The Stutz Business Center in downtown Indianapolis may now be the swank surroundings for more than 100 Indianapolis artists, graphic designers, and small businesses, but it had a much more blue-collar beginning. American automobile entrepreneur, engineer, and innovator, Harry C. Stutz opened the factory at Senate Avenue and 10th Street in 1911 when he started the Ideal Motor Car Company in Indianapolis. Within a few years, Stutz had renamed his business the Stutz Motor Car Company, under which he had produced the Stutz Bearcat, a car that would go on to become the first American-made automobile to place in the inaugural Indianapolis 500 Mile Race (Indy 500).
Stutz eventually sold his business to investors, who kept it going and produced luxury cars at the Indy factory for almost two more decades. In 1935, the economic depression took its toll, however, and the Stutz Motor Car Company closed its doors, after having produced more than 35,000 of the popular Stutz brand vehicles.
In 1993, Indianapolis businessman Turner Woodard bought the building with the idea of restoring it and creating the unique Stutz Business Center, which would serve as a home for small- to mid-sized Indianapolis businesses. The 400,000-square-foot building now houses more than 150 tenants, occupying an entire city block and boasting seven buildings with 11 loading docks. Artists, engineering firms, architects, as well as the Stutz Artists Association, carry on the entrepreneurial spirit in the Stutz Business Center, making it a popular spot for annual Indianapolis art shows, Indianapolis music performances, and small business growth.
Stutz Business Center
1060 N Capitol Av
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317.488.7373
For more information, go to the Website.
