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Super Bowl LXVI

Richard — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:19:38 +0000

It seems surreal that game day is upon us. The dream began several years ago, when Indy made an unsuccessful bid to get the Super Bowl here, then finally being selected on the next try for the 2012 game, which at the time seemed awfully remote, two years away. We all watched the number click down one at a time, the countdown of “Days To Go Until The Super Bowl” reached 365, then 180, then 60, then starting to feel very real the closer it came. The effort, planning and energy that went into this from the entire community was truly amazing, and in the end, luck smiled on us, as better weather than anyone had dreamed would be possible for this time of year lasted the entire 10 days of Super Bowl events, saving a warm, sunny day for game day itself. Indy turned over the key to the city for a few days to the rest of the country and the world. It became Super Bowl Village instead of Indianapolis. A cameo under the spotlights on the big stage. The best thing was a lot of folks unfamiliar with Indianapolis were able to experience our warm hospitality and the results of what took more than a generation of effort to evolve the downtown area into what is there today. Well done everyone.

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Super Bowl Party

Richard — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:37:31 +0000

Monument Circle has witnessed all different types of gatherings in the more than 150 years that it’s been the geographic and symbolic center our community, and now the start of it’s first ever Super Bowl party last night. The downtown area around and in-between the Circle and Georgia Street was wall-to-wall with thousands of people of every age and description, out to take in the sights, sounds and activities. With all the things to do there, you could come every day next week before the game on Feb. 5th, and experience something different each time. Event Calendar

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Mega Bus Stop

Richard — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 04:29:39 +0000

Just happened to be downtown at the right time and saw the Mega Bus in action, picking up and dropping off some Thanksgiving holiday travelers on the east side of the City Market which is their bus stop here in Indy. I knew about the service, but had never seen it in operation. Mega Bus keeps their overhead low by not having a bus terminal, and offer low-cost transportation to major cities. A niche market for sure, but it seems to make sense for a certain type of traveler.

Walking Crooked Creek

Richard — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:08:51 +0000

This is one of three wonderful stone bridges that span Crooked Creek, built originally on what used to be the Charles Sommers estate on Cold Spring Road. Cold Spring School is located on a portion of the property there and IPS transformed the original Sommers Mansion into offices and meeting space. To the west of the home and between Marian College, there are walking trails and woods, now habitat for indigenous wildlife and an ecolab for Marian College.

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Super Updates

Richard — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:22:18 +0000

Almost everywhere you look there’s a project just completed or going on someplace downtown both large and small. Like these updates to curbs, sidewalks and drainage along Washington Street near Meridian. And then there’s the Georgia Street Pedestrian Mall, refurbishing the Monument on the Circle, expanding the Convention Center, etc. These kinds of things are not inexpensive. They are spending some serious money on improvements and to make things look sharp downtown. I wonder what’s going on? With the flurry of activity, you’d think that they were getting ready for a lot of visitors, media attention and some kind of major event or something here soon?

Of course, the Superbowl inspired a lot of this or at least the timetable for completing it. But won’t it be nice to have things built, updated and looking good just for us afterwards. As a catalyst for positive change, the Superbowl is one of the best things that has ever happened here.

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Techno-parking

Richard — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:24:30 +0000

Parked downtown lately? If not, depending on where you park, this is what you may encounter. Parking spaces in a number of locations are all serviced by a common pay-box such as this. A lot of people hardly ever have “real” money with them anymore, only plastic, which means they never have change, especially in a quantity enough to feed the meter for a while. All you need to do is key-in the number of the parking space you are in, then scan your credit card and it’s done. That means there is a tax deductible business-related record someplace too if needed.

But Techies will like this even more. The Parkmobile service allows you to pay your meter from wherever you are. It can send a text message to your phone when the meter’s about to run out. And with a couple clicks, you can extend the time on the meter. Now how cool is that? No more dashing out in 10 degree weather from a meeting or restaurant to feed the meter only to find a pink slip under the windshield wiper courtesy of your friendly Meter Maid. Parkmobile’s website has more information and links to download an AP for a mobile phone. To register to use the service call 877-727-500. And soon, some meters will be able to tell you if another car is already occupying it’s space or not. So the fun of cruising around, hunting for an open parking spot will be a thing of the past.

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Fall Vista

Richard — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:14:18 +0000

This could be a vista somewhere in Brown County, but surprisingly this view can be seen from right here in town, from the summit in Crown Hill Cemetery looking southwest. The spot where this is taken from was considered to be the highest point of land in Indianapolis for the longest time, 842 ft., until Unigov expanded the boundaries of Indianapolis to include all of Marion County. Sources say there is another point NE somewhere in Marion County that has a slightly higher altitude.

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Heartland Film Festival 2011

Richard — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:49:44 +0000

One of the truly outstanding annual events in our community, the Heartland Film Festival begins tomorrow and continues through Saturday 10-22. The festival provides an avenue to view movies by independent film-makers that main-stream theaters often miss. Here’s the film schedule. There’s something for everyone.

This is one of those times when my words just get in the way. Just take in a movie or two. You’ll have fun.

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Timeless Waterway

Richard — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:31:38 +0000

A view of Fall Creek facing west from the Central Avenue Bridge. Most of the time I’m too preoccupied to give Fall Creek much thought, driving along-side or zig-zagging across a bridge or two, going one place or another. Easy to take it for granted. When actually stoping to take it in, something timelessly reminds me that it was here flowing along these same banks long before anyone even decided to settle in this area more than 200 years ago. Water was a main attraction in those days. Early commerce grew up along White River, the largest navigable waterway and Fall Creek was a major source of fresh water for the first generation of inhabitants. In this view, the old Marrott Hotel can be seen protruding up through the trees in the background, a reminder of here and now.

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Getting Ready for the Party

Richard — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:56:03 +0000

Have you noticed that a lot of the long-term projects and maintenance items around town we’ve seen in-progress for what seems like forever are either done or nearing completion? Being the host city for the Superbowl this year may have quite a bit to do with it, but so what, we’ll take it. You’ve got to look good at your own party. Only 133 days to go.

It’s just like inviting a lot of people to your own home. All the things on the to-do list to spruce things up you’ve been putting off for months suddenly become a top priority. Things are starting to look pretty good around town don’t you think?

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