Butler-Tarkington
Anchored by Butler University, Butler-Tarkington has a genuine university-town atmosphere — tree-lined streets, a mix of longtime residents and academic families, and a meaningful place in Indianapolis history as one of the city's earliest successfully integrated neighborhoods. It draws educated professionals and families who want proximity to Butler, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the Central Canal towpath.
Housing stock here is a genuine mix — mid-century homes, some older housing near the university, and newer construction filling in over time — with prices that track the neighborhood's steady, unglamorous reputation rather than any recent hype cycle. It's a solid, low-drama choice for buyers who want proximity to Butler and the Museum of Art and don't need their neighborhood to also be a trending one.
Named partly for novelist Booth Tarkington, an Indianapolis native — the neighborhood has a real literary pedigree to go with its university one.
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