Indianapolis - Part 2

Indianapolis is such a fabulous tourist city that I could go on and on and on about it...and I did in Part 1...and there's more here.

Indianapolis is full of beautiful parks and monuments. Holliday Park includes trails, an arboretum, and what looks like an ancient Greek ruin but is actually the remains of a demolished New York skyscraper, the St. Paul Building in Manhattan. Ruins of any sort are irresistible to me and this site (despite being fenced off during some needed restoration) is magnificent.

“The Races of Man” sculptures, constructed in the 1890’s, previously "supported" a New York skyscraper. 

More sculptures in Holliday Park

Garfield Park includes a fabulous Chinese pagoda, a conservatory (small fee), and a sunken garden. I felt like I was at a European estate in this beautiful garden.

Pagoda built in 1903

Monument Circle, in the heart of downtown, is the place to go for great views of the city, colossal monuments, a variety of architecture, and some delicious ice cream. (I always like a good chocolate milkshake when I’m doing a lot of walking – or any other time.)

Stop for a treat on the Circle at
The South Bend Chocolate Company

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a 284-ft tall neoclassical treasure in the center of Monument Circle. It was built between 1887 and 1902. Inside, head downstairs for the Civil War Museum and head upstairs (330 steps), or take the elevator (for a small fee), to the top for great views of the city. There are also several other monuments nearby.

A view from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Buildings on Monument Circle have curved facades

A short walk from Monument Circle takes you by University Park to the 5-block Indiana World War Memorial Plaza. It includes the Indiana War Memorial, Obelisk Square, and the American Legion Mall (with the American Legion National Headquarters and a museum).

Depew Memorial Fountain (1919) in University Park

Fountain at the base of the 100-ft black granite obelisk (1930) in Obelisk Square/Veterans Memorial Plaza

The Indiana World War Memorial, modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World 

The War Memorial honors the Indiana men killed in World War I. This grand building includes an art deco lobby, a theater, a military museum, and an impressive Shrine Room at the top.

The Artsgarden is also near Monument Circle. This glass enclosed area creates a bridge between buildings on all four corners of an intersection. It connects to the Circle Centre Mall near the food court, so it’s a good place to sit and eat lunch. It has a unique view, being right on top of the road. Free lunchtime concerts and art exhibits are held here throughout the year.

The Artsgarden spans a downtown intersection

A little further north in downtown, in the Old Northside Historic District, you can tour the home of the 23rd President of the U.S. (1889-1893), Benjamin Harrison. Every year the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site has a new exhibit on display in the 3rd-floor ballroom and it's included with the house tour. When I visited, the exhibit was “Death in the White House” and consisted of all sorts of interesting artifacts related to the four assassinated presidents and the four others that died while in office (including Harrison’s grandfather, William Henry Harrison, who caught a cold at his inauguration and died after just one month in office).

Benjamin Harrison built the 10,000-sq-ft home in 1868. 

President Harrison's traveling desk

White House china on display

Harrison died here in 1901.

I am not a car racing fan, but I love a behind-the-scenes tour no matter what it is about! So, that’s how I ended up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum inside the oval of the “The Greatest Race Course in the World” in the town of Speedway, Indiana (yes, it became a separate town in 1926 and is completely surrounded by Indianapolis). In addition to a huge collection of race cars, the museum provides a regularly scheduled 90-minute VIP Grounds Tour. (It costs extra but it is a reasonable price as far as behind-the-scenes tours go.) A bus takes you for a drive on the famous track and around the garage area and Gasoline Alley. You get out at the Pagoda where you go inside the Media Center, stand on the Victory Podium, and kiss the bricks at the start/finish line (it’s a tradition, so I did it). I learned so much fascinating history here – it was super interesting, especially for something that I previously considered boring!

You drive in under the racetrack

The Hall of Fame and Museum, located inside the racetrack oval

The Pagoda

The Media Center, inside the Pagoda

On the racetrack

Tradition dictates kissing the bricks. Those bricks were hot! The track was originally all brick, thus its nickname "The Brickyard."

Winner of the very first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 - The Marmon "Wasp"

When I moved to the South I discovered the joy of exploring historic cemeteries - art, architecture, gardens, and history all in one spot. Indianapolis has an outstanding historic cemetery, Crown Hill Cemetery, founded in 1864. I would love to go on one of their public walking tours. Notables buried here include President Benjamin Harrison and John Dillinger.

Crown Hill Cemetery gate, 1885

A few more cool places that I would like to see more of …

The Madame Walker Theatre Center is housed in the former headquarters and manufacturing plant of Madam CJ Walker Hair Care and Beauty Products. Walker was the first self-made female millionaire in the U.S.  Born in 1867 in Louisiana, she was the first child in her family to be born outside of slavery. Married at 14 and widowed at 20, with a 2-year-old child, she eventually became an entrepreneur and a philanthropist. The Walker Center has featured the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Patti LaBelle as well as local jazz greats. Its intent is to “ensure that we do not forget the significance of Madam CJ Walker, Indiana Avenue, or African-American cultural arts.”

Madam CJ Walker Hair Care and Beauty Products building
 It is now the Madame Walker Theatre.

