More of Downtown Indy

[Supertall]

Some of these pics are of the Wholesale District (at least that last few), most of the buildings are being renovated into lofts now.

Not really in the District

All right, so I went up to the top of the Circle Centre Garage (the one with the Steak n' Shake, no my car wasn't robbed).


Heard the shrimp cocktail is good here:

Looking toward the Wholsale Distric:

Built just for the Pan-Am Games:

Awful:

Cluster:

Circle Centre:

Base of the Omni:

Some pictures on the Dome:

Not a train station:

St. John's

Holy enough?

The Conrad-Hilton u/c

Heading towards the Wholesale District:

Photography AND Architectute?!?

Leaving Union Station:

Still trains

Are you sure we're in Indy?

Love that logo

More later.

 

[Joe Iliff]

Ahhhh . . . . Indianapolis

Indianapolis isn't the most cosmopolitan of America's large cities, but most of it has a nice homey feel, including the revitalized dowtown.

What, no pictures of Conseco Fieldhouse? What a great combination of modern amenities and a design inspired by Indiana's famous high school fieldhouses.

Thanks for the little glimpse of home!

PS: Indianapolis is also the American city with a single-word name whose name is most often abreviated in my experience (Indpls.). Is Minneapolis ever abreviated?

 

[jresta]

when were these pictures taken?
judging from the foot and auto traffic it looks like a sunday morning.

 

[Gedunker]

when were these pictures taken?
judging from the foot and auto traffic it looks like a sunday morning.

The Wholesale district is the new entertainmnent district in Indy -- so it could be anyday of the week, but not lunchtime or after-work, evenings. It does pick up noticeably after dark.

One of the big fears about Circle Center (I refuse to spell it any other way) -- an enclosed pedestrian mall that reuses many great historic structures and added some new ones (the art gallery over Washington Street as an example) -- was that it would rob the area of street-level pedestrian activity. I think we planners were both right and wrong on this one. I know I was glad for the mall when I was there in early Feb this year in ice, rain, and cold. But, last week I witnessed a great deal of pedestrian activity especially near the Monument Circle area (the nrothernmost limit of the Wholesale District).

And if only you'd have gone another 75' south of the rails on Meridian Street, you'd have gotten a photo of The Slippery Noodle. Ahh, blues!!

 

[Tranplanner]

We just entertained a visitor from the area over the weekend. We may have to take her up on her offer to come visit now :-D

btw - what is that building which is "not a train station", but which sure looks like a train station?

 

[Gedunker]

We just entertained a visitor from the area over the weekend. We may have to take her up on her offer to come visit now :-D

Mini-Indy Laefest! Call me, I'll be there! :-D

btw - what is that building which is "not a train station", but which sure looks like a train station?

It is the historic Union Station, although no passenger service is available. It has been rehabbed -- it really led part of the downtown revitalization in Indy in the mid-1980s, but was under-capitalized and clsoed. It is now in reuse mostly as offices, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Plannerbabs]

Union Station is a mix of offices, a hotel where you can sleep in the old train cars, and a handful of restaurants. They rehabbed the structure pretty well, and the grand entrance, which has at least one enormous rose window (or maybe 2, it's been a while), is still used as a meeting hall/reception hall etc. The mall that was in there in the '80's was a hodge-podge of fudge shops, t-shirt shops, and other things that really catered more to tourists than residents, so when Circle Center opened, it had a hard time competing against the more upscale chains there. It had already started to slide downhill at that point anyway. It was a good effort, though, and did bring a lot more people downtown, which, as Gedunker mentions, helped foster the whole downtown revival that came a few years later.
There are a few streets a couple of blocks or so up from the Warehouse District that are mobbed during the day and evenings, where a lot of the restaurants are. And the Noodle is a classic. It competes with the Knickerbocker Inn in Lafayette for the title of oldest bar in Indiana. Lots of great bands have played there. Food's not bad, either.
Indy is definately worth a visit! :-D

 

[Supertall]

Indianapolis isn't the most cosmopolitan of America's large cities, but most of it has a nice homey feel, including the revitalized dowtown.

What, no pictures of Conseco Fieldhouse? What a great combination of modern amenities and a design inspired by Indiana's famous high school fieldhouses.

Thanks for the little glimpse of home!

PS: Indianapolis is also the American city with a single-word name whose name is most often abreviated in my experience (Indpls.). Is Minneapolis ever abreviated?

I have some of Conseco: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=101599

judging from the foot and auto traffic it looks like a sunday morning.

Yup.


Does anyone know why East Washington seems to remain vacant? They've turned one building into some lofts, and I hope they'll do that with the others. I can't wait for Market Square and the Hilton to be completed.
Union Station is also a banquet hall for the Crowne Plaza.

Pano I didn't upload:

 

[JNA]

Mini-Indy Laefest! Call me, I'll be there! :-D

How about at The Planning at the Crossroads: Making Great Communities Happen;
a multi-state planning conference will be held in Indianapolis October 13-14, 2004.

White River State Park is worth the visit: http://www.in.gov/whiteriver/home01.html

so is the
The Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial:
http://www.ipalco.com/ABOUTIPALCO/Community/Memorial_2.html

 

[lakelander]

Great pictures. Although the city isn't known for its urbanity, the revitalization of Indy's core should serve as a positive example to several Midwestern cities struggling to bring vibrancy back to the city.