On Vacation

I'll be away from the blogging world for the next two weeks.  As always, thanks for reading and interacting.

2 exciting new schools to open soon

Green Piece Indianapolis has highlighted 2 new schools that will open in the near future. Both are worthy of mention here.

The Indianapolis Early Learning Center will focus on pre-school education. Located in a formerly run-down home on West 30th Street, the school will focus on jump starting a young person's interest in nature.

The Paramount School of Excellence will focus on Kindergarten through 8th Grade. Located in the former Brookside Masonic Lodge, the grounds of the school will feature a wind turbine and a garden.

Historic Enclave: Lawrence

I know, it's weird to term a city of almost 40,000 an enclave. However, I find it interesting that the historic center of Lawrence is not well known, as the most of the "downtown" has shifted to the Fort Benjamin Harrison area at 56th and Post.  The historic center is at 46th and Franklin Road:

Crown Point

We stopped in Crown Point on the way to Chicago. I was impressed by the town square, as it seemed more lively and populated than many others in the state. And, of course, the historic courthouse is impressive:

I love this theater.  I'm imagining it's historic, with a remodel from the 1970's.  Totally unique.
There were quite a few motorcycles about:

Quaint:

This picture didn't turn out great, but I was amused by the fact that the door to the Accountants Office (in the lower right of the picture) is directly underneath the banner for the Zombie Club.  Zombie Accountants!

Chicago's Inspiration

Earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to stay for 3 nights in downtown Chicago. A Chicago trip always trips my urbanist triggers, and this time was no different. Comparing Indianapolis and Chicago is a futile pursuit, but that doesn't mean I don't do this while I'm there. Fortunately, I've come away with some inspiration that can apply to our city.

• Each Bus Stop has the map of its route posted. This would be a nice way to give people an idea of where the buses travel without needing to find a guide or the internet. Still, we probably should re-design our routes first before enshrining them on bus stops.

• Green Roofs. I actually saw 2 different green roofs from the vantage point of our hotel room. This was a nice, unexpected surprise, and gives the visitor a positive impression on the direction of the city.

• A dirt cheap solution for bicycles. One particular street had a painted outline of a cyclist on the street, and a sign warning that drivers are to yield to them. That's all there was. No painted bike lane. I'm not sure if I'm endorsing this or not, but if we're looking to cut costs, we could look in to this.

• Our main Library trumps Chicago's in both functionality and attractiveness, especially on the interior. I attempted to spend some time in Chicago's Library and felt somewhat oppressed. We need to find a way to promote our Library as a special place where a person can learn and feel inspired.

• Trees on the street can make a huge difference. In my neighborhood walks in Chicago, the streets with street canopies were almost invariably more pleasant. Keeping Indianapolis Beautiful's recent tree plantings will hopefully pay dividends in the future.

I'm sure that there are more somewhat simple ideas out there that we can apply to our city. This is just a small sample.

Beech Grove

Here's a few pics from my trip to Beech Grove a few weeks ago:  

The Amtrak Train Shed, dating from 1909:

How many songs have this particular title?

City Hall:
Beech Grove has done quite a bit of work to make Main Street and Emerson Avenue more attractive and walkable.  I can't imagine how hard it would have been to cross Emerson a few years ago; now there's a prominent crosswalk, and the street has been narrowed.