The Riverside/Normal City Neighborhood

Welcome to the website of the Riverside/Normal City Neighborhood!

In Fall 2016, students in Dr. Jen Erickson’s Ethnographic Methods course at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, created this site to share their research about the Riverside/Normal City neighborhood, located to the east of the University. The story of this neighborhood is also a story about Ball State and the city of Muncie, known widely as Middletown, U.S.A., after Robert and Helen Lynd’s iconic study of this small city (1929, 1937). We invite you to read about the history and contemporary status of this iconic Middletown Neighborhood.

Check out this video of our project.

The Schroeder Gallery

Meet me in the Village Article – 2002

Gas station on University

Gas Station – Unknown Address

Meet me in the Village Article – 2002

Factory shot

Venamen-Gable Building

Filling station, unknown address

Back of village post card

Front of Village post card

Back of Envelope that was used by the Collegienne Shops

Front of Envelope that was used by the Collegienne Shops

Public Invited to View Stores Article as well as Normal City’s Attractive New…? (cut off)- but the place where Insomia Cookies is now, only when it was newly built

Opening of The Collegienne Store Advertisement

Announcement for the Formal opening of the Veneman-Gable Buidling at 1609-1611 University Avenue

Slip from Normal Cleaners with a note stating “Record of Mr. Emil Schroeder $100 dollars for rent on building at 1712 University for 5 months from Aug. 1, 1931 to Jan. 1, 1932. -C.V. Smith” C.V. Smith was the owner of Normal Cleaners

Normal City’s Attracive New “Uni-Mart” and brief article about Bert Rhyan who owned the Men’s store in the Uni-Mart

“Public Invited to Collegienne- Formal Opening of Shop’s New Home Tonight” and pictures of “Direct Affairs of Dress Shop” Individuals

“Emil Schroeder, retired shoe merchant, dies” obit and letter from Charles F. Coldwater, M.D. on who was responsible for keeping Normal City “alive and well”

Inside of Dalby’s Drug Store

BW Village post card

Uni-Mart restaurant front

Street with gas stations

Advertisement for the opening of the Green Door Tea Room

Gas stations and the Collegienne Shops

Village shop, houses Jimmy Johns today

Fire station

The Abrams’ Gallery

Mary Neff Gallery

Emerson kindergarten trip to the firehouse

Back of photo

Mary Neff and her friend Judy (6th grade)

Mary Neff at 10 years old (5th grade)

Linda Gregory Gallery

People at the homecoming event

Linda used to live a home across the street from Hazelwood Church. There she would host annual Ball State Homecoming events.

What Linda had to say about her events:

“We used them as campaign fund-raisers (having a fabulous breakfast buffet) for my campaigns in 2007 and 2011, for Team Democrat PAC candidates in 2008 and 2012 and for Teamwork for Quality Living in non-political years.”

She mentions campaign fundraisers because Linda has been an elected official for City Council.

-Barbara Dickensheets