James Allison Mansion

An Arts and Crafts style red brick mansion built between 1911 and 1914 for James Allison, co-founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now part of Marian University campus.

The James Allison Mansion, known as Riverdale, was built between 1911 and 1914 as the summer home of James Asbury Allison, one of the most influential figures in early American automotive history. Born August 11, 1872, Allison co-founded the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 with Carl Fisher, Frank Wheeler, and Arthur Newby. He invented the Allison Perfection Fountain Pen, co-founded Prest-O-Lite headlight manufacturing, and established Allison Engineering Company, which became a major defense contractor during World War I and was later acquired by General Motors. The 64-acre estate sat high on a bluff overlooking Crooked Creek, and the mansion itself was dubbed the "House of Wonders" for its state-of-the-art features: an elevator, central vacuum system, telephone intercom, automatically lighted closets, pumped-in ice water, an indoor basement swimming pool, and sophisticated indirect lighting systems, all built of reinforced concrete with a red brick exterior. In 1927, Allison became sole owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but he died of pneumonia on August 3, 1928 at age 56, just one week after marrying his second wife, Lucile Musset. The Speedway was sold to World War I hero Eddie Rickenbacker.

Rumors that Allison's spirit remained at his beloved Riverdale began spreading almost immediately after his death. The estate was sold in 1936 to the Sisters of St. Francis of Oldenburg, who established Marian College (now Marian University), using the mansion as the college's library, administrative offices, classrooms, and sleeping quarters. It now houses the Office of the President and the Office of Conferences and Events. The most persistent ghost is believed to be the spirit of a little girl who drowned in the basement swimming pool, though the date and identity of the victim have never been confirmed. Witnesses have reported seeing the girl's apparition crying near the former pool drain. In May 2018, two Marian University students encountered a small girl crying near the eco-lab area, which occupies the former pool space. They described a sudden, unexpected cold despite warm weather before fleeing the building.

The spirit of James Allison himself is said to constantly rearrange things throughout his former home. Books in the library are found reorganized, furniture is moved to different positions overnight, and objects disappear entirely before reappearing in unexpected locations. Disembodied voices are heard in the attic and whining sounds emanate from near the old pool drain in the basement. In 2020, visitors conducting an investigation with electromagnetic field meters detected unusual readings between 109 and 126 in the mansion's lower basement level, with readings intensifying near the basement windows. One visitor received an unexplained scratch near his ear during the session. People who approach the lower basement areas describe a persistent feeling of being watched, as though something invisible is staring directly at them. The Allison Mansion has been called the most haunted house in Indianapolis, and its reputation has only grown since Marian University acknowledged the stories while maintaining its academic focus on the historically significant estate.