"The Arsenal"
18" x 22" by Luke Buck
(watercolor painting)

The U.S. Arsenal building has been documented by the National Park Service's Historic American Building Survey.

The Arsenal building is one of 16 buildings making up Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The entire school was originally a Civil War Arsenal which was closed after the Spanish American War.   It's listed on the National Register Of Historic Places and was established as a High School in 1912.   The school is located within the city limits of Indianapolis on a beautiful 76 acre wooded campus housing the 16 school buildings.   During the period from the late 1930's through the 1960's it was rated as one of the largest High Schools in the country with its peak enrollment of over 7000 students.

 "Tech", as the locals refer to call it, was a "Technical School", offering classes and training in more subjects and for more trades than most schools offer, even in today's standards.   The Art Department alone was equipped and qualified as well as most colleges of that time with a faculty of 15 teachers in art related subjects offering a variety of classes including fine arts, drafting & engineering, jewelry making,  to stage craft, silk screen & sign painting, and several more specialty art related fields. 

"Tech" High School is Luke Buck's alma mater and he graduated from there in 1960 with a graduating class of over 600 students.   Along with achieving a Scholarship to John Heron Art Institute in figure drawing, Tech also awarded Luke with a Vocational Certificate in Commercial Art and placed him in his first commercial art job as an illustrator at the Herff Jones Company in Indianapolis upon his graduation.

 This year 2012, "Arsenal Technical High School", celebrated its 100th birthday with a year of festivities and event celebrations.  Included in these activities the Arsenal Technical High School Alumni Association awarded Luke Buck with "Alumnus of the Year for 2012" for his success in his chosen field and vocation.  This was an exceptional honor and achievement award for Luke.

President of the Arsenal Technical High School Alumni Association, Ron Jackson (left)
presenting Luke Buck (right) with the 2012 Alumnus of the Year Award.

Luke signing prints of his watercolor painting of the Arsenal building on the Tech campus.

Luke Buck (center) signing prints and reminiscing with Tech alumni members
as his daughter Truellina (on left) and Kathy Jackson (right) assist him.

Luke painted a watercolor painting of The Arsenal Building on Tech HS Campus and presented the original painting to the School Alumni Association to add to their permanent collection.  With permission from the artist the Alumni Association has made Giclee prints of the painting in two sizes and they are available for purchase Click here for more information.

For NEW reproductions of Luke's paintings see the "Limited Editions" page, "Glicee Series" or Click here