Visiting a city for the first time is a great excuse for "Now and Then" photos. Traveling to Indianapolis took me back to 1909 and 1912.

October 25, 1909 was the beginning of a three year dynamiting campaign by the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Ironworkers. They had been in a nation-wide strike because of wages and working conditions. On this date they were determined to prove their seriousness, and set off four timed explosions at construction sites and buildings linked to an Indianapolis construction company.

In 1912 the entire leadership of the union were arrested by the feds. Their trial concluded in December with 38 of them headed to the penetentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Here is the Hawthorne Branch of the Indianapolis Library, which was under construction and bombed in 1909. It was a Carnegie library. The library opened finally in 1911 and lasted until 1955. It currently serves as the Center for Working Families, part of the Hawthorne Community Center.

Library of Congress 1909

Rob Ketcherside 2009

Almost precisely three years later, this photo was taken on the steps of the federal courthouse in Indianapolis on October 9, 1912. A number of ironworker defendants are leaving the building.

Library of Congress 1912

Rob Ketcherside 2009

This last photo is undated but looks to be taken moments later. It's the same staircase at the Indianapolis federal courthouse, with several of the people from the previous shot.

Library of Congress 1912

Rob Ketcherside 2009