrictive laws into effect.


6. Tabitha Moffatt Brown

Tabitha Moffatt Brown. Reprinted from Forest Grove by Lisa Amato, Mary Jo Morelli, and the Friends of Historic Forest Grove, courtesy of PU (pg. 12, Arcadia Publishing, 2010).

 In 1987, Tabitha Moffatt Brown was named “The Mother of Oregon.” Her name is one of six women scrawled inside the legislative chambers in the Oregon Capitol, honoring important women in the state’s history. After her husband’s death, Brown ventured to the Oregon Country with two of her then grown children and their families. They arrived in late 1846, and settled in Tualatin. Brown founded the Oregon Orphan’s Asylum and School in 1848. As one of the chief overseers of the home, Brown became known by the residents as “Grandma Tabitha.” The property was chartered in 1849, and in 1854, higher education classes were added to the curriculum. The school was later amended to today’s Pacific University. Brown died in 1858, and is buried in Pioneer Cemetery in Salem, Oregon. Her gravestone reads: “Mother Symbol of Oregon, Co-Founder of Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon.”

As trailblazers of social and political reform in Oregon, these women left legacies in their towns and cities across the state. Their work in helping women gain the right to vote, reforming child labor laws, and being trailblazers in their chosen professions set a model for future generations of women to follow.

A Women’s History Month Tribute To Madam C.J. Walker

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As part of Women’s History Month, we celebrate in this blog the life of the great entrepreneur and philanthropist Madam C.J. Walker (1867 – 1919) who has been described as the first American self-made woman millionaire. 

Madame Walker, Pioneer of Beauty
This photograph of Madam Walker was taken in Washington, D.C. early in her career.  The image became famous and was widely-used in the promotion of Walker’s products. 

Madam Walker spent her most successful years in Indianapolis, Indiana where she planned a large theater complex that was completed in 1927, eight years after her death. A’Leila Bundles has written a photographic history of Madam Walker and of the Indianapolis theatre she envisioned, which bears her name in the Images of America book, Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure. 

Madam Walker Theatre Center

The great-great-granddaughter of Madam Walker, A’Leila Bundles has had a remarkable career in her own right.  Bundles is an Emmy award-winning producer and former ABC News Executive and trustee of Columbia University. She has written several books including a highly-regarded biography of Madam Walker “On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker”.

Walker (1867 — 1919) led an inspiring, rags-to-riches life, as captured by the following image showing the circumstances of her birth and the beautiful mansion she built on the Hudson River just a year before her death.

Cabin to Castle
Reprinted from Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure

Madame Walker was born Sarah Breedlove in a shack on a Louisiana cotton plantation.  She died in a mansion she had built a few miles from the Rockefeller estate that she had named the “Villa Lewato”. It was designed by Vertner Tandy, New York City’s first licensed black architect and was commonly known as a “wonder house”.

 Walker was orphaned at the age of seven and a widow with a child by 20. She supported herself as a laundress in St. Louis for two decades. When Walker became concerned over her hair loss in her late 30s, she discovered and began selling a product for hair restoration which became known as “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower”.  With a flair for marketing, investment savvy, and a commitment to hard work, Madam Walker created a large business empire on the foundation of her Wonderful Hair Grower.

Madam C.J. Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower
Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower was always her most popular product and was sold in tins featuring her photograph. Reprinted from Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure

Walker manufactured a line of hair and other cosmetic products for African American women. She franchised her products and created and trained a national sales force. Madam Walker also established a nation-wide system of schools in many American cities to train African American beauticians and cosmetologists.  Many women trained in the Walker schools became successful in their own right. 

Virginia Abrams' Certificate of Lelia College Completion
Madam Walker opened her first beautician school in Pittsburgh and named it Lelia College after her daughter. Reprinted from Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure

Madam Walker was a skillful promoter of her products and her beautician schools.

Mme C.J. Walker's Preparations for the Hair
This 1917 advertisement features Madam Walker’s hair preparations, other cosmetic products and her schools.  The advertisement exhorts its readers: “Open your own shop.  Secure Prosperity and Freedom. Many women of all ages, confronted with the problem of earning a livelihood have mastered the WALKER SYSTEM.” Reprinted from Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure

In addition to being a savvy business woman, Madam Walker was also a philanthropist and contributed generously to churches, educational institutions, anti-lynching movements, and other causes devoted to the betterment of African Americans.

1913 Dedication Ceremony of Senate Avenue YMCA
In 1913, Madam Walker contributed $1,000 for a YMCA facility in Indianapolis for African American men and boys.  In this photograph of the dedication ceremony, Madam Walker is seen with Booker T. Washington and other dignitaries. Reprinted from Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure

In 1914, angered at her treatment by a segregated Indianapolis theatre, Madam Walker purchased a large city block in the city’s African American district to house her company’s headquarters and factory. She dreamed that this facility would become a center of African American cultural life which would free Indianapolis African Americans from indignities.  The complex opened just after Christmas in December, 1927 and served for many years as a community landmark and as the headquarters for the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company.

Walker Theatre
This photograph of the Walker Theatre was taken shortly after its opening in December, 1927. It was a four-story, block long, 48,00 square foot flatiron structure that included the company headquarters, a theatre, meeting rooms, ballroom, businesses, and professional offices. Reprinted from Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure

By the 1970’s, unfortunately, the building had fallen into disrepair and was slated for demolition. However, an inspiring community effort saw the building beautifully restored and reopened in 1988 as the Madam Walker Theatre Center. It has again become a vibrant presence in community life. In 1991, the Walker Building was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Madam C.J. Walker Stamp
In 1998, Madam Walker became the 21st historical figure honored by the U.S. Postal Service in its Black Heritage Series.  A’Lelia Bundles, the author of the Images of America book on Madam Walker is fourth from right in this photograph. Reprinted from Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure

The story of Madam Walker’s business endeavors, community activities, and her theatre is an inspiring way to celebrate both Black History Month and Women’s History Month. We hope you have enjoyed this short introduction to Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure by A’Leila Bundles.

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