Posted March 20, 201510 yr Some pictures of these Indianapolis suburbs in September 2014. Carmel is north of Indianapolis in Hamilton County. It has seen explosive growth with a population of about 1,000 in 1950 to a population of nearly 80,000 in 2010 (and surely much higher today). They do seem to be attempting to develop beyond the endless subdivisions typically found in suburbs. There are plenty of those of course, but also some more urban style developments. These first few pictures are part of a mixed-use development called the Carmel City Center. The Palladium concert hall opened in 2011 Carmel Palladium by Eridony, on Flickr More of the Carmel City Center Carmel City Center by Eridony, on Flickr The Civic Theater that faces the Palladium Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre by Eridony, on Flickr Palladium Concert Hall by Eridony, on Flickr Now the next area is the Carmel Arts & Design District. It is the traditional downtown but the only old buildings (early to mid 20th century) take up a single block. Everything else on Main Street is new. They have also added a lot of sculptures, although I didn't really care for them. Sidewalk Concert by Eridony, on Flickr Old Town on the Monon by Eridony, on Flickr This was on the window of a barber shop Walk-ens Welcome by Eridony, on Flickr Main Street Carmel by Eridony, on Flickr The Right Light by Eridony, on Flickr Carmel Arts & Design District by Eridony, on Flickr Sophia Square by Eridony, on Flickr The only block of (mostly) old buildings Carmel Arts & Design District by Eridony, on Flickr Carmel Main Street by Eridony, on Flickr My most viewed Carmel picture. For some reason... Carmel Bricks by Eridony, on Flickr Carmel Couture by Eridony, on Flickr The last set of Carmel photos is of a massive New Urbanism development called West Clay (or Westclay or WestClay). The entire development didn't start until 1999 but by now must have at least a thousand homes. The place was nice but also creepy. Some very nice house designs, none seemed to be duplicates. Garages in alleys not in front. Nice landscaping and parks. Still the place was too clean and on a beautiful Saturday afternoon almost no one was outside. It felt like an elaborate movie set. The West Clay development is broken down into different neighborhoods. The first few photos are in an area called West Village which is centered around St. Reagan Park. West Clay - West Village by Eridony, on Flickr The Trickle-Down fountain is in the middle of the park Trickle Down Fountain by Eridony, on Flickr Gipper Memorial Putting Green by Eridony, on Flickr Ronald Reagan Green by Eridony, on Flickr West Clay - Congress Street by Eridony, on Flickr West Village Townhomes by Eridony, on Flickr West Clay seems to be very successful on the residential side, but not on the commercial. There are 2 business district. The first one I saw was Uptown, which is made up of a pharmacy, two banks, and a lot of empty land. Still the pharmacy design isn't bad. Neo Deco by Eridony, on Flickr The next part of West Clay is a single family home section called Deerstyne. West Clay Tower House by Eridony, on Flickr West Clay - Deerstyne by Eridony, on Flickr Westclay Storm Sewer by Eridony, on Flickr Village of WestClay - Tradd Street by Eridony, on Flickr Finally the last section of West Clay I saw was the second business district called the Village Center Shoppes. This seemed to be the most successful business area but still there is a lot of empty space and the buildings are disconnected. Downtown West Clay by Eridony, on Flickr A nice park in the district called University Green. I have no idea why it is named that. University Green by Eridony, on Flickr The West Clay Meeting House Westclay Meeting House by Eridony, on Flickr The Village Center Shoppes by Eridony, on Flickr Brenwick is the developer of West Clay Brenwick by Eridony, on Flickr Another example of the gaps between buildings Downtown WestClay by Eridony, on Flickr The only recent addition to downtown West Clay is a fake fire station called Danny Boy Beer Works. From Google Streetview I think this is the first new building in the district in the better part of a decade. Danny Boy Beer Works by Eridony, on Flickr WestClay Central Business District by Eridony, on Flickr Finally I will end with a few pictures of Zionsville. The Town of Zionsville is northwest of Indianapolis in Boone County. In 2010 it had a population of 14,127. It has a nice little downtown and unlike West Clay there were pedestrians. Zionsville by Eridony, on Flickr Infill built in 2006 Carter Building by Eridony, on Flickr Evening in Zionsville by Eridony, on Flickr Downtown Zionsville by Eridony, on Flickr This Methodist Church was built in 1894. Now it's an art gallery The Sanctuary by Eridony, on Flickr Old Methodist Church by Eridony, on Flickr Main Street Zionsville by Eridony, on Flickr Where's Waldo? by Eridony, on Flickr One Nine Five by Eridony, on Flickr I want to thank my tour guide, ColDayMan
March 21, 201510 yr I wish all CVS stores looked like that. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 23, 201510 yr Carmel has pretty much been "the" burb that was most affluent to live in around Indy. The developments around Geist, in the 80's, changed the game some. I like those new Carmel developments.
March 23, 201510 yr I wish all CVS stores looked like that. I don't know. To me, it appears to be the same model as just about every other CVS, except for some fake-deco vertical lines on the facade -- like exterior wallpaper. I wish all CVS stores were on the ground floor of a mixed-use building up against a sidewalk instead of a parking lot.
March 23, 201510 yr Carmel has pretty much been "the" burb that was most affluent to live in around Indy. The developments around Geist, in the 80's, changed the game some. I like those new Carmel developments. I think Carmel is interesting, but I don't really like the look of it. It's an interesting counterpoint to Indianapolis, though, which is a city I have always liked. I think there has been a lot of thought put into bike access in Carmel, but it has virtually no public transportation, despite being right on the border of Indianapolis.
March 26, 201510 yr Zionsville looks interesting, but Carmel looks cartoonish, IMO. Disney does suburbia.
March 29, 201510 yr those frightening statues look like the ones that were up all over downtown dayton a few years back. yipes! otherwise, its all very tidy and new and they seem to be doing some things right around there. interesting to see this area i kind of wondered about it.
Create an account or sign in to comment