Ball Corporation Headquarters and Ivy Tech: Marking the 50 Year History of a Downtown Landmark
Fifty years ago, in April 1976, Ball Corporation formally dedicated its new international headquarters at 345 South High Street in downtown Muncie.
Five decades later, the building remains a defining feature of the city’s landscape—its history reflecting the evolution of Muncie itself, from education to industry to workforce development. This special milestone offers an opportunity to look back at how a single place has continually adapted to serve new purposes while remaining rooted in the life of a vibrant downtown community.
The site’s history as a major community landmark dates back 147 years ago, when Muncie’s first high school was built on the block in 1879. The city outgrew it within a generation. The building was demolished and replaced by a second high school on the same site, which opened in November 1915.
In the early 1970s, a new high school was constructed on North Walnut Street, opening in 1973. The old high school building on South High Street was subsequently demolished to make way for Ball Corporation’s new international headquarters.
Groundbreaking for the headquarters took place in August 1974. The project resulted in a four-story, 104,000-square-foot office building with underground parking. The facility was designed to house Ball Corporation’s executive, administrative, and corporate functions in a centralized downtown location.
The building officially opened in April 1976 to great fanfare. The dedication on April 22 was attended by hundreds of citizens and employees. That same year, the new building was recognized by Administrative Management magazine as “Office Building of the Year.” Interior features included open office workspaces, executive offices, conference areas, and a company museum that preserved artifacts and records related to Ball Corporation’s history. The building also included a demonstration kitchen used in connection with the company’s legacy in home canning.
Ball Corporation maintained its headquarters in the building until 1998, when the company relocated to Colorado. Following the relocation, the property was leased to several tenants, including The Star Press.
In 2009, the building was donated to Ivy Tech Community College by John W. Fisher (former Chairman and CEO of Ball Corporation) and his wife, Janice B. Fisher (daughter of Edmund B. Ball, one of the original brothers who established the Ball Brothers Company). At the time, the donation was described as one of the largest individual gifts in the history of the Ivy Tech Foundation.
The relocation of Ivy Tech’s Muncie operations to the downtown facility brought approximately 1,500 students, faculty, and staff from its previous southside location. The decision to donate the building ensured that this prominent downtown corner would continue serving opportunity—no longer as corporate office space, but as classrooms, labs, and gathering spaces for learning.
Rather than marking an ending, the building entered a new chapter—one defined by the thousands of students who have since walked through its doors to pursue their education and prepare for careers as teachers, physical therapists, social workers, nurses, and more.
Special thanks to BBF’s Vice Chair, Frank Petty, for presenting this history as part of BBF’s February 2026 board meeting held at Ivy Tech’s downtown Muncie John & Janice Fisher Building.
BBF’s Historical Ties to Ivy Tech Community College
As a private foundation, Ball Brothers Foundation has maintained a long-standing partnership with Ivy Tech Community College, supporting programs aligned with workforce development and higher education. Over the years, this has included funding for the startup of new academic programs designed to meet regional workforce needs.
As Ivy Tech began renovations of the former Ball Corporation headquarters, Ball Brothers Foundation also provided support for improvements to the facility beginning in 2011. This support culminated in a $1 million grant in 2018 to help renovate the fourth floor and establish a state-of-the-art School of Nursing.
In 2019, Ivy Tech completed a comprehensive renovation of the building, now known as the John and Janice Fisher Campus. The updated facility continues to serve as a central location for academic programs, workforce training, and student services.
Fifty years after its dedication, the former Ball Corporation headquarters remains a prominent feature of downtown Muncie, representing multiple phases of the city’s development—from education to corporate leadership, and community-based higher education.
