Indianapolis ( ) is the
capital of the U.S. state of Indiana
, and the
county seat of Marion County,
Indiana
. The United
States Census estimated the city's population, excluding
the included towns, at
798,382 in 2008. It is Indiana's largest city and is the
14th largest
city in the U.S., the third largest city in the Midwest (behind Chicago
and Detroit
), the second
most populous state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona
). It is one of two state capitals that share
their names with their states (The other is Oklahoma City
).
For much of its
history,
Indianapolis oriented itself around
government and
industry,
particularly
manufacturing. Today,
Indianapolis has a much more diversified economy, contributing to
the fields of
education,
health care, and
finance.
Tourism is also a vital part of the economy
of Indianapolis, and the city plays host to numerous conventions
and sporting events.
Of these, perhaps the most well known is the
annual Indianapolis
500
mile race. Other major sporting events
include the
Brickyard 400 (formerly
the "Allstate 400 at the Brickyard") and the
Men's and
Women's
NCAA
Basketball Tournaments.
Greater
Indianapolis has seen moderate growth among U.S. cities,
especially in nearby Hamilton
, Hendricks
, and Johnson
counties. The population of the
metropolitan statistical area
is estimated at 1,715,459, making it the 33rd-largest in the U.S.
The
combined statistical
area population of Indianapolis is 2,035,327, the 23rd-largest
in the U.S.
History
Native
American who lived in the area included the
Miami and
Lenape (or
Delaware) tribes, who were removed from the area by the early
1820s.
Indianapolis was selected as the site of the new state capital in
1820. While most American state capitals tend to be located in the
central region of their respective states, Indianapolis is the only
capital to be in the exact center of its state.
Jeremiah Sullivan, a judge of the
Indiana Supreme Court, invented the
name
Indianapolis by joining
Indiana with
polis, the
Greek word for
city; literally,
Indianapolis means "
Indiana City". The city was founded on
the
White River under the
incorrect assumption that the river would serve as a major
transportation artery; however, the waterway was too sandy for
trade.
The
capital moved from Corydon
on January
10, 1825 and the state commissioned Alexander Ralston to design the new
capital city. Ralston was an apprentice to the French
architect Pierre L'Enfant, and he
helped L'Enfant plan Washington, DC
. Ralston's original plan for Indianapolis
called for a city of only one square mile (3 km²). At the
center of the city sat Governor's Circle, a large circular commons,
which was to be the site of the governor's mansion. Meridian and
Market Streets converge at the Circle and continue north and south
and east and west, respectively.
The governor's mansion was eventually
demolished in 1857 and in its place stands a tall neoclassical
limestone and bronze monument, the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors'
Monument
. The surrounding street is now known as
Monument Circle.
The city lies on the original east-west
National Road. The first
railroad to service Indianapolis, the Madison &
Indianapolis, began operation on October 1, 1847, and subsequent
railroad connections made expansive growth possible.
Indianapolis was the
home of the first Union Station
, or common rail passenger terminal, in the United
States. By the turn of the century, Indianapolis had
become a large automobile manufacturer,
rivaling the likes of Detroit.
With
roads leading out of the city in all directions, Indianapolis
became a major hub of regional transport connecting to Chicago, Louisville
, Cincinnati
, Columbus
, Detroit, Cleveland
and St. Louis
, befitting the capital of a state whose nickname is
"The Crossroads of
America." This same network of roads would allow quick
and easy access to suburban areas in future years.
City population grew rapidly throughout the first half of the 20th
century. While rapid suburbanization began to take place in the
second half of the century, race relations deteriorated. Even so,
on the night that
Martin Luther
King, Jr. was assassinated, Indianapolis was the only major
city in which rioting did not occur. Many credit the
speech by
Robert F. Kennedy, who was in town campaigning for
President that night,
for helping to calm the tensions. Racial tensions heightened in
1970 with the passage of
Unigov, which
further isolated the middle class from Indianapolis's growing
African American community. Court-ordered school desegregation
busing by Judge S. Hugh Dillon was also a controversial
change.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Indianapolis suffered at the hands of
urban decay and
white flight.
Major revitalization of the city's
blighted areas, such as Fall Creek Place
, and especially the downtown
, began in the 1990s and led to an acceleration of
growth on the fringes of the metropolitan Area. The opening of
Circle
Centre
in downtown Indianapolis jumpstarted a major
revitalization of the central
business district.
Indianapolis's future appears bright as the
city continues to invest heavily in improvement projects, such as
an expansion to the Convention Center
, upgrading of the I-465
beltway and an entirely new airport terminal for the Indianapolis
International Airport
, which is now open. Construction of the
Indianapolis Colts' new home, Lucas Oil Stadium
was completed in August 2008, and the proposed
hotel and convention center expansion is expected to open within
the next three years.
Geography
Aerial view of I-74 exit 68 near
Brownsburg, Indiana; on the west side of the city of Indianapolis,
Indiana.
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, "the balance" (that part of Marion County
not part of another municipality) has a total area of – of it
is land and of it is water. The total area is 1.81% water. These
figures do not, however, represent the entire Consolidated City of
Indianapolis (all of Marion County, except the four excluded
communities). The total area of the Consolidated City of
Indianapolis, not including the four excluded communities, covers
approximately .
At the center of Indianapolis is the One-Mile Square, bounded by
four appropriately-named streets: East, West, North, and South
Streets. Nearly all of the streets in the Mile Square are named
after U.S. states. The exceptions are Meridian Street, which
numerically divides west from east; Market Street, which intersects
Meridian Street at Monument Circle; Capitol and Senate Avenues,
where many of the Indiana state government buildings are located;
and Washington Street, which was named after President
George Washington. The street-numbering
system centers not on the Circle, but rather one block to the
south, where Meridian Street intersects Washington Street —
National Road.
