There are a lot of photos in this thread - a 'monumental' amount, one might say. ;) Seriously though - let me know if the thread takes too long to load.

 

When we last left off, I had a chance to get out of the convention center for a little bit - this time around I managed to get out a lot more. I didn't get out of downtown at all, but I was pleasantly surprised - good pedestrian traffic, decent dining and retail options, and the architectural gems were a real treat. Don't think I'd live in Indianapolis but it was nice for a visit.

 

Loved that the buildings fronting Monument Circle had curved facades:

 

Details of the Circle Tower (art deco classic on the right in the photo above)

 

 

Funky Dunky!

 

Funky condo building:

 

Uh oh...

 

Looks like a building that could use some TLC:

 

I shamefully confess I was dragged into this fine establishment - fortunately they had 312 on draft (and I needed it!)

 

 

This was the site of Nordstrom at Circle Center Mall; it'll be interesting to see if the remaining retailers stick around:

 

:|

 

This stretch of buildings helped ease the pain from the Hyatt/PNC complex:

 

 

 

But back to the convention center, gotta get to work!

 

While I was cooped up snapping tradeshow photos, my partner made it over to the art museum and the adjacent Oldfields (mansion and once home to the Lilly family):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That evening, we got to tour and enjoy Lucas Oil Stadium:

 

Downtown skyline from the stadium:

 

Over to the Slippery Noodle (what's with all these freaky-deeky names for bars?) - great blues band was performing:

 

 

 

Had some free time the next day, and my partner hadn't been inside the Capitol building:

 

Aerial view from the hotel room:

 

From the grounds:

 

 

 

 

I couldn't believe this - one side has immaculately kept grounds, the other side is parking right up to the side of the building  :-P

 

 

Indy has some beautiful gems, but Brutalism was pretty d@mn brutal to this city:

 

I wonder if people complain about a lack of parking  :roll:

 

Ah well, over to the War Memorial area - I wanted to see the interior of the Scottish Rite Cathedral; en route was the federal building:

 

Chamber of Commerce building:

 

Loved this pair of residential buildings:

 

 

War Memorial Plaza on the left; it was designed by Cleveland-based architects, Walker and Weeks:

 

 

Scottish Rite Cathedral; we arrived at 12:30pm on Friday - according to their website "The Scottish Rite conducts complimentary guided tours for both individuals and small groups Monday through Friday as well as the third (3rd) Saturday of each month.We conduct tours from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. when open." Not the case according to the snotty heftybag who popped her head out from the door after we gave it a good tug.  :x

 

 

 

Like I said - monumental:

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the War Memorial:

 

Dozens of these were hung around the interior. To the ladies and gentlemen listed, thank you for your service:

 

The shrine room of the War Memorial; absolutely breathtaking - my photos in no way do this space any justice:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Truer words have never been spoken:

 

 

Auditorium, also inside the War Memorial:

 

 

Wartime displays:

 

 

Views from the terrace of the War Memorial; not sure if I care for the quirky mishmash going on here:

 

 

Again with the Brutalism!

 

Um, is this reclad job finished?  :?

 

Grrr.

 

 

 

 

Down from the War Memorial to University Park:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gold glass... ehhh...

 

 

That's more like it!

 

Soldiers and Sailors Monument:

 

 

Apparently we were there for the start of Oktoberfest; these guys happened to take note of two gals walking by:

 

Stopped back in the church on Monument Circle:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turned out a party was getting underway at the Repertory Theater so I snuck in and got a shot of the lobby:

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the room for a few more shots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue neon on poo-brown concrete (or whatever it is)...  :-P

 

 

 

 

 

Time to head home; gotta fill up and get a shot of the bad@ss power plant!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed!

I always thought that this street was a missed urban design opportunity:

 

 

 

Otherwise these are great shots.  I am impressed by that War Memorial.  Stuff like this usually leaves me cold, but in this case the interior is actually fairly moving, from the pix.

That retro Dunkin Donuts was a BBQ place and a Panda Express prior to the conversion.

Wow! You certainly did justice to the city's monumental core, and went inside the World War Memorial! Those are beautiful photos; "breathtaking" is an appropriate description of the central shrine room there. I first saw it during an eighth-grade class trip in 1953, when our class visited the legislature in session and did some other scheduled stuff and then had some free time to explore on our own. While a lot of the kids went shopping, a fellow nerd and I went to check out some monuments and found an open entrance door. When I reached the top of that narrow interior stairway and emerged into that room, I stopped in my tracks and was speechless, an unusual occurrence for an adolescent blabbermouth like me. I had never seen an interior space so ornate or so vast. I could only whisper to my friend as we walked around in it. On a visit years later I found the names of one of Dad's uncles and one of Mom's cousins on the tablets of World War I veterans. Fortunately, both came home alive and with their bodies intact.

 

Your partner has a good eye and excellent camera skills too.

 

The red brick Romanesque building with the tall clock tower is Union Station. Amtrak still uses the train shed thrice-weekly for the Cardinal (NYC-Chicago via Cincinnati) and for the Hoosier State (Chicago-Indianapolis) on days the Cardinal doesn't operate and shares a ticket/waiting area outside the main structure with Greyhound. For a while in the eighties Union Station saw some life as a festival marketplace, a concept that has failed in every case I know of. The great hall housed several upscale restaurants, and in my experience their food and service were good. The passenger concourse beneath the tracks was full of shops peddling frivolous junk that nobody needs but that visitors might buy to take home for gifts to people who will throw them away after a short time. The place thrived for a while until the locals got bored with it, and there wasn't enough tourist trade to sustain it.

Excellent shots, you have a great eye for detail.  Loved the closeups!

Such amply parking!

Nice job pumpkin!

Monument Circle is an obvious must for anyone visiting and especially after seeing a number of threads on it at UO. I agree with the visiting vs. living there sentiment: outside of Downtown there are only a few smaller scale urban districts that have much of anything. Being *the* big city in IN, it would have been nice if they had taken a more balanced approach regarding neighborhoods vs. downtown revitalization. Still, it's one nice downtown.

Thanks for the very excellent photo spread.  I love the War Memorial and the symmetry of the entire American Legion Mall - from the Main Library to the US Courthouse.  Glad you captured many of the architectural details from some of the older buildings.  The State Capitol has a beautiful interior that a lot of people don't usually see.  Yes -- that ugly Hyatt is pretty sad.  It was built in 1976 and sits on what used to be the end point of one of the diagonal streets that used to go through that area.  There has been so much street, sidewalk and bike / ped construction downtown during this past year.  Hopefully by Spring of 2012 it will all be completed and people will be able to get around much more easily.  When the "Cultural Trail" bikeway is completed -- it'll be a great way to get around downtown without needing to get in a car.  (btw --- I was downtown on that same night you were taking photos because I went to the Octoberfest party on the Circle - that you had a picture of.  It was a blast -- with "Polka Boy" playing and lots of nice, cold beer.)  Also -- while I agree Indy doesn't have the same good neighborhood hubs that Cincinnati and Cleveland have -  there are a few that are improving.  Fountain Square to the SE of downtown is getting to be a great live music and food place and Mass Ave on the NE side of downtown has a lot of great local food places and both large and small music and theater spots.  Along with Broad Ripple to the North -- more good local restaurants and shops are opening in the SoBro (South Broad Ripple) area.  Irvington is another area that is getting to be a stronger local hub - with a few other rising neighborhoods coming along such as E. 10th Street, Beech Grove, and the Cottage Home / Highland Park area just east of downtown.