It was a nice day in January so, I decided to take advantage of it and go for a stroll. There was…read moreno better place to do it than the Cultural Trail, That is when I stumbled across this gem. This is part of the 12-part series Glick Peace Walk. It was made possible by the generosity of Gene and Marilyn Glick and was installed in 2010. With the exception of two, the walk runs along a section of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail on Walnut Street, between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue. There is metered street parking of the streets that run perpendicular to the walk and you may be able to find some areas to pull into, if you are not going to be long. The walk celebrates the lives of individuals who made peaceful contributions to humanity. It honors luminaries that made peaceful contributions to humanity. This luminary garden, as it is referred, is dedicated to the man's whose face is on the $100 bill, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was a politician and inventor. In addition to being a signer on the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris establishing peace with Great Britain and the U.S. Constitution, Franklin invented the lightning rod, and bifocals. He happens to be the name sake of the town just south of Greenwood. The garden was designed by Rundell Ernstberger Associates, RLR Associates and Circle Design Group. The garden also has an informational placard that has a brief summary of Franklin's accomplishments, a small bench to sit on and a curved surfboard shaped piece, made of glass, aluminum, with Anthony's face on it that illuminates at night. It is eye catching, especially with it lined up with the other 10. I really like these luminaries and what they stand for. They are eye catching, ascetically pleasing, and educational. Definitely worth a peek. It looks great for being almost 15 years old and the area is adequately maintained. This is definitely a spot to check out. I would not make a special trip for it, but if you are in the area, traveling on the cultural trail or at the Main library branch, it is definitely worth a peak. It not only gives you the opportunity to stretch your legs and get some fresh air, but you can also learn a little too.

The Glick Peace Walk (Cultural Trail) has a collection of ten islands that are located on Walnut…read moreStreet between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue including a luminary & information kiosk about Benjamin Franklin. The installation was added in 2010 as one of twelve (total) to celebrate the achievement through peaceful means by contributors to our country. The installation uses glass, aluminum, and lighting along with an informational kiosk about Franklin and a timeline embedded in the concrete beneath.  Instead of writing about all the great things Franklin has done, I will simply direct you to the kiosk. Review #1798

It was a nice day in January so, I decided to take advantage of it and go for a stroll. There was…read moreno better place to do it than the Cultural Trail. That is when I stumbled across this gem. This is part of the 12-part series Glick Peace Walk. It was made possible by the generosity of Gene and Marilyn Glick and was installed in 2010. With the exception of two, the walk runs along a section of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail on Walnut Street, between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue. There is metered street parking of the streets that run perpendicular to the walk and you may be able to find some areas to pull into, if you are not going to be long. The walk celebrates the lives of individuals who made peaceful contributions to humanity. It honors luminaries that made peaceful contributions to humanity. This luminary garden, as it is referred, is dedicated to President Franklin and first Lady Elanor Roosevelt, who has the distinction of being the first Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and played an instrumental role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Roosevelt Roosevelt was the country's 32nd President and directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. He has the distinction of being the longest serving US President, being elected to 4 terms and served from 1933 to 1945. The garden was designed by Rundell Ernstberger Associates, RLR Associates and Circle Design Group. The garden also has an informational placard that has a brief summary of the Roosevelt's accomplishments, a small bench to sit on and a curved surfboard shaped piece, made of glass, aluminum, with Anthony's face on it that illuminates at night. It is eye catching, especially with it lined up with the other 10. I really like these luminaries and what they stand for. They are eye catching, ascetically pleasing, and educational. Definitely worth a peek. It looks great for being almost 15 years old and the area is adequately maintained. This is definitely a spot to check out. I would not make a special trip for it, but if you are in the area, traveling on the cultural trail or at the Main library branch, it is definitely worth a peak. It not only gives you the opportunity to stretch your legs and get some fresh air, but you can also learn a little too.

The Glick Peace Walk (Cultural Trail) has a collection of ten islands that are located on Walnut…read moreStreet between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue including a luminary & information kiosk about Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt.  The installation was added in 2010 as one of twelve (total) to celebrate the achievement through peaceful means by contributors to our country. The installation uses glass, aluminum, and lighting along with an informational kiosk about the Roosevelts and a timeline embedded in the concrete beneath.  Instead of writing about all the great things the Roosevelts have done, I will simply direct you to the kiosk. Review #1806

It was a nice day in January so, I decided to take advantage of it and go for a stroll. There was…read moreno better place to do it than the Cultural Trail, That is when I stumbled across this gem. This is part of the 12-part series Glick Peace Walk. It was made possible by the generosity of Gene and Marilyn Glick and was installed in 2010. With the exception of two, the walk runs along a section of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail on Walnut Street, between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue. There is metered street parking of the streets that run perpendicular to the walk and you may be able to find some areas to pull into, if you are not going to be long. The walk celebrates the lives of individuals who made peaceful contributions to humanity. It honors luminaries that made peaceful contributions to humanity. This luminary garden, as it is referred, is dedicated to Samuel Langhorne Clemens, AKA Mark Twain, a writer, humorist, and entrepreneur, best known for the books Tom Sawyer and Huckelberry Fin. The garden was designed by Rundell Ernstberger Associates, RLR Associates and Circle Design Group. The garden also has an informational placard, a small bench to sit on and a curved surfboard shaped piece, made of glass, aluminum, with Anthony's face on it that illuminates at night. It is eye catching, especially with it lined up with the other 10. I really like these luminaries and what they stand for. They are eye catching, ascetically pleasing, and educational. Definitely worth a peek. It looks great for being almost 15 years old and the area is adequately maintained. This is definitely a spot to check out. I would not make a special trip for it, but if you are in the area, traveling on the cultural trail or at the Main library branch, it is definitely worth a peak. It not only gives you the opportunity to stretch your legs and get some fresh air, but you can also learn a little too.