Indianapolis is situated in the Central Till Plains region of the
United States. Two natural waterways dissect the city: the
White River, and
Fall Creek.
Physically, Indianapolis is similar to many other Midwestern
cities. A mix of
deciduous forests and
prairie covered much of what is considered
Indianapolis prior to the 19th century. Land within the city limits
varies from flat to gently sloping; most of the changes in
elevation are so gradual that they go unnoticed, and appears to be
flat from close distances. The mean
elevation for Indianapolis is .
The highest point in
Indianapolis lies on the Northeast-side of Indianapolis, it was
previously assumed that it was Crown Hill Cemetery (the tomb of
famed Hoosier writer James Whitcomb Riley) with an elevation
of , and the lowest point in Indianapolis lies at the Marion
County/Johnson
County line, with an elevation of about . The
highest hill in Indianapolis is Mann Hill, a bluff located along
the White River in Southwestway Park that rises about above the
surrounding land. Variations in elevation from 700–900 feet occur
throughout the city limits. There are a few moderately-sized
bluffs and
valleys in the
city, particularly along the shores of the White River, Fall Creek,
Geist Reservoir, and Eagle Creek Reservoir, and especially on the
city's northeast and northwest sides.
Climate
Indianapolis has a
humid
continental climate (
Koppen climate classification
Dfa). Like most cities in the Midwest, it has four
distinct seasons. Summers are very warm and humid, with high
temperatures regularly approaching , with some days exceeding .
Spring and autumn are usually pleasant, with temperatures reaching
around . Spring, however, is much less predictable than autumn;
midday temperature drops exceeding 30 °F (17°C) are common during
March and April, and instances of very warm days ( ) followed
within 36 hours by snowfall not unheard of during these months.
Winters are cool to cold, with daily highs barely inching above
freezing. Temperatures occasionally dip below . The rainiest months
are in the spring and summer, with average rainfalls of over four
inches (102 mm) per month mostly derived from thunderstorm
activity, there is no distinct dry season with slightly higher
summer averages.
The city's average annual precipitation is .
The average July high is , with the low being . January highs
average , and lows . The record high for Indianapolis is , on July
25, 1954. The record low is , on January 19, 1994. Average annual
snowfall is .
Cityscape
High rise
construction in Indianapolis started in 1888, when the Soldiers' and Sailors'
Monument was completed. The tall monument
sits at the center of Indianapolis and, until the completion of
City
Hall
in 1962 was still the tallest structure in the
city.
In the 1970s the central business district, like many other
'
Rust Belt' cities of the United States,
saw decreased economic activity, racial tension, and white flight
to growing suburbs. As a result, downtown Indianapolis saw little
new construction. The city of Indianapolis addressed these issues
by developing plans, in the 1980s, to redefine the city's downtown.
Neighborhoods in the downtown area were designated in relation to
their proximity to the city center, and plans were initiated for
them to be redeveloped.
A series of modern skyscrapers were constructed, including what is
currently the tallest building in the state; the newly renamed
Chase
Tower
. The third tallest building in the city, One
Indiana Square, is going through an exterior make over after being
damaged by high winds in April 2006.
Demographics
The 2008
Census estimate for the Indianapolis balance (the portion of the city not part of an included
town) was 798,382, while the 2007 estimate for the entire city was
808,466.
Greater Indianapolis is a
rapidly growing region located at the center of Indiana and
consists of Marion County, Indiana and several adjacent counties. The
Combined Statistical Area (CSA) of
Indianapolis exceeded 2 million people in the 2007 estimate,
ranking 23rd in the United States and 7th in the Midwest. As a
unified labor and media market, the Indianapolis
Metropolitan Statistical Area
(MSA) had a 2006 population of 1.66 million people, ranking 33rd in
the United States. Indianapolis is the 7th largest MSA in the
Midwest.
As of the 2005-2007
American
Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau,
White Americans made up 66.4% of
Indianapolis's population; of which 63.8% were non-Hispanic
whites.
Blacks or
African
Americans made up 25.7% of Indianapolis's population; of which
25.6% were non-Hispanic blacks.
American Indian made up
0.2% of the city's population.
Asian
Americans made up 1.6% of the city's population.
Pacific Islander Americans made up
0.1% of the city's population. Individuals from some other race
made up 3.7% of the city's population; of which 0.3% were
non-Hispanic. Individuals from
two
or more races made up 2.2% of the city's population; of which
1.9% were non-Hispanic. In addition,
Hispanics and Latinos made up
6.6% of Indianapolis's population. From 2000 to 2004, the Hispanic
population in Indianapolis increased by 43%.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 791,926
people, 324,342 households, and 195,578 families residing in the
city. The population density was 2,160.9 people per square mile
(834.4/km²). There were 356,980 housing units at an average density
of 974.1 per square mile (376.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city
was 69.34%
White, 25.29%
African
American, 0.25%
Native
American, 1.42%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific
Islander, 2.02% from
other races,
and 1.64% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any
race were 3.88% of the population. Indianapolis has around 10,000
immigrants from the former
Yugoslavia.
There were 324,342 households out of which 29.8% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living
together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 39.7% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up
of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the
average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age
of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to
64, and 11.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is
34 years. For every 100 females there are 93.7 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there are 90.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,154, and the
median income for a family was $48,979. Males had a median income
of $36,372 versus $27,757 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$21,789. About 9.0% of families and 11.8% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 16.1%
of those under the age of 18 and 8.1% of those ages 65 or
older.