The Holcomb Observatory & Planetarium is located on the grounds of Butler University. I want to go back for one of their public tours. It was closed when I was there, but I did enjoy a short hike around the adjacent lake to the Holcomb Memorial Carillon and I got to checkout the architecture of other university buildings.

There is still so much more I want to see in this city, including the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, the NCAA Hall of Fame, the Dallara IndyCar Factory, and the Indianapolis Art Center. These are all on my list for the next time I visit.

Indianapolis also has its share of Roadside America attractions!

Indianapolis - Part 1

I hadn't considered Indianapolis as a destination until someone mentioned it has a great art museum, just before I drove my daughter off to college in Michigan. We stopped at the museum on that drive up and I had plenty more chances to visit the city on subsequent trips. Wow, I had no idea what I had been missing; this is an awesome place to visit! They do indeed have a great art museum, along with my now-all-time-favorite children’s museum, a downtown canal walk, and so much more. The city is known as the “Crossroads of America” (where more interstate highways intersect than in any other U.S. city) and it's just a 6.5-hr drive from Huntsville, straight up the I-65.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art has it all – from Ancient Egyptian artifacts to a huge contemporary design gallery, from cool modern architecture to a French chateau on the grounds, from a stylish café to a 100-acre art and nature park. This museum is like an encyclopedia of art history in a beautiful setting with all the amenities. 

Oldfields-Lilly historic house museum on the grounds of the IMA

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is just a couple of miles from the art museum. You don’t need to be a child to love this museum! I went all by myself, and no one gave me strange looks. Maybe that was because there were plenty of children all over the museum. As far as anyone else knew, one of them was mine. In fact, I did temporarily acquire a lost child who I quickly handed over to an employee. (There I am with no children of my own, and now I’m walking around with someone else’s child - that could be a free ride to the police station!) I went to this museum to see a temporary exhibit of Terracotta Warriors - one of the most spectacular archaeological finds of the twentieth century and not something you can see often. 

The exterior of the museum features dinosaurs trying to get in and dinosaurs crashing their way out. 

Inside, there are real dinosaur skeletons, including the only known skull of Dracorex hogwartsia ("Dragon King of Hogwarts") - seriously, it's even in National Geographic! They have a “life-size” transformer in the lobby, a collection of miniature rooms, a dinosaur art exhibit, a carousel, an 1890's steam locomotive, live performances in the Lilly Theater, a replica of an Egyptian tomb, and an amazing Chihuly glass exhibit – you recline on a round couch and look up at all the colored glass in the ceiling as the couch slowly spins. This is the best children’s museum I have ever visited! I stayed until they closed and I didn’t even make it up to the 4th and 5th floors or to the planetarium.

Chihuly glass

The Downtown Canal Walk is a 3-mile loop which runs alongside museums, parks, and restaurants, and it links up with the trail in the White River State Park (another 4.75 miles of trail). It's a beautiful walk along the water, with sights of peddle boats, gondolas, surrey bikes, gardens, and public art, en route to the capitol, the zoo, and other attractions.

Old Washington Street Pedestrian Bridge on the White River, built in 1833

The Indiana State Museum is beside the canal. It has beautiful modern architecture and fabulous exhibits! Mastodons and Mammoths, old technology exhibits (seriously, my first computer is already in a museum?!), the most beautiful Foucault pendulum, contemporary art exhibits...the natural and cultural history of Indiana. The museum’s Farmers Market Café is a great place to have lunch (indoors or outdoors) with a beautiful view of the canal. Their underground parking garage is a convenient place to leave your car for a day of exploring on foot.

The Indiana State Museum

The facade of the Oscar C. McCulloch School No. 5 
is incorporated into the main hall.

A young docent was anxious to enlighten someone about the iron lung so I learned a lot. This particular iron lung was in use until 1973!

I always enjoy the self-guided tours of state capitols. The Indiana capitol is gorgeous! It was completed in 1888, constructed of Indiana limestone and white oak. The stained glass rotunda window is original and made from German glass. Indiana is one of the few states that have all three branches of government operating out of a historic state capitol building. It has a part-time legislature and they weren’t in session when I visited.

“Spirit of Indiana” mural in the House of Representatives by Eugene Francis Savage, 1964

The Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens are just across the pedestrian bridge from the Indiana State Museum. I can attest that, as advertised, this zoo is a “Great place to visit no matter what your age!”​ I had a great time here while my kids were at a conference. (It would be an ironic role reversal except that the conference was about games.) Some of the things I enjoyed most were: tigers playing in the water, the colorful glass conservatory and 3-acre formal garden, the aquarium (the largest in Indiana), the desert biome, and the huge indoor/outdoor orangutan center. This is a world-class zoo with additional attractions including a sky ride, 4-D theater, carousel, and children’s play areas. They even have an in-water dolphin encounter (with a typical world-class price tag). The zoo is part of the AZA Reciprocal Admissions Program, so if you have another zoo or aquarium membership be sure to check and see if you get free or discounted admission here. 

Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center 

The towers with platforms are for the orangutans.

Indianapolis has so much to see; there is a lot more to come, including the Indianapolis Speedway, in Part 2.