About Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital city and most populous city in the state of Indiana. It is as well the county seat for the Marion County. Indianapolis was founded in 1821 as a planned city for the new seat of the Indiana state government. It is the 25th biggest economy in the United States, and its economic might lies in finance, insurance, manufacturing, professional services, business services, healthcare, wholesale trading and education. Indianapolis also has a fledging amateur sports along with auto racing industries. This Indiana capital is well noted for hosting the globe’s biggest single day sporting event; the Indianapolis 500. Indianapolis as well boasts of the biggest kids’ museum in the world and one of the biggest privately funded zoos in the nation. It is home to numerous historic structures and sites too. Indianapolis is particularly highly acclaimed for its substantial collection of monuments that have being dedicated to war veterans and war casualties. This collection of monuments is only 2nd to that found in the City of Washington D.C.
The name Indianapolis was coined from the state’s name, which literally means the land of Indians, and polis, the Greek term for city. Jeremiah Sullivan, a judge of the Indiana Supreme Court is credited with coming up with this name. When Indiana attained statehood in the early 19th century, the US Congress granted 4 sections of federal land to found a new permanent seat for Indiana’s state government. Shortly thereafter, the Delaware Amerindian tribe relinquished their rights to lands in central Indiana based on the treaty of St. Mary’s. These parcels of land comprised of the site chosen for the new state capital in 1820. Many settler were attracted to this area, a large number of whom were descendants of families from Northwest Europe. The very first Americans of European descent to settle at the future site of Indianapolis City hailed from the McCormick and Pogue families. Indianapolis was eventually incorporated into a town and city in 1832 and 1847 respectively. In 1825, the seat government for the state of Indiana was moved here from the City of Corydon.
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In the late 1990s, 6 cultural districts were established in the City to capitalize on its cultural institutions that were located in many of its historic neighborhoods. These were the Broad Ripple Village, the Fountain Square, Mass Ave, Canal & White River State Park, Wholesale and Indiana Avenue. A 7th cultural district was established under the name of Market East in 2014. On the other hand, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail was first opened to the public in 2013. It boasts of 8 miles of urban biking and pedestrian trails, which link 6 cultural districts with other prominent neighborhoods.
This Indiana capital city as well hosts numerous yearly festivals that showcase the local cultural scene and draws visitors in large droves. This includes the Month of May, Indiana Black Expo, Indiana State Fair, Indy Pride Festival to mention just but a few. Indianapolis is also home to a good number of nationally renowned visual arts museums. One of the most notable of which is the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which was first established in the late 19th century. The Indianapolis Museum of Art has the distinction of been the 9th oldest and 8th biggest encyclopedic art museum in the country. Its permanent collection of works of art consists of more than 54,000 pieces of American, Asian, African and European artworks. There is as well the Indianapolis Art Center that is situated in the Broad Ripple Village cultural district, and was first established in the early 20th century. This Indianapolis art center opened a new building in the mid 1990s that comprises of 3 public art galleries, a library, an auditorium and a grand total of 11 different studios.
The City of Indianapolis is as well home to the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, which was founded at the turn of the 21st century, 2001 to be more specific. This museum is situated in the Murphy Art Center in the city’s Fountain Square cultural district. There is also the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art that was established in 1989. It has the distinction of being the sole native Amerindian art museum in the entire Midwest region of the country.
Indianapolis has a vibrant performing arts scene too. With most of its performing art center been situated in the Mass Ave cultural district as well as its downtown area. One of the most prominent of which is the Indiana Theatre, which is the home base for the Indiana Repertory Theatre. There is as well the Hilbert Circle Theatre that serves as the home base for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra that was established in the 1930s. On the other hand, the City of Indianapolis is home to the Madame Walker Theatre Center, which was first opened to the public in 1927 on the Indiana Avenue. The latter of which is largely an African American neighborhood. The Madame Walker Theatre was named in the honor of Madame C.J. Walker who was a famous black entrepreneur and philanthropist. This lady built an impressive beauty empire in the City of Indianapolis. Other notable performing arts venues in this state of Indiana capital include the Old National Center, Phoenix Theater, the Athenaeum, the Indianapolis Arts Garden, Melody Inn and the Emerson Theater.
Indianapolis Museum of Art
This is a vast encyclopedic visual arts museum that is situated in Indianapolis’ downtown area. Like it was earlier noted, the permanent collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art includes over 54,000 works of art that are showcased in a wide range of different genres. One of the highlights of paying a visit to this Indianapolis museum is exploring the works of art created by well known artists including Gauguin and J.M.W Turner. The Indianapolis Museum of Art as well showcases Chinese ceramics, textiles and even modern design pieces.
Canal & White River State Park
The Canal &White River State Park is an exquisite green space, which is situated at the heart of Indianapolis’ downtown area. It is essentially a 250 acre urban oasis that comes complete with an extensive network of strolling and jogging trails. The Canal & White River State Park is also home to some of the city’s most well known museums. This includes the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian & Western Art, the Indiana State Museum and the NCAA Hall of Champions. This green space is as well home to the Indianapolis Zoo. Its Canal Walk, in particular, is a 3 mile long loop on the waterfront of the downtown area and is very popular joggers, cyclists, strollers, pedal boat and gondola enthusiasts.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Hall of Fame
Situated in the globally acclaimed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, this City of Indianapolis attraction has been specifically dedicated to the fields of automobiles and of course, auto racing. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Hall of Fame is listed in the register for National Historic Landmarks. It comes complete with an impressive collection of racing vehicles along with a wide variety of fascinating automobile memorabilia. The last of which includes those linked with the famous Indianapolis 500 race. This includes cars, motorbikes and dragsters that have had the distinction of settling world land speeds records. Visitors get the golden opportunity to take part in informative tours of the speedway that cover the victory platform, the garage area, the gasoline alley and even the hospitality suite. There are also narrated track tours, which cover one lap of the speedway in a special bus.