Law and government
Indianapolis has a
consolidated
city-county government known as
Unigov.
Under this system, many functions of the city and county
governments are consolidated, though some remain separate. The city
has a
mayor-council form of
government.
Mayor
The executive branch is headed by an elected mayor, who serves as
the chief executive of both the city and Marion County. The current
Mayor of Indianapolis
is
Republican
Greg Ballard. The mayor appoints
city department heads and members of various boards and
commissions.
City-County Council
The legislative body for the city and county is the
City-County Council. It is
made up of 29 members, 25 of whom represent districts, with the
remaining four elected at large. As of 2008, Republicans hold a
16-13 majority. The council passes ordinances for the city and
county, and also makes appointments to certain boards and
commissions.
Courts
All of the courts of law in Indianapolis are part of the Indiana
state court system. The Marion Superior Court is the
court of general jurisdiction.
The 35 judges on the court hear all criminal, juvenile, probate,
and traffic violation cases, as well as most civil cases. The
Marion Circuit Court hears certain types of civil cases. Small
claims cases are heard by Small Claims Courts in each of Marion
County's nine townships. Also, the Appeals Courts and the Supreme
Court for the state of Indiana are held in the statehouse.
Fire protection
Historically there was a fire department maintained by each
suburban township, which provided service to the areas of the
townships outside of the pre-Unigov city limits and the corporate
limits of the excluded cities. In January 2007, by a resolution
jointly passed by the Washington Township Board and by the
Indianapolis City-County Council, the Washington Township Fire
Department was merged into the City of Indianapolis Fire
Department. In July 2007, by a similar resolution between the
City-County Council and the Warren Township Board, the Warren
Township Fire Department was also merged into the city fire
department. In an effort to resolve upcoming budget shortfalls in
2010, Perry Township became the third township to merge with the
Indianapolis Fire Department effective August 1, 2009. All of the
career
fire-fighting personnel and
emergency medical services personnel were absorbed into the city
department. Franklin Township began pursuing a potential merger of
its fire department in July 2009 as well as Lawrence Township in
November 2009.
Law enforcement
Indianapolis and Marion
County historically maintained separate police agencies:
the Indianapolis Police
Department and Marion County Sheriff's Department. On
January 1, 2007, a new agency, the
Indianapolis
Metropolitan Police Department, was formed by merging the two
departments.
IMPD is a
separate agency, as the Sheriff's Department maintains jail and
court functions. IMPD has jurisdiction over those portions of
Marion County not explicitly covered by the police of an excluded
city or by a legacy pre-
Unigov force. As of
February 29, 2008, the IMPD is headed by a Public Safety Director
appointed by the Mayor of Indianapolis; the Public Safety Director
appoints the Police Chief. The IMPD was formerly under the
leadership of the Sheriff of Marion County,
Frank J. Anderson. The Sheriff remains in charge of
the County Jail and security for the City-County Building, service
of warrants, and certain other functions. The Sheriff must be
consulted, but does not have final say, on the appointment of the
Public Safety Director and the Police Chief.
Crime
For the past decade, crime rates within the Indianapolis city
limits have fluctuated greatly. In the late 1990s, violent crimes
in inner-city neighborhoods located within the old city limits
(pre-consolidation) peaked. The former Indianapolis Police District
(IPD), which serves about 37% of the county's total population and
has a geographic area covering mostly the old pre-consolidation
city limits, recorded 130 homicides in 1998 to average
approximately 40.3 homicides per 100,000 people. This is over 6
times the 1998 national homicide average of 6.3 per 100,000 people.
Meanwhile, the former Marion County Sheriff's Department district
serving the remaining 63% of the county's population, which
includes the majority of the residents in the Consolidated City,
recorded only 32 homicides in 1998, averaging about 5.9 murders per
100,000 people, slightly less than the 1998 national homicide
average. Homicides in the IPD police district dropped dramatically
in 1999 and have remained lower through 2005. In 2005, the IPD
police district recorded 88 homicides to average 27.3 homicides per
100,000 people; nonetheless, the murder rate in the IPD is still
almost 5 times the 2005 national average.
When considering the total Consolidated City of Indianapolis, the
overall crime rate has historically been low compared to the
national average. It is important to note, however, that
Indianapolis is unique in its incorporation of historically
suburban areas into the official "city
limits" since the establishment of
Unigov in
1970. This can make the overall numbers for the city misleading, as
crime in
working class inner-city
neighborhoods remains a problem. Areas of Indianapolis that were
unincorporated or separate municipalities before the 1970
city-county consolidation generally have significantly lower crime
rates although their aggregate population is higher than the old
pre-consolidation Indianapolis city limits. Thus, crime figures for
the Consolidated City and the entire Marion County average out to a
low rate. However, according to FBI reports in 2006, for the first
half of the year, Indianapolis saw one of the larger increases in
homicides in the country for the first half of 2006 as compared to
the same time period in 2005. Overall violent crime in Indianapolis
increased 8% for the first half of 2006 compared to the first half
of 2005. While Marion County has still not surpassed its record
homicide number of 162 set in 1998, it is on pace to see one of the
highest numbers of homicides since then, with 153 committed in 2006
as the year draws to a close. In one 2006 event, seven individuals
from the same family were murdered in their home. In 2007, city
leaders such as Sheriff
Frank J.
Anderson and former Mayor
Bart Peterson held rallies in neighborhoods in
effort to stop the violence in the city. In 2008, 122 homicides
were recorded in Indianapolis.
