Elm Heights offers several homes for sale each year, giving new homebuyers opportunities to live near Indiana University and downtown Bloomington.
Locals still call the area Vinegar Hill, a name left over from the orchards that once stood here before the neighborhood's streets were platted. What replaced the orchards was one of Bloomington's first true residential subdivisions — laid out on a tidy grid, built up house by house through the 1910s and 20s, and never rezoned or torn down. The result is a compact, walkable pocket of century-old homes that still functions exactly as it was designed to: a short commute from campus, on foot or by bike. What sets Elm Heights apart from Bloomington's other older neighborhoods is who lived in it. Because it grew up alongside the university and the limestone trade at the same time, its early residents ranged from stonemasons and quarry workers to IU faculty and the odd Nobel laureate — a mix the neighborhood has largely kept. There are several names that give the neighborhood its enduring reputation as Bloomington's intellectual address.
Elm Heights holds a historic district designation, and it shows: this is the largest concentration of architect-designed homes in Bloomington, built from the same Indiana limestone that faced the Empire State Building, the Biltmore Estate and the Pentagon.
The neighborhood's developer, banker and former mayor P.K. Buskirk, platted Elm Heights in the years just before 1910; construction peaked through the 1920s as IU expanded eastward and the Elm Heights school went up nearby. Rather than a single builder's pattern-book houses, the streets filled in with architect-designed homes for a rising business class - which is why no two blocks look alike.
Because changes go through Bloomington's Historic Preservation Commission, the neighborhood has kept its original materials largely intact: hand-set limestone, brick, tile and slate, including at least one porch carved with a stonemason's own gargoyle. Colonial revival is the most common style, but it also showcases tudor revival, american foursquare, spanish colonial, art deco and greek revival.
Ratings are general references, not guarantees — buyers should confirm current attendance zones with Monroe County Community School Corporation before relying on a specific school.
An active neighborhood association keeps Elm Heights' green spaces and tree canopy tended, and organizes regular resident events.
Downtown Bloomington's full restaurant and bar scene is an easy walk from most of Elm Heights.
Realtor - ePro - GRI
Multi Year Leading Sales Producer without a Team Member
Cell/Text: 812-345-3042
@amandasellsindiana
Over 20 years of experience, a lifetime love of homes.
