Elm Heights and Bryan Park are home to historic houses between campus and downtown’s south side. Elm Heights is known for its historic homes and stunning architecture just steps from campus, while Bryan Park surrounds one of the city’s best-loved parks with cute bungalows and smaller homes.
Thinking about living close to campus? Read about buying a home near Indiana University, or compare Bloomington’s neighborhoods at a glance.
Where Elm Heights and Bryan Park are
Elm Heights sits just south of IU’s campus, east of downtown. Bryan Park is just south of Elm Heights, built around the park off Henderson Street. The two run together so closely that many buyers look at both.
Two neighborhoods side by side
Photo to come: Elm Heights: brick street with mature trees
Alt text: Tree-lined brick street with older homes in Elm Heights, Bloomington
Elm Heights
Tree-lined streets of 1920s homes, many architect-designed, with limestone and brick details.
Bryan Park
Cute bungalows and small homes around one of Bloomington’s favorite city parks.
The homes: age, styles and lots
Elm Heights was built mostly in the 1920s, on what used to be fields and orchards south of campus. It has the greatest concentration of architect-designed homes in Bloomington: brick, limestone, tile and slate, with revival-style doors and windows and carved limestone details. You’ll even spot gargoyles on a few downspouts. Larger homes with deeper front yards line the north-south streets, and smaller homes sit along the east-west streets. In Bryan Park, the homes are smaller and simpler: bungalows, cottages and ranches on tree-lined streets.
Getting to campus, downtown and the B-Line
Both neighborhoods are an easy walk or bike ride to campus, and the B-Line and Switchyard Park are close by for getting downtown.
Bryan Park and other places nearby
Bryan Park has playgrounds, including a new one that opened in 2024, plus tennis and basketball courts, ballfields, picnic shelters and a community pool that usually opens around Memorial Day. It’s also an accredited arboretum, and it hosts events throughout the year. Nearby on Hillside Drive, you’ll find SoMa Coffeehouse and Feta Kitchen + Cafe, plus Nourishing Heart Yoga and Black Lumber, a longtime local business.
Photo to come: Close-up of a historic home’s porch or front door in Elm Heights
Alt text: Front porch of a historic home in Elm Heights, Bloomington
[Tarah: short caption naming the street]
Before you buy an older home here
Homes this age deserve a thorough inspection. Look closely at the foundation, roof, electrical and sewer line. Elm Heights is a local historic district, so many exterior changes need approval (a Certificate of Appropriateness) from the City’s Historic Preservation Commission. Read the Elm Heights design guidelines before you plan any exterior work, and check the City’s map to see whether a home is inside the district.
Selling in Elm Heights or Bryan Park
Buyers come to these neighborhoods for the convenience of living close to the university and downtown, and for the character of the homes. Many are truly historic, with neat built-ins, arched doorways, original door knobs and stained glass. When I list a home here, I make sure those small details are noted and photographed, because if you’re looking to live in these neighborhoods, they’re likely just as important to you as the location.
Curious about Elm Heights or Bryan Park?
Ask me about a street, a house or how these neighborhoods compare to the rest of town.