The immediate downtown area of the city around most main
attractions, venues, and museums remain relatively safe. IMPD uses
horseback officers and bicycle officers to patrol the downtown area
or the city. Certain areas of Indianapolis, most notably portions
of the city's East Side, remain a challenge for law enforcement
officials. Indianapolis was ranked as the 33rd most dangerous city
in the United States in the 2008–2009 edition of
CQ Press's
City Crime Rankings.
Politics
Until the late 1990s, Indianapolis was considered to be one of the
most
conservative metropolitan areas in
the country but this trend is reversing.
Republican had held the
majority in the
City-County Council for 36
years, and the city had a Republican mayor for 32 years from 1967
to 1999. This was in part because the creation of Unigov added
several then-heavily Republican areas of Marion County to the
Indianapolis city limits.
More recently, Republicans have generally
been stronger in the southern and western parts (Decatur
, Franklin
, Perry
, and Wayne
, townships) of the county while Democrats have been
stronger in the central and northern parts (Center
, Pike
, and Washington
townships). Republican and Democratic strength is
split in Warren
and Lawrence
townships. Outside of Marion County and the
city proper, Republicans hold strong majorities in the suburbs of
the metropolitan area.
In the 1999 municipal election,
Democrat Bart Peterson defeated Indiana Secretary of
State Sue Anne Gilroy by 52 percent to 41 percent. Four years
later, Peterson was re-elected with 63 percent of the vote over
Marion County Treasurer Greg Jordan. Republicans narrowly lost
control of the City-County Council that year. In 2004, Democrats
won the Marion County offices of treasurer, surveyor and coroner
for the first time since the 1970s. The county GOP lost further
ground during the 2006 elections with Democrats winning the offices
of county clerk, assessor, recorder and auditor. Only one GOP
countywide office remained: Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, who defeated
Democratic challenger Melina Kennedy with 51 percent of the vote in
his bid for a second term, despite outspending her two-to-one. At
the township level, Democrats picked up the trustee offices in
Washington, Lawrence, Warren and Wayne townships, while holding on
to Pike and Center townships.
In the
2007
municipal election, fueled by voter angst against increases in
property and income taxes as well as a rise in crime, Republican
challenger
Greg Ballard narrowly
defeated Peterson, 51 percent to 47 percent—the first time an
incumbent Indianapolis mayor was removed from office since 1967.
Discontent among these issues also returned control of the
City-County
Council to the GOP with a 16-13 majority.
John Kerry defeated
George W. Bush
in the
2004
presidential election by roughly 6,000 votes in Marion County,
51 percent to 49 percent. It was the first time a Democratic
presidential candidate had carried Marion County since 1964.
Barack Obama carried Marion County in
the
2008
presidential election by a much larger scale of 237,275 votes
to
John McCain's 131,459 votes, 64
percent to 35 percent respectively. Indianapolis was primarily
responsible for delivering Indiana's electoral votes to Obama, who
was the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry the Hoosier
State since
Lyndon B. Johnson in
1964.
Most of Indianapolis is within the
7th Congressional District
of Indiana, represented by Democrat
André Carson. He is the grandson of the
district's previous representative,
Julia
Carson who held the seat from 1997 until her death on December
15, 2007. The younger Carson, a former member of the City-County
Council, won the seat in a
special
election on March 11, 2008. The northeastern and southeastern
portions of the city are in the
5th District,
represented by Republican
Dan Burton. A
portion of western Indianapolis is in the
4th District,
represented by Republican
Steve
Buyer.
Education
Higher education
Indianapolis is the home of (in alphabetical
order): [Ball State University] Indianapolis Center,Brown Mackie College, Butler University, Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis
(IUPUI), Ivy Tech Community College
of Indiana, Marian
College, Martin University,
Oakland City University
Indianapolis campus, The Art Institute of
Indianapolis, and the University of Indianapolis
.
Butler University was originally
founded in 1855 as North Western Christian University.
The school purchased
land in the Irvington
area in 1875. The school moved
again in 1928 to its current location at the edge of Butler-Tarkington
. The school removed itself officially from
religious affiliation, giving up the theological school to
Christian Theological
Seminary. A private institution, Butler's current student
enrollment is approximately 4,400.
Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis was originally an urban conglomeration of branch
campuses of the two major state universities: Indiana
University
in Bloomington
and Purdue University
in West Lafayette
, created by the state legislature.
In 1969 a
merged campus was created at the site of the Indiana
University School of Medicine
. IUPUI's student body is currently just
under 30,000, making it the third-largest institute of higher
learning in Indiana after the main campuses of IU and Purdue. This
campus is also home to
Herron
School of Art and Design, which was established privately in
1902. A new building was built in 2005 under both private donation
and state contribution enabling the school to move from its
original location.
Ivy Tech Community
College of Indiana, a state funded public school, was founded
as Indiana Vocational Technical College in 1963. With 23 campuses
across Indiana, Ivy Tech has a total enrollment of 86,130, as of
2008, according to the school's website.
Marian College was founded
in 1936 when St. Francis Normal and Immaculate Conception Junior
College merged. The college moved to Indianapolis in 1937. Marian
is currently a private Catholic school and has an enrollment of
approximately 1,800 students. Starting in the 2009–2010 academic
year, the college has changes its name it "
Marian University," reflecting a more
focused curriculum.
The
University
of Indianapolis is a private school affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Founded in 1902 as Indiana Central University, the school currently
hosts almost 4,300 students.
