Saving Special Places
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Neighborhoods, New Development on Jun 4th, 2014 | 10 comments
Last Saturday, I spent some time in the back of Chatham Tap, among all of the old brick buildings near Mass Ave. I was commenting with my friends about how special this part of town is. It’s easy to dismiss Indianapolis as a new town made of buildings constructed within the past 100 years, and in most places that is not too far from the truth. This part of town is a major exception to that, even though it has faced numerous threats in the past. This is a theme that dates back to at least 1958, according to this charming-yet-frightening planning document (seriously, this thing is a...
The Cultural Trail Philosophical Divide: Virginia Ave vs. Mass Ave
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, New Development, Pedestrian on May 13th, 2014 | 20 comments
Virginia Avenue is hopping with new developments. Each article and news report that is written about the renewed focus on the street has mentioned the Cultural Trail as major catalyst for the revitalization of the street. The Cultural Trail is parallel to the commercial district for almost the entire stretch, with the exception of the short jog it makes to enable easier crossing of East and South Streets.
This angle also enables some nice views of the downtown skyline, as seen in this photo:
Contrast this to how the trail zigs and zags in the city’s other major diagonal commercial district,...
Mass Ave Crit and FtnSqr Grand Prix
Posted by Graeme Sharpe in Bicycling, Neighborhoods on Aug 15th, 2012 | 2 comments
It has been a great summer for cycling action here in Indianapolis. We are seeing great returns on our infrastructure investments, and our citizens are starting to embrace bicycle culture more enthusiastically. A good example of this was the Mass Ave Crit 2012 held last weekend.
The Mass Ave Crit is one of the most established races in the area, and it was a great turnout from spectators, fans, and cyclists. The event was blessed with beautiful weather and a lot of support from the community. I watched as many of the races as I could, and there was great action on every...
Streetcar tracks on Mass Ave
Posted by Curt Ailes in Pedestrian, Transit on Aug 4th, 2011 | 6 comments
I was picking up some pizza from Bazbeux’s last night on Mass Ave and I saw all the construction that is taking place. The project going on is resurfacing of the street, sidewalk reconstruction and addition of electrical conduit for additional lighting along the avenue. At the expense of looking like a hipster with my highly bastardized photo via Instagram on my old iPhone (first version) I snapped this picture of the exposed bricks and streetcar track of yester-year. There is no amount of pavement or sidewalk construction that ever dampens my enthusiasm for wanting to see streetcars return to...
Census Reveals Hoosiers Increasingly Desire Walkable Neighborhoods
Posted by Greg.Meckstroth in Pedestrian, Transit on Mar 1st, 2011 | 28 comments
As many Urban Indy readers are well aware by now, the 2010 Census information for Indiana was released, giving the general public a statistical snapshot of the state’s economic and demographic standing. Indiana is one of the first states to have their 2010 numbers released, with many other states coming online throughout the duration of 2011. Certainly, this is an exciting time for urban planners, geographers, economists, and any other data junkie who gets as excited to study and sift through new Census data as others do the Super Bowl. The reason for excitement surrounding new Census...
