This park has several baseball parks, a basketball court, and a playground. The park is in need of…read moreattention (gravel parking lot needs more rock to fill in holes and muddy patches; large dead branches need to be removed) but nothing is too difficult or expensive, so maybe a good spring cleaning can whip this park into a good condition. Review #707

I visited this park today as I was rolling down Main street (U.S. 40) in Plainfield, In when I…read morerealized I was missing out on something. It dawned on me as I passed Perry road that there was a huge statue in the area that I wanted to see in person. As I made my U-turn (don't do what I do) I quickly googled the address and boom, I was only 3 minutes away. This art work sits behind the newly built apartments in Hobbs Station. Once you bust that right turn and drive for a few seconds the artwork is on the left. I was in awe. I quickly zoomed over and found a park and jumped out of the car. I was so amazed that I didn't see the other artwork. Once I came down off my high I walked the small park and saw another installation at the end of the park and as I walked to my car I saw another one in front of the apartments. It's good to see good talent and know the meaning behind Aku. I got this part straight from the internet...This is the true definition of "empowering children to dream without limitations" This park also offers a small educational area for children ages 2-5 & 2-11. It's a nice up and coming area and a nice park for young children.

This is a nice tribute to our Country's heroes, our vets. It is a small pocket park located right…read morenext to the Greenfield Fire Station #21 and catacornered from the Hancock County Courthouse Plaza. It was dedicated in 2010, but you could not tell. It looks amazing and new. The park is open 24 hours a day 365 days a year and it is free. The admission was paid in full by the wonderful service members. The purpose of the park is to ensure the service of every Veteran with ties to Hancock County will be recognized in a permanent way. It is a peaceful place that has a soothing effect and tasteful pays tribute to the deserving men and women. There is free parking on the streets adjacent to the park and within a reasonable walking distance. I parked right across the street from it. It is small but very impressive. It is well maintained and represents all of the armed forces, including the Merchant Marines. It is rare that they are represented. Each branch has a black granite panels that are dedicated to them. There is also one for POW/MIA. They have engraved pictures and words and their respective flags waving proudly on a pole behind them. You will also find benches in the park that you can sit on that were purchased by loved ones and dedicated to individual servicemen, along with a serviceman's cross along the fence, a purple heart stone dedication, paver brick's that are dedicated to individual service members by their loved ones. and a very nice sculpture of a solider in full battle gear kneeling next to his helmet. Many of the statues, and markers have lighting on them that features them at night and allows for viewing after dark. The purple heart stone dedication reads, My Stone is Red For the Blood They Shed, The Medal I Bear is My Country's Way to Show They Care, If I could Be Seen By All Mankind Maybe Peace Will Come to My Lifetime" The center piece of the park is a long black granite panel that represents all of our service members with a bench in front of it. The panel and bench reads, "Lest We Forget Those That Did Not Return". The panel also reads Sacrifice Commitment Honor Courage", The county did a great job putting this park together and an equally great job maintaining it. It is definitely something to see and a place to reflect on members's service to our country.

This park is incredibly well taken care of, it looks so new, like it was just built yesterday. You…read morecan tell so much love, care, and attention to detail was put into this park. I've been visited here plenty of times throughout a few years, and it looks just as great as it was the first time I stopped by. They always make sure to keep up with the garden, beautiful stone benches are placed throughout it, and they even have lights that flick on when it's late. The way the lights are placed make the park look even more stunning!

"Bison & Calf" is located between the pond and College Avenue on the west side of Central Park. If…read moreyou're at the playground, just look past the pond to the grassy area near College Avenue, and you will probably spot it. This sculpture was created by Dominic Benhura, an artist from Zimbabwe. Apparently, he has another sculpture in Carmel, so this is his second piece of public art in the city. The whole dang thing was hand-chiseled from one piece of stone. That's kind of amazing! You might be wondering: Why bison? Bison used to be plentiful in Indiana way back in the day. This sculpture is an homage to those real ones that used to roam the earth. I love that Carmel invests in public art. This is one of the newer additions (it was installed in 2024), and it's another great art piece that the public can enjoy.