Primary and secondary education
Indianapolis has eleven unified public school districts (eight
township educational authorities and three legacy districts from
before the unification of city and county government) each of which
provides primary, secondary, and adult education services within
its boundaries. The boundaries of these districts do not exactly
correspond to township (or traditional) boundaries, but rather
cover the areas of their townships that were outside the
pre-consolidation city limits.
Indianapolis Public Schools
served all of Indianapolis prior to 1970, when almost all of Marion
County was incorporated, and is still the city's largest school
corporation today. It also offers a wide variety of private schools
such as Bishop Chatard, Roncalli, Cardinal Ritter, and Scecina
which are part of the archdiocese of Indianapolis. And private
schools such as Brebeuf, Park Tutor, Cathedral, and Culver Military
Academy all of which are top schools in the state
Libraries
Public
library services are provided to the citizens of Indianapolis and
Marion County by the Indianapolis-Marion County Public
Library
(IMCPL). The educational and cultural
institution, founded in 1873, now consists of a main library,
Central Library, located in downtown Indianapolis and 22 branch
locations spread throughout the city. Serving over 5.43 million
visitors in 2006, IMCPL's mission is to provide "materials and
programs in support of the lifelong learning, recreational and
economic interests of all citizens of Marion County." A renovated
Central Library building opened on December 9, 2007, ending a
controversial multi-year rebuilding plan.
Cultural features
Indianapolis prides itself on its rich cultural heritage. Several
initiatives have been made by the Indianapolis government in recent
years to increase Indianapolis's appeal as a destination for arts
and culture.
- Cultural Districts
Indianapolis has designated six official
Cultural Districts.
They are
Broad Ripple
Village
, Massachusetts Avenue
, Fountain Square
, The Wholesale District
, Canal and White River State
Park
, and Indiana Avenue
. These areas have held historic and cultural
importance to the city. In recent years they have been revitalized
and are becoming major centers for tourism, commerce and
residential living.
- Cultural Trail
Scheduled to be complete by 2011, the
Indianapolis
Cultural Trail: is a world-class urban bike and pedestrian path
that connects the city's five downtown Cultural Districts,
neighborhoods and entertainment amenities, and serves as the
downtown hub for the entire central Indiana greenway system. The
trail will include benches, bike racks, lighting, signage and bike
rentals/drop-offs along the way and will also feature local art
work.
- Monument Circle
At the
center of Indianapolis is Monument Circle, a traffic circle at the intersection of
Meridian and Market Streets, featuring the Soldiers' and Sailors'
Monument. Monument Circle is depicted on the city’s
flag.
It
is in the shadow of Indiana's tallest skyscraper, the Chase
Tower. Until the early 1960s, Indianapolis zoning
laws stated that no building could be taller than the Soldiers and
Sailors Monument. Each Christmas season, lights are strung onto the
monument and lit in a ceremony known as the Circle of Lights, which
attracts tens of thousands of Hoosiers to downtown Indianapolis on
the day after
Thanksgiving.
- War Memorial Plaza
The War Memorial
A five-block plaza at the intersection of Meridian and Vermont
surrounds a large memorial dedicated to Hoosiers who have fought in
American wars. It was originally constructed to honor the Indiana
soldiers who died in
World War I, but
construction was halted due to lack of funding during the
Great Depression, and it was finished in
1951. The purpose of the memorial was later altered to encompass
all American wars in which Hoosiers fought.
The
monument is modeled after the Mausoleum of Maussollos
. At tall it is approximately
seventy-five feet taller than the original Mausoleum. The blue
lights, which shine between columns on the side of the War
Memorial, make the monument easy to spot.
On the north end of
the War Memorial Plaza is the national headquarters of the American Legion and the Indianapolis-Marion County Public
Library's Central Library.
- Indiana Statehouse
The Statehouse houses the
Indiana General Assembly, the
Governor of Indiana, state
courts, and other state officials.
- Monuments
The city
is second only to Washington, D.C.
, for number of monuments inside city
limits.
- Other Heritage & History Attractions
Festivals, conventions, and organizations
Indianapolis has evolved into a center for music. The city plays
host to
Drum Corps
International, Music for All, Inergy, Indy's Official Musical
Ambassadors, the Percussive Arts Society, the International Violin
Competition of Indianapolis, the American Pianists' Association and
Indy Jazz Festival.
Indianapolis is home to
Bands of
America , a nationwide organization of high school marching,
concert, and jazz bands, and hosts several BOA events annually.
Indianapolis is now also the international
headquarters of Drum Corps
International, a professional drum and bugle corps association,
and beginning in 2008 will host the DCI World Championships in the
new Lucas Oil
Stadium.
Indy Jazz Fest, a three day event
held in Military Park near the canal, started in 1999.
The
Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra holds an outdoor summer concert series
called Symphony on the Prairie which attracts large crowds to
Conner Prarie.
Free public concerts are also offered at
Indy
Parks throughout the city during the summer months along with
sports facilities, water parks and nature reserves.
The city has anarts community that includes many fairs celebrating
a wide variety of arts and crafts. They include the
Broad Ripple Art Fair,
Talbot
Street Art Fair,
Carmel Arts Festival,
Indian Market and
Festival, and the
Penrod Art Fair
Every May
Indianapolis holds the 500 Festival, a month of events culminating
in the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade the day before the running
of the Indianapolis
500. The Festival was first held in 1957.
In 2003,
Indianapolis began hosting Gen Con, the
largest role-playing game
convention in the North America (record attendance thus far being
numbered in excess of 30,000), at the Indiana
Convention Center. Future expansion of the convention space is
expected by many to further increase attendance numbers in coming
years. The convention center has also recently hosted to events
such as
Star Wars Celebration
II and III, which brought in
Star Wars
fans from around the world, including
George Lucas.
