Indianapolis Development News

[Indianakid]

Hello!
My trip to Madison was really fun! We stopped through Lawrenceburg, Aurora, Rising Sun, Vevay, and finally Madison. The towns we went through looked nothing like Indiana. They all had like oldish roofs and shutters.
1) Lawrenceburg.
We drove past it the first time but on our way home we stopped in downtown. It is so old. Downtown reminds me of like colonial America or something old like that. A lot of it was taken care of or what my mom calls 'restored'.
2) Aurora was my second favorite town because it had such a cool like port feel. As we were leaving town we saw a church with German words carved over the entrance. If only my oldest sister was with us! She can speak German! There was a cool villa that had a round front that I really wanted to visit. It looked Italian.
3) Rising Sun had a big casino but the port like section, part, area,district, whatever you want to call it was like super cool. A bunch of like antebellum (my new favorite word) places. They had a corner cafe too!
4) Vevay wasn't much. The court house was like a copy of the one in Madison.
5) MADISON! The first thing I noticed when we like entered town was that they didn't have suburbs. Like as soon as we entered town it was like two story brick houses and stuff. The main street was like packed with people and shops and stuff. We went to Munt's candy shop and omg like the best ice cream ever! The Lanier Mansion was awesome but apparently there is a 'ten question limit' and stuff. The town was way cool. It made coming back to the ghetto we call Richmond suck totally.

[Indianakid]

My mom took like tons of pictures(I'll break it somehow) but like as soon as we got home I tried loading them onto my photo bucket account and like it won't work because our computer is so slow. I'm going to try uploading them on my dad's laptop. There are kind of bright and mostly buildings but I'm going to try posting them!

[UrbanIndy]

Originally Posted by Indianakid

Hello!
My trip to Madison was really fun! We stopped through Lawrenceburg, Aurora, Rising Sun, Vevay, and finally Madison. The towns we went through looked nothing like Indiana. They all had like oldish roofs and shutters.
1) Lawrenceburg.
We drove past it the first time but on our way home we stopped in downtown. It is so old. Downtown reminds me of like colonial America or something old like that. A lot of it was taken care of or what my mom calls 'restored'.
2) Aurora was my second favorite town because it had such a cool like port feel. As we were leaving town we saw a church with German words carved over the entrance. If only my oldest sister was with us! She can speak German! There was a cool villa that had a round front that I really wanted to visit. It looked Italian.
3) Rising Sun had a big casino but the port like section, part, area,district, whatever you want to call it was like super cool. A bunch of like antebellum (my new favorite word) places. They had a corner cafe too!
4) Vevay wasn't much. The court house was like a copy of the one in Madison.
5) MADISON! The first thing I noticed when we like entered town was that they didn't have suburbs. Like as soon as we entered town it was like two story brick houses and stuff. The main street was like packed with people and shops and stuff. We went to Munt's candy shop and omg like the best ice cream ever! The Lanier Mansion was awesome but apparently there is a 'ten question limit' and stuff. The town was way cool. It made coming back to the ghetto we call Richmond suck totally.

I think you pretty much nailed it. Did you go through Hanover College? There's a nice view of an S-curve of the Ohio River from campus there:

[Indianakid]

Sorry last post! : p
We went to the west side of the state for Easter because my relatives live there and we went through downtown Indy. I have some questions.
1) Like why is so much of the city outside downtown run down? Was there like an economic crash or something?
2) When we got to the downtown area on our right was like a bunch of Victorian mansions and a church. What is this place called?
3) I think I spotted 'St.Joseph' on the left. It isn't that big but there was a cool building with like a big mansard (?) roof tower thing.
4) There is like a big fancy white building next to the library that has like blue lights. What is that building?
5) Why are parts of the downtown still so rundown? I mean like we drove past the library but like before that was this two story blue or white (idk it was nighttime) building that looked like the slipped noodle (?) except all boarded up and ghettonized.

[Indianakid]

oops I like posted the same thing twice. XD

[Indianakid]

Originally Posted by UrbanIndy

I think you pretty much nailed it. Did you go through Hanover College? There's a nice view of an S-curve of the Ohio River from campus there:

No.

Where is it at?

[UrbanIndy]

It's a few miles west of Madison.

[Harpua]

Originally Posted by pattyco7

It's an embarrassment for our fair city to not have sidewalks in many of the neighborhoods within the old city limits!!!

I would certainly echo that sentiment, although it may be a conflict of interest for me to do so...