I'm embarrassed to admit that despite having a primary care physician directly across the street,…read moreI'd completely missed the development of Indy's 212th official city park. South Street Square Park is located at 315 S. South and was developed by Eli Lilly & Co. and then donated to the City of Indianapolis in a ceremony in September 2019. It's a 3-acre park located almost directly across from the CityWay Development and easily accessible from the nearby Irsay Family YMCA. In addition to donating the park, Lilly reportedly donates approximately $40,000 annually to help maintain the greenspace that is adjacent to their Indy headquarters. South Street is really more an official greenspace than an actual park. There's over 30,000 square feet of concrete walks designed into a circular design with pathways that branch off. There are benches throughout the park and, in a sign of its business location, USB and power outlets readily available. Bricks from Eli Lilly's Brazil, Indiana offices have been relocated and repurposed. There are flowers, shrubs, and approximately 200 trees planted in the area along with extra lights to help ensure safety. In researching, there's apparently either parking available or planned. I was parked across the street at the YMCA, which is paid parking, and my first visit was rather quick during a doctor's appointment but I definitely plan to return. This little urban oasis is definitely more of a place to chill out than actually enjoy park activity, but it's a beautiful and welcome addition to near-downtown Indy and has to be welcome by the growing CityWay population. I look forward to spending even more time at South Street Square Park in the near future.

This is a small but well kept park right outside of the Eli Lily Complex. The park is 3 acres and…read morewas donated and developed by Eli Lily. It is beautiful. They actually donate about 40 G's per year to maintain the park. It is in the backyard of the Irsay YMCA and has an awesome view of Lucas Oil Stadium. The park is well maintained, has its own very small parking lot, and is a what you see is what you get kind of park. There is no playground or picnic tables, no restrooms or hiking trails. There is just a huge green field and some plants, surrounded but a bunch of benches. There are intertwined paths that you can use to walk or jog, I would say it was about a quarter mile around. The park seems pretty safe and is well lit. As I mentioned, it is a simple park and does not get very busy. It is a nice place to sit and chill or walk/jog in a safe loop.

The Blickman Educational Trail Park at White River was established in 2005 by Sol and Toby Blickman…read moreas an outdoor environmental educational destination for young people with a special focus on both Boy and Girl Scouts. Donating the land that allows a link between Marott Park and Holliday Park, the Blickmans funded this park to ensure it would remain in its natural state for perpetuity. The odds are fairly strong that you've driven by this park many times if you've lived in Indy for any length of time at all. Located right at 64th and Meridian, not far from the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation where the Blickmans were members, the Blickman Educational Trail Park is one of those "over the shoulder" sites where you pass it, you realize there's something there, and you look over your shoulder to try to figure out what it is. Sol Blickman was a longtime philanthropist in the Indy area. He owned Rogers Jewelers before selling it off to Zale's, then started Rogers Swimming Pools in Broad Ripple. He received a Distinguished Hoosier Award from Governor Daniels in 2005. The actual trail itself is short at .7 miles and connects to the White River Trail. There's ample parking here. It's worth noting that the Blickman Educational Trail Park is truly a "nature" resource and is not a recreational area. There are no real activities beyond those related to environmental education. It's also worth noting, and this causes a loss of a star for me, that the trail itself is not fully accessible, though I do believe there's a way you can detour that allows at least some access. Because the trail does have a section by White River, there's also the potential for flooding - when it's not flooded (which is most of the time), it's stunning in its beauty. This is one of those stunning little gems in Indy that it seems like most people ignore. I was honestly surprised it hadn't been reviewed but, again, it's one of those little spots that's such a short trail it's not really worth going out of your way. It's also set aside off Meridian Street and super easy to miss. I would definitely recommend checking it out at least once. It's yet another wonderful example of someone doing something really great for Indy and ensuring their legacy continues long after they've passed away.