Indianapolis will host the National
FFA Convention from 2006 to 2012
and is one of two finalists for the convention from 2013–2019. FFA
Convention draws approximately 55,000 attendees and has an
estimated $30–$40 million direct visitor impact on the local
economy. Attendees occupy 13,000 hotel rooms in 130 metro-area
hotels on peak nights during the four-day convention, making it the
largest convention in the history of Indianapolis.
Indianapolis is also home to the Indiana
State Fair
as well as the Heartland Film Festival, Epilogue Players, the Indianapolis
International Film Festival, the Indianapolis Theatre Fringe
Festival, the Indianapolis Alternative Media Festival, and the
Midwest Music
Summit.
The
Circle City Classic is one
of America’s top historically African-American college football
games. This annual football game, held during the first weekend of
October, is the showcase event of an entire weekend. The weekend is
a celebration of cultural excellence and educational achievement
while showcasing the spirit, energy and tradition of America’s
historically black colleges and universities.
Indianapolis has been the headquarters of the
Kiwanis International organization since 1982. The
organization and its youth-sponsored Kiwanis Family counterparts,
Circle K International and
Key Club International, administer all their
international business and service initiatives from
Indianapolis.
Indianapolis contains the national headquarters for twenty-six
fraternities and sororities.
Many are congregated in the College Park
area surrounding The Pyramids
.
Ethnic and cultural heritage festivals
One of the largest ethnic and cultural heritage festivals in
Indianapolis is the Summer Celebration held by
Indiana Black Expo. This ten-day national
event highlights the contributions of
African-Americans to U.S. society and
culture and provides educational, entertainment, and networking
opportunities to the over 300,000 participants from around the
country.
Indy's
International Festival is held annually in November at the Indiana
State Fairgrounds. Local ethnic groups, vendors and performers
are featured alongside national and international performers.
Sports
The labels of
The Amateur Sports Capital of the World, and
The Racing Capital of the World, have both been applied to
Indianapolis.
Indianapolis is home to the
Indy Racing League's offices and many of its
teams,
Indianapolis Colts of the
NFL, the
Indiana Pacers of the
NBA, the
Indiana Fever of the
WNBA, the
Indianapolis Indians of the
IL, the
Indiana
Ice of the
USHL, and
the
Indianapolis Trax of the
MWHL.
In addition, the headquarters of the
National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA), the main governing body for U.S.
collegiate sports, is located in Indianapolis, as is the
National
Federation of State High School Associations. Indianapolis is
also home to the national offices of USA Gymnastics, USA Diving, US
Synchronized Swimming, and USA Track & Field.Indianapolis also
hosts the headquarters of the
Horizon
League and the
Great
Lakes Valley Conference; the
Heartland Collegiate
Athletic Conference is located in suburban Indianapolis.
The city has hosted the
Men's and
Women's
Final Four (the semifinals and final of the
NCAA basketball tournament)
several times, and as of 2006 the NCAA is scheduled to hold the
Women's Final Four in Indianapolis at least once every five years.
Conseco
Fieldhouse
in Indianapolis will host the Big Ten
Tournament for five straight years (beginning in 2008) after it
won the Big Ten bid over Chicago and the
United
Center
.
Indianapolis also hosts the Indianapolis Tennis
Championships, one of the many tournaments which are part of
the US
Open
series.
IMS
hosts two major races every year, the Indianapolis
500 and the Allstate 400 at the
Brickyard. Starting in 2008, the
MotoGP Motorcycle series will host a weekend at the
speedway for the
Red
Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. On May 20, 2008, the city was
awarded the rights to host
Super Bowl
XLVI. Indianapolis hosted the
Pan American Games in 1987 and the
2002 World
Basketball Championships.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The
Indianapolis
Motor Speedway (IMS), located in Speedway, Indiana
, is the site of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race (also known as the Indy 500), an open-wheel automobile race held each Memorial Day weekend on a oval track.
The Indy 500 is the largest single-day sporting event in the world,
hosting more than 257,000 permanent seats (not including the
infield area).
The track is often referred to as the
Brickyard, as it was paved with 3.2 million bricks shortly
after its construction in 1909. Today the track is paved in
asphalt although a section of bricks remains
at the start/finish line.
IMS also hosts the
NASCAR Brickyard 400 (originally the "Allstate 400 at
the Brickyard"). The first running of the Brickyard 400 was in
1994, and is currently NASCAR's highest attended event.
From 2000 to 2007, IMS hosted the
Formula
One United States Grand
Prix (USGP). Contract negotiations between the IMS and Formula
One resulted in a discontinuation of the USGP at Indianapolis (at
least for the foreseeable future). Formula One has not scheduled a
USGP venue for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
The Speedway hosted its first
MotoGP, with
the
Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix taking
place in September 2008.
O'Reilly Raceway Park
Indianapolis is also home to O'Reilly
Raceway Park
. Though not as well known as Indianapolis
Motor Speedway, O'Reilly is home to the
NHRA
Mac Tool U.S. Nationals, the biggest, oldest, richest, and most
prestigious drag race in the world, held every Labor Day
weekend.
OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon
Indianapolis is home to the largest mini-marathon (and
eighth-largest running event) in America. 2007 was the 30th
anniversary of the Mini, and run in the first weekend in May every
year. This event is part of the 500 Festival, its 50th year
running.
The race starts on Washington Street just
off Monument
Circle
and ends on New York Street back downtown.
The Mini has been sold out every year, with well over 35,000
runners participating.
Recreation
Parks
Indianapolis has an extensive
municipal
park system with nearly 200 parks occupying over .
