Butler-Tarkington is a neighborhood on the near northwest side of Indianapolis bounded by the Central Canal and Michigan Road, the west side of Meridian Street, 38th Street, and Westfield Boulevard.  The neighborhood derives its name from Butler University and Pulitzer prize-winning Hoosier author Booth Tarkington, who lived at 4270 North Meridian Street from 1923 to 1946.  Covering an area of roughly 930 acres, the neighborhood--which resulted from a consolidation of numerous nineteenth century farms and orchards--has remained a largely residential community.

Education has long played a significant role in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood.  Not only does the neighborhood boasts two public elementary schools (IPS Schools 43 and 86) and a parochial school (St. Thomas Aquinas School), it also plays host to Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary.  In addition, a number of private schools—Orchard Country Day, the Sycamore School, and Noble Center II—can trace their origins back to the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood.

 Both Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) have introduced a number of important educational, cultural, scientific, and sports facilities into the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood over the years. The 1960s saw additional development of the campus with the construction of Clowes Memorial Hall (1963), which served as the home of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra from 1963 to 1984, and Irwin Library (1963).  During the 1990s, the university built the Residential College at the corner of Sunset and Hampton and closed off several internal roads to create a large pedestrian mall on campus.  See Indiana Colleges

Well into the 1990's the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood has managed to retain much of its historic character as a middle-class, residential neighborhood.