The lost art of the Terminated Vista
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Historical Posts on Apr 29th, 2010 | 11 comments
This is the 3rd post in my extremely intermittent series inspired by the book Suburban Nation. Terminated vista is a term used to describe a prominent building placed directly at the end of a street. These have become increasingly uncommon with the advent of the automobile, as they are bad for traffic flow, as well as the fact that most builders don’t want to deal with the risk involved with a driver mishap. The most famous terminated vistas in the city are Monument Circle and the State House. The one I have featured I like quite a bit, and I found it by accident on a walk one day: the...
Harmoni’s Midtown plans
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Historical Posts on Apr 25th, 2010 | 11 comments
Last Thursday, I attended the Indy Connect meeting at 40th and Pennsylvania. While it was an informative meeting, and I was excited to be able to participate in the discussion with the planners, the most surprising contribution was from the Harmoni table. They displayed an impressive report, complete with sobering demographic statistics, as well as a call to arms to maintain and build on the current successes of the large region “between the rivers”. Here’s a rundown of ideas contained in this document:
Express mass transit lines (perhaps a streetcar) down College Avenue, as...
Personal Note
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Historical Posts on Apr 21st, 2010 | 11 comments
I generally try to keep this blog topical, so this will be a rare exception. But, I do need to mention that my wife and I are expecting our first child in mid-October. We are of course excited about this. It remains to be seen about changes in my posting frequency, but I plan to keep chugging away at about twice a week. I may be working from home, which may change the ability to get out and take neighborhood photos, as I usually do that after working downtown.
Also, thanks to everyone who has read this blog for the past 3 years. The blogversary was April 10th. It’s been a fun experience,...
Earth House
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Historical Posts on Apr 21st, 2010 | 1 comment
Earth House was opened last year in a Church in Lockerbie Square. The House serves a wide variety of interests: coffee shop, concert venue, free market, and a culture that seems imported straight from my college town, Bloomington. The vegetarian restaurant is undergoing changes currently and is temporarily closed.
Upstairs Concert Venue:
Full disclosure: I have a friend who played a show here (and came all the way from San Francisco on his midwest tour to boot) and got stiffed on payment. I still feel awful about this. I hope they’ve got their management issues worked out. Regardless,...
West Washington Street
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Historical Posts on Apr 15th, 2010 | 5 comments
West Washington Street has been a base for Latin American immigrants in Indianapolis for decades. The area near Belmont Street contains an array of historic mixed-use store fronts. This may be a controversial point, but I believe this might be most fully-functioning “Main Street” type of area in the city. Most of the buildings are occupied, and there is a diverse array of services provided to the Latin American community.
First off is a nicely designed store:
These old one story banks are all around the city. It’s a shame that this one is no longer in use:
At the western end of my...