[Unionstation13]

Originally Posted by Indianakid

Sorry last post! : p
We went to the west side of the state for Easter because my relatives live there and we went through downtown Indy. I have some questions.
1) Like why is so much of the city outside downtown run down? Was there like an economic crash or something?
2) When we got to the downtown area on our right was like a bunch of Victorian mansions and a church. What is this place called?
3) I think I spotted 'St.Joseph' on the left. It isn't that big but there was a cool building with like a big mansard (?) roof tower thing.
4) There is like a big fancy white building next to the library that has like blue lights. What is that building?
5) Why are parts of the downtown still so rundown? I mean like we drove past the library but like before that was this two story blue or white (idk it was nighttime) building that looked like the slipped noodle (?) except all boarded up and ghettonized.

1) Indianapolis has a decent economy but the city is still rebuilding from economic distress and suburban flight in the mid-20th century. Many parts of the city are improving but it is harder for turn of the century neighborhoods that are packed deep within the city limits with poverty in every direction.
2)That is the Old Northside, I used to live there. It was home to the wealthy in the 19th and early 20th century. And now its home to the wealthy again.
3)that isn't a question.
4)I don't know the name but it is an early 20th century stucco facade structure that has been recently restored. I find the lighting rather tasteful.
5)Downtown isn't as run down as most midwestern cities. But it isn't a utopia either. That is slowly changing. Downtown Indianapolis is seeing more renovations, restorations, and construction every year. I believe you mean slippery noodle. They do look to be from the same era but the light blue structure you speak of is probably from the 1860's not the 1850's. It would make a lovely restoration and is a good design that should be used today.
Ghettonized? Though the structure is rundown and in need of love that area is not a ghetto. Not attractive, but not a ghetto. Just a very industrialized area. Most of its original brick warehouses and mills were demolished for pull barn designs.

[Unionstation13]

Originally Posted by Harpua

I would certainly echo that sentiment, although it may be a conflict of interest for me to do so...

The general condition of the old city is not anything to smile about. Other then the downtown loop and a few neighborhoods outside of that natural wall the central city really needs help.

[CorrND]

Originally Posted by arenn

The city is the worst offender in not installing sidewalks. The 38th St. project, despite its astronomical cost, did not include sidewalks on both sides. Neither did a recent widening on west 56th St.

Since you're mentioning 38th St., it's probably a good time to bring up your excellent review post, in case any newer forum members haven't seen it:

http://theurbanophile.blogspot.com/2...s-38th-st.html

[Mr Peanut]

Originally Posted by pattyco7

It's an embarrassment for our fair city to not have sidewalks in many of the neighborhoods within the old city limits!!!

Agree 100%. Outside the old city is even worse. Most of the roads never got upgraded from country roads, and have the exact same design they did 50 years ago. That's pretty bad when you look at today's new suburbs and see all the improvements being made to the road networks.

There are a lot of areas where people need to be able to walk, but the are just narrow two-lane roads with no shoulders or sidewalks or anything. People have to walk through the drainage ditches.

[Unionstation13]

Some jack ass is still on IBJ copying me.
I go by 'brick by brick' just FYI. So the Helen on there now is probably some fat SOB who lacks a life.

[benjaminooo]

Originally Posted by Unionstation13

Some jack ass is still on IBJ copying me.
I go by 'brick by brick' just FYI. So the Helen on there now is probably some fat SOB who lacks a life.

At least I know who I'm arguing with about chain restaurants now.

[Unionstation13]

Hehehehe.

[hoosier]

Originally Posted by speedblue47

Please sir, research your topic before posting. ANWR(including the nearby surrounding lands and waters extending 3 miles from the coast) contains at $40/barrel, a mean estimate of economically recoverable oil of 8.9 Billion barrels. At that rate, it could supply 100% of US oil(@ 20,000,000 barrels a day) for 1 year and 80 days or 10% of US oil needs for over 12 years. And that is at $40/barrel. Since oil sells for roughly twice that, it may be economical to retrieve the technically recoverable reserves with a mean of 10.4 Billion barrels. That could supply 10% of US oil for about 14 years, or 5% for about 28 years. And all this data is based on a 1998 USGS Survey, based on that time period's technical capabilities for detection and capture. New techniques in horizontal drilling and the capture and use of shale oil figure to increase that amount at least 10-15%, if not more.

Also, Prudhoe Bay is on the decline, and produces a large proportion of North Slope production. That area accounts for a quarter of domestic oil production. So this is about more than adding production, it is about making sure that production can remain at the same rate that it has been, about 1.5 million barrels a day. In 1995, Dittman Research Corporation conducted a survey of 510 people native to the Alaskan north shore. 77% of the broad base supports opening the ANWR to development, with that precentage holding steady throughout all of the geographical regions. As is the case around the world, the people who live around natural resources would like to take advantage of them to benefit their communities and families, but are stopped by environmentalist activists who already live in developed areas with a high standard of living.