The flagship Eagle Creek
Park
is the largest municipal park in the city, and
ranks among the largest urban parks in the United
States.
Other major Indianapolis Regional parks include:
- Garfield Park (established in 1881 and the oldest park in
Indianapolis. Located on the Near South Side)
- Riverside Park (Near West Side)
- Sahm Park (Northeast side)
- Southeastway Park (Franklin Township, Marion County)
- Southwestway Park (Decatur Township, Marion County)
- White River State Park (Just West of downtown. Has cultural,
educational and recreational attractions as well as trails and
waterways.)
Additionally, Indianapolis has an urban forestry program that is
recognized by the
National
Arbor Day Foundation's
Tree City
USA standards.
Indianapolis Zoo
Opened in
1988, the Indianapolis
Zoo
is the largest zoo in the state and is just west of
downtown. It has 360 species of animals and is best known
for its
dolphin exhibit which includes the
only underwater viewing dome in the
Midwest.
Theatres & Performing Arts Venues
Indianapolis is home to a wealth of venues for the performing arts.
The following theatres offer plays, Broadway hits, comedy,
musicals, concerts, and other live performances to Indy theater
goers.
Museums & Galleries
Indianapolis has a wide variety of museums and galleries which
appeal to art lovers, car enthusiasts, sports fans, history channel
addicts, and science and technology brain acts.
Other places of interest
Local media
Indianapolis is served by local, regional, and national
media.
National broadcast television affiliates include
ABC affiliate
WRTV (channel
6),
CBS affiliate
WISH (channel 8),
NBC affiliate
WTHR (channel 13), and
Fox affiliate
WXIN (channel 59), and
PBS local affiliate
WFYI (channel
20).
The
Indianapolis Star is the
city's daily newspaper.
Economy
The Gross State Product in the state as of 2001 was $ 189.9 bil.
The per capita personal income (2003) was $ 28.783.
Among the various sectors of the economy in the state the Chief
Industries are manufacturing, services, agriculture, government,
wholesale and retail trade, transportation and public
utilities.
The Chief Manufacturing goods of the state are primary metals,
transportation equipment, motor vehicles and equipments, industrial
machinery and equipment, electronic and electric equipment.
Major crops of the state are Corn, soybeans, nursery and green
house products, vegetables, popcorn, fruit, hay, tobacco and mint.
Important Livestock (January 2004): 830,000 cattle/calves; 45,000
sheep/lambs; (January 2003): 3.1 mil. Hogs/pigs; (December 2003):
28.9 mil. Chickens (excluding broilers).
Companies
Indianapolis is the international headquarters of the
pharmaceutical corporation
Eli
Lilly and Company, wireless distribution & logistics
provider
Brightpoint, health insurance
provider
Wellpoint, insurance company
American United Life (OneAmerica),
Republic Airways Holdings
(including
Chautauqua Airlines,
Republic Airlines, and
Shuttle America, real estate companies
Simon Property Group &
Hunt
Construction Group,
Finish Line,
Inc., Duke Realty Corp. and
Teleservices Direct. The U.S.
headquarters of
Roche Diagnostics,
Thomson SA,
Conseco,
First Internet Bank of
Indiana, Peerless Pump Company,
Dow
AgroSciences,
Emmis
Communications and
Steak 'n Shake
are also located in Indianapolis. Other major Indianapolis area
employers include
Clarian Health,
Sallie Mae,
Cook
Group,
Rolls Royce,
Delta Faucet Company and
General Motors. Indianapolis has also
developed into a major logistics center. It is home to a
FedEx hub and many major distribution centers for
companies like
Amazon.com, FoxConn, and
numerous pharmaceutical distributors.
Before
Detroit came to
dominate the American automobile
industry, Indianapolis was also home to a number of carmakers,
including American Motor Car
Company, Parry Auto Company,
and Premier Motor
Manufacturing. In addition, Indianapolis hosted auto
parts companies such as Prest-O-Lite, which provided
acetylene generators for
brass era headlights and acetylene gas
starters.
ATA Airlines (previously American Trans
Air) was headquartered in Indianapolis prior to its collapse.
Business climate and real estate
The
National
Association of Home Builders and
Wells
Fargo ranked Indianapolis the most affordable major housing
market in the U.S. for the fourth quarter of 2008, and
Forbes magazine ranked it the sixth-best
city for jobs in 2008, based on a combined graded balance of
perceived median household incomes, lack of
unemployment, income growth,
cost of living and job growth. However, in
2008, Indiana ranked 12th nationally in total home foreclosures and
Indianapolis led the state.
In 2009, Indianapolis ranked first on CNN/Money's list of the top
10 cities for recent graduates.
Transportation
New Midfield Terminal under
construction
Airports
Indianapolis
International Airport, airport code IND, is the largest airport in
Indiana and serves the Indianapolis metropolitan
area as well as many other communities in the state of the
Indiana.
The airport is home to the second largest FedEx operation in the
world (second only to the Memphis headquarters) and the United
States Postal Service Eagle Network Hub. The entire airport is a
global
free trade zone called
INZONE with 18
designated subzones.
Thirty years in planning, Indianapolis recently completed building
a new airport. The $1.1 billion project is the largest development
initiative in the city's history. The
new
Indianapolis Airport covers , with 40 gates, a baggage
processing area, a baggage claim area, and Civic Plaza, a large
pre-security gathering and concession space with a skylight,
containing both local and national restaurants and retailers as
well as local Indianapolis artwork. The new terminal is the first
built in the United States since
September 11, 2001. It opened
officially for arriving flights 11/11/08 and departures
11/12/08.
