Storytelling Arts of Indiana and Indiana Landmarks Presents An Indianapolis Artist Telling the Story of the Bottleworks Hotel   

Storytelling Arts of Indiana and Indiana Landmarks present the story behind one of the most ambitious development projects in the history of Indianapolis.

The two organizations invite the public to “If These Walls Could Tell: Bottleworks Hotel” on Sunday, March 3, at Indiana Landmarks Center for a matinee performance. A livestream option is also available for audience members who would like to watch from home.

Hendricks Commercial Properties won Indiana Landmarks' 2023 Cook Cup for Outstanding Restoration for its transformation of the former Coca-Cola Bottling Plant into the Bottleworks District, a $300 million, 12-acre culinary, arts and entertainment hub in the Mass Ave Cultural Arts District. 

With generous funding by Frank and Katrina Basile, artist Celestine Bloomfield researched the history of the site, creating a story about how Jim and Lee Yuncker decided to start bottling Coca-Cola at their ginger-ale plant in 1931, hiring notable Indianapolis architectural firm Rubush & Hunter to design their new plant. The result was an Art Deco showpiece, with a gleaming white terra-cotta façade, bronze storefronts, terrazzo flooring, and boldly tiled walls. Fast forward to 2016, when Hendricks Commercial Properties redeveloped the site as a multi-use complex, turning the former industrial building into a 139-room boutique hotel. The results are simply magnificent, attracting visitors from around the world, with Yelp recently naming the Bottleworks Hotel the best place to stay in the U.S.

About the Series

Indiana Landmarks and Storytelling Arts of Indiana, with generous support from Frank and Katrina Basile, developed the If These Walls Could Tell Series in 2011 to honor the winners of the Cook Cup Award for Outstanding Restoration. These original stories inspired by historical Indiana buildings are about the people who have built, lived, worked, gathered and restored these vintage places.

About the Artist

In the past year, Celestine Bloomfield has led Storytelling Arts of Indiana's storytelling mentoring program for individuals of color, taught the storytelling camp at Arts for Lawrence, and hosted the monthly Indy Story Slams. She was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. Before retirement, Celestine was an educational consultant, instructor at IUPUI, and elementary media specialist. This is her second commission for the “If These Walls Could Tell” series, the first titled “Timeless: The Town Clock Church in New Albany.”  She serves on the board of Storytelling Arts of Indiana Endowment Trust.

About Storytelling Arts of Indiana

Since 1988, Storytelling Arts of Indiana has introduced the art of storytelling by creating environments where Hoosiers can hear and share stories and by showcasing tellers who inspire diverse audiences. SAI provides programming year-round, including public shows, As I Recall storytelling guilds, performances at youth day camps, Indy Story Slams, The Life Stories Project, Hear Our Stories: The Life and Afterlife of Incarceration, and the annual Liar's Contest at Indiana State Fair.  

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