And as for the all too common retort that we should hope that oil production decreases and therefore prices increase and people will look for alternatives, that is absurd. The world is currently a roughly $50 TRILLION dollar economic engine largely fueled by fossil fuels. The continued rise in living standards around the world depend on this. In the long term, alternatives should be researched since the resource is not renewable, but hoping for prices to rise will increase the cost of business all around the world and retard growth here and abroad. We should instead hope that the US is able to circumvent the apparatus of the thieving OPEC, who acquired there assets through nationalization of property developed and therefore made valuable by US oil companies in the 1950s, and that the US Government stops subsidizing the alternative energy research, allowing truly marketable technologies to win over technologies with the most political supporters.

Of course, there are more reasons than the at best lame excuse of climate change to support fossil fuel alternatives such as the local area pollution caused by their use. These are potentially real risks, having an affect on standard of living and having a questionable status in terms of property rights violations. That is why I support alternative energy research, and plan on entering this field when I finish my bachelor's. But let's all be adults and realize that our very lives currently depend on the black stuff and probably will in the West for at least another 40 years, and throughout the world for at least another 100, barring some super-revolutionary invention or discovery. Let's make the best of it and see some of that vast wealth we produce with it go to developing its replacement, and stop worrying about how the Caribou will manage to migrate around the pipeline(it's called nature, somehow they find a way, and sometimes thrive). And lastly, let's realize that our real "energy policy" is dictated by how we spend those green pieces of paper in our wallets, not by some omniscient panel of energy czars that genuinely care about the future and not their own political future. Reality is much different when one looks beyond the story you see on newsstands.

You are completely full of shit. The envrionmental effects of drilling in ANWR extend far beyond just a pipeline moron- it involves new roads, drilling platforms, housing developments, heliports, etc., etc. The North Slope is a very valuable ecosystem that includes far more species than just Caribou.

The U.S. reliance on oil is not the result of some natural consumer migration, but rather years of conscious government policy including tax breaks to oil companies, poor investment in mass transit compared to roads, zoning patterns that permit autocentric sprawl, and yes, the elimination of federal funding for alternative energy sources.

Despite your libertarian fantasies that the market should dictate alternative energy research, prior to Reagan, the US was making great strides in reducing its usage of fossil fuels as a result of government-initiated conservation efforts and renewables research. The "market" wants to find and sell even more oil because its price is high. Such myopia is not in the best interests of America's energy policy.

Oil from the North Slope will have no effect on oil prices because OPEC sets the price, whether you like it or not. I don't know where you get the idea that the North Slope will provide 18 months worth of oil- you are probably citing some biased pro-drilling source.

No one lives in ANWR, so I don't know what you mean by local population. They certainly wouldn't be affected by its destruction immediately, but Alaska sure is sure suffering from the consequences of global warming. You can choose to bury your head in the sand and remain a libertarian ignoramus, but the rest of society needs to deal with reality and actually address the issue of global warming.

[idyllic indy]

Originally Posted by arenn

The city is the worst offender in not installing sidewalks. The 38th St. project, despite its astronomical cost, did not include sidewalks on both sides. Neither did a recent widening on west 56th St.

Yes, but on 56th Street, the City gave us that awesome curbside asphalt path. That's worth at least two standard sidewalks, is it not?

[idyllic indy]

[QUOTE=SpiderMonkey;19236750]Here are a couple shots of progress on the Maxwell. Sorry for the poor quality, but these were taken through a window from Mass Ave.







Recognizing that I know next to nothing about construction, is it odd that the Maxwell has a steel frame interior, but those concrete (pre-fab?) panels are freestanding without apparent attachment to the steel frame? Not sure if you can tell from the photos, but it was evident when I walked by today. It's like the interior of the building has a steel frame, but the exterior (20-30 feet away) has no frame at this point. Hopefully, someone can learn me real good and explain what I'm missing.

[idyllic indy]

Originally Posted by ablerock

Go to the meeting, publicly support the amendment, then bring up the changes you'd also like to see. It can't hurt, and they may not be aware of them.

That sounds like a great idea. I wonder why nobody seems to ever show up at those meetings, unless it's about something right next door to them. It seems that a lot people are informed about these things, but either don't have, or don't take the time to show up. Having said that, I don't either, because my work schedule is prohibitive of doing so.

Mr. Peanut, you hit the nail on the head.

[pig]

Does anyone happen to know anything about Indy's water situation? I'm just curious about aquifers, capacity, usage trends, etc. I'm interested in the geologic issues as well as the water system itself, but am indecisive about where to start. Anyone care to nudge me in the right direction?