Highways
Interstate highways
Several
interstates serve the
Indianapolis area.
Interstate 65
runs northwest to Gary
, where
other roads eventually take drivers to Chicago, and
southward to Louisville, Kentucky. Interstate 69
runs northeast to Fort Wayne, Indiana
, and terminates in the city at I-465. Interstate 70
follows the old National Road, running
east to Columbus,
Ohio and west to St. Louis, Missouri. Interstate 74
moves northwest towards Danville, Illinois
, and southeast towards Cincinnati, Ohio
. Finally, Interstate 465 circles Marion
County and joins the aforementioned highways
together. In 2002, the interstate segment connecting
Interstate 465 to
Interstate 65 on the northwest side of the
city was redesignated
Interstate 865
to reduce confusion. The Indianapolis area also has three other
expressways;
Sam Jones
Expressway (old Airport Expressway), the new Airport
Expressway, and Shadeland Avenue Expressway.
US Highways
Indiana State Trunklines
Mass transit
The
Indianapolis
Public Transportation Corporation, known locally as IndyGo,
provides public transportation for the city. IndyGo was established
in 1975 after the city of Indianapolis took over the city's transit
system. Prior to 1997, IndyGo was called Metro. Central Indiana
Commuter Services (CICS), funded by IndyGo to reduce pollution,
serves Indianapolis and surrounding counties.
People mover
Clarian
Health operates a people mover
connecting the Indiana University School of
Medicine, Riley Hospital for Children
, Wishard
Hospital and IUPUI & Indiana University School of Medicine
facilities at the north end of the Downtown
Canal
with Methodist Hospital. Plans for a
larger system are being considered that would operate throughout
downtown Indianapolis. The existing people mover is sometimes
inaccurately described as a
monorail, but
in fact rides on dual
concrete beams with
the guideway as wide as the vehicle.
Intercity transportation
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides
service to Indianapolis at the Indianapolis
Union Station
. Amtrak provides a thrice-weekly service of
the Cardinal to Chicago,
New York City, Philadelphia
, and Washington, D.C. and the daily Hoosier State to
Chicago.
Greyhound Lines also operates a
terminal from Indianapolis Union Station downtown. The terminal is
open 24 hours daily, 365 days a year.
Transportation issues
Indianapolis suffers from numerous transportation issues, such as a
lack of sidewalks in suburban areas and a lack of adequate
mass transit for a city its size. Plans are
underway to build a commuter Light Rail System from Downtown
Indianapolis to Fishers with 6 stops so far, possibly including a
second line to the Indianapolis International Airport.
Indianapolis in popular media
- The basketball film Hoosiers
was set and filmed in various parts of the Indianapolis area.
- The city of Indianapolis is referred to twelve times in the
movie Uncle Buck.
- A large segment of the film Eagle
Eye takes place in Indianapolis.
- In the classic sitcom I Love
Lucy, Fred Mertz was originally
from Indianapolis and his mother still lived there. Before moving
to New York and meeting the Ricardos, he and his wife, Ethel Mertz, ran a diner there.
- The television sitcom
One Day at a Time was set
in Indianapolis. The opening credits of the show include a shot of
the Pyramids, a set of three distinctive office buildings located
near the northwestern edge of the city.
- The first season of Good
Morning Miss Bliss (later to become Saved by the Bell) was set in
Indianapolis.
- The first season of Thunder
Alley was set in Indianapolis.
- The American version of Men Behaving Badly
was set in Indianapolis.
- CBS's 2005 drama Close to Home was set in
Indianapolis, revolving around a prosecuting attorney in Marion
County.
- In the television show Jericho, Indianapolis was one of 23
American cities destroyed by nuclear weapons. Interestingly enough,
this fate also befalls the city in the Worldwar series of novels by Harry Turtledove, as well as in the
fictional history for the game Car
Wars.
- Indianapolis is featured in The Shift on the Investigation Discovery Channel, as
cameras follow Indianapolis's homicide unit.
- The Bob and Tom
Show, a nationally-syndicated radio show which is also
televised by WGN America, is based out
of WFBQ-FM (Q95) in Indianapolis.
- David
Letterman, host of CBS' Late Show and the
original host of NBC's Late Night, was born
and raised in Indianapolis and began his broadcasting career there
as a weatherman for WLWI-TV (now WTHR
).
His mother, Dorothy Mengering, who
still lives in the Indianapolis area, has made frequent appearances
on her son's show.
- The Paul Newman film Winning is about the Indy 500 and takes place
at the speedway.
See also
Gallery
Image:C4241-Indianapolis-Canal.jpgImage:Downtown_indy_from_crown_hill.JPGImage:Downtown_indy_from_campus_parking_garage.JPGImage:Downtown_indy_from_parking_garage_zoom.JPG
Image:Indianapolis-indiana-from-above.jpgImage:Indianapolis-1985-1.JPGImage:Indianapolis-1985-2.JPGImage:Downtown
indianapols in 07.21.08.JPG
Sister cities
Indianapolis has seven
sister cities,
as designated by
Sister
Cities International:
References
External links
(the largest children's museum in the
world)
(Hall of Fame for college
athletics)
(A living history museum)
State
Road 19 Allisonville Road
State
Road 29 Followed US 421
State
Road 37
State
Road 67
State Road 100 Numbered route for
Shadeland Avenue Expressway
State Road 134
State Road 135
State Road 431
(Brazil
)
(People's Republic of China
)
, Taiwan
(Republic of China
)
)
(Italy
)
(Kenya
)
(Slovenia
)
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