Lawmakers Block Canal Site For New Indiana Archives Building

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana lawmakers have blocked a proposal for building a new state archives building at a site along downtown Indianapolis' canal.

The new state budget approved by the General Assembly includes $25 million toward a new archives building, but also has a provision barring its construction at the canal site.

State officials sought a new archives building to protect a collection that includes the 1816 and 1851 state constitutions, slave records and the prison records of gangster John Dillinger. Those items are currently stored in an Indianapolis warehouse that lacks climate controls.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Luke Kenley says he didn't believe the current green space along the canal was large enough for future growth of the archives building and that other state property is available for the project.