For those who like to explore their city, sometimes it is hard to find names for points of…read moreinterest. For years, I worked on the southwest side of downtown (well close enough) and would drive passed a loose rock dam that stretched across the White River and raised the water level upstream to create a small lake near Riverside park. I could never find a name for this dam. When we get a decent rain in the area, the rocks become a mini rapids with white water. It is a cool point of interest near the old GM Plant and just west of Lucas Oil Stadium. I finally found a name for the rock formation and a small pull off area on the West Drive of White River Parkway, just north of McCarty Street/Oliver Avenue. Flat Rock at White River isn't really a park, but it does have a great view of the dam and has the Indy Skyline as a backdrop. There are also informational kiosks which allow you to read about the history of the area. Indy sure has had a lot of changes over its history. But I was there after a recent rain to check out the dam and to see a recent art installation at the car pull off parking area. (Watch for an upcoming review called Toy Bricks). This isn't the type of park that you will spend hours at, but it is a place you could take a quick stop and get some cool photos of the flowing water and the skyline. Note that parking is limited so be careful of traffic as you are parking so that you are safe. Welcome to this old, but discovered point of interest downtown. Check it out. Review #3830

I love riding my bike and our city has some great trails to get around on. The white river trail…read moreis one such path that takes you along the near west side of the city through IUPUI and white river state park and the zoo. As you head south along the trail from the Zoo, homeless encampments litter the sides of the trail. Just past these litter infused tent habitats is the spillway or overflow. You can drive here and miss the trashiness and the view is quite nice.

This is not an city managed Park. It is a project and neighborhood run park. I do not give my…read morerating of this park lightly. I know that they have limited resources. However, this park has been severely neglected. One of the worse that I have ever seen. The swings are broken, the shelter is not fully covered nor does it have picnic tables, It has very little playground equipment, and the equipment that is there is in need of a good cleaning and maintenance, Additionally, there is really no good parking and the park is filled with trash. There is very limited parking on the street. You may be able to park in the alley way next to the park but it is not paved and has huge holes. I am also not certain if it is meant for parking. The park was meant to be the site of neighborhood birthday parties and church cookouts, but I do not think that will be happening anytime soon. I almost think that it would be better to just start the park over from scratch. I like the idea of the park. It was named after a 3 year old girl that died of congenital heart failure. The land which the park sits was donated by her grandparents who requested the naming of the park. I do not see even visiting this park as it is now, even if I lived in the neighborhood. It is very dirty and does not have much to offer. This was once a decent park and I hope that the they put some money and time into it and bring it back to life. If so, I will be one of the first to update my review.

If you love Indianapolis, and you should, then you have to love it when a neighborhood facing…read morechallenges takes control of those challenges in unique, creative, and community affirming ways. It's no secret that Indy's Near-Eastside has seen its share of challenges. The Rivoli Park Neighborhood that houses the Paige Linn Booker Memorial Park is an area that has had sporadic crime issues and that was significantly impacted by 2008's mortgage crisis. From that, however, the folks in Rivoli Park did a beautiful thing. They created the Paige Linn Booker Memorial Park, a park named after a 3-year-old girl who died at age three from a congenital heart defect and who never had a chance to enjoy a park. It was her grandparents who owned the plot of land upon which this beautiful little pocket park has been created and which has helped turn a weed-filled swamp into a a tiny little urban oasis that serves as proof that you can truly turn virtually anyplace into something pretty darn beautiful. Supported by the folks at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Booker Memorial Park also became one of the city's first IPL Greenspace projects. Truly, this was a community effort and it has worked beautifully because the community has continued to wrap around it. From a gazebo that anchors the rear of the park, a path leads to the playground equipment that will mostly appeal to toddlers. The original vision for the park was to create an environment that would have appealed to 3-year-old Paige, though this has also been one of the lessons learned by those who created it because the park is actually more used by teens who may have benefited by different equipment. This doesn't mean, of course, that the park isn't used. It has become a neighborhood gathering space and a place for birthday parties and church cookouts. There's a vision for continuing to add new amenities including, potentially, a large chalkboard where neighborhood organizers and poets alike can share their works, creations, and announcements. There's also a shelter that can be utilized. The pathway is very wheelchair friendly. The playground area would likely require some assistance for someone in a wheelchair, though it's a small enough area that it could likely be made to work. Paige Linn Booker Memorial Park isn't going to be confused for one of the city's grand parks. It's a simple "pocket" park that fits in with the urban area where it is set and it is clearly intended as a park that benefits the neighborhood. It's not a destination park. It's just a beautiful example of a neighborhood making their own neighborhood even better. This park reminds me a lot of the concept behind Commons Park. It's a place where the neighborhood's diverse populations can gather together, allow the children to have fun, and get to know one another. Every sign has indicated that this has been pretty darn successful at Booker Memorial Park. If you're in the area, I'd check it out.