The Glick Peace Walk (Cultural Trail) has a collection of ten islands that are located on Walnut…read moreStreet between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue including a luminary & information kiosk about Mark Twain. The installation was added in 2010 as one of twelve (total) to celebrate the achievement through peaceful means by contributors to our country. The installation uses glass, aluminum, and lighting along with an informational kiosk about Twain and a timeline embedded in the concrete beneath.  Instead of writing about all the great things Twain has done, I will simply direct you to the kiosk. Review #1800

It was a nice day in January so, I decided to take advantage of it and go for a stroll. There was…read moreno better place to do it than the Cultural Trail, That is when I stumbled across this gem. This is part of the 12-part series Glick Peace Walk. It was made possible by the generosity of Gene and Marilyn Glick and was installed in 2010. With the exception of two, the walk runs along a section of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail on Walnut Street, between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue. There is metered street parking of the streets that run perpendicular to the walk and you may be able to find some areas to pull into, if you are not going to be long. The walk celebrates the lives of individuals who made peaceful contributions to humanity. It honors luminaries that made peaceful contributions to humanity. This luminary garden, as it is referred, is dedicated to Thomas Edison, the man that invented the the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera. The garden was designed by Rundell Ernstberger Associates, RLR Associates and Circle Design Group. The garden also has an informational placard that has a brief summary of Edison's accomplishments, a small bench to sit on and a curved surfboard shaped piece, made of glass, aluminum, with Anthony's face on it that illuminates at night. It is eye catching, especially with it lined up with the other 10. I really like these luminaries and what they stand for. They are eye catching, ascetically pleasing, and educational. Definitely worth a peek. It looks great for being almost 15 years old and the area is adequately maintained. This is definitely a spot to check out. I would not make a special trip for it, but if you are in the area, traveling on the cultural trail or at the Main library branch, it is definitely worth a peak. It not only gives you the opportunity to stretch your legs and get some fresh air, but you can also learn a little too.

The Glick Peace Walk (Cultural Trail) has a collection of ten islands that are located on Walnut…read moreStreet between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue including a luminary & information kiosk about Thomas Edison.  The installation was added in 2010 as one of twelve (total) to celebrate the achievement through peaceful means by contributors to our country. The installation uses glass, aluminum, and lighting along with an informational kiosk about Edison and a timeline embedded in the concrete beneath.  Instead of writing about all the great things Edison has done, I will simply direct you to the kiosk. Review #1801

"Homage to Hoagy" is one of my favorite sculptures in the Carmel round-about series. The sculpture…read morehonors Indiana's musical genius, Hoagy Carmichael. The sculpture itself is timeless with a huge victrola gramophone that spews sculpted musical notes. The sculpture was created by British-born artist, Arlon Bayliss in 2018. Bayliss is currently an art professor at Anderson University. His profound works of public art have put him on the map. Bayliss has sculptures at the Indianapolis International Airport, as well as several in Carmel. The sculpture is beautiful by day, but also is lit up at night. The sculpture is surrounded by pristinely manicured foliage. We found nearby free street parking to visit the sculpture. There are several sculptures nearby that make the trip memorable and educational.

This interactive steel sculpture is a dedication to Hosier Native musician and song writer Hoagy…read moreCarmichael and is located in the center of a roundabout. It is right in the heart of the city and right off of the Palladium. It is 40 feet tall and depicts stars, moons and musical notes. It sits on a limestone base. It is an abstract piece, but makes a lot of sense when you know its backstory. The sculpture is rumored to be inspired by Carmichael's hit song "Stardust", bursting out of an antique gramophone horn. It was dedicated in 2020 and is the work of Arlon Bayliss. If you look across the street, near the back of the Palladium, you will see the other part of the sculpture, a four foot kiosks that has a mini gramophone horn on top of it. You will see an informational plaque on the front on the kiosk that talks about Carmichael. It also has a hand crank on its left side that when actuated play songs written by Carmichael as recorded by artists such as Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Bublé and Kristin Chenoweth. The kiosk playlist includes songs like 'Georgia On My Mind,' 'Heart and Soul,' 'Can't Get Indiana Off My Mind,' 'The Nearness of You,' 'Skylark,' and of course, 'Stardust'. The sculpture is extra cool at night when it is Illuminated by multicolored LED lights. Unfortunately, I visited it during the day and was not able to get the full effect of the sculpture. This is definitely a must see. You have to experience it at least once. There is free street parking within a reasonable walking distance of the statue, if you want to get a closer look. You can get a decent look from the windshield of your vehicle doing a safe and strategic, slow rolling drive by. however, you will miss the interactive kiosk feature of the sculpture As with most sculptures that I have visited and reviewed, this is probably not a very long stop, even though you can play with its interactive feature for a bit and listen to music. I was there less than 10 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. The Veteran's Memorial Park would be a great start.

As an outreach of the Indianapolis Public Library, the "Public Collection" was formed to place…read morebooks that are free for passersby to pick up and read. Project One Studio was asked to create an inviting space where books could be displayed and seating provided. So, in 2017, this colorful "shelter" called "Conveyance" was designed and built near the Alexander Hotel. Just as a book can transport a reader into another time and place through their imagination, so to was this shelter/library created. It is meant to convey that imagination as well as to connect to the collection of artwork within the Alexander. Review #1793

This is a historical piece that made by Myra Reynolds Richards in 1924 as the top to a fountain…read more Hence the name Fountain Square huh? The sculpture is made of bronze and depicts a pioneer family, a mother clutching a book to her chest, a father carrying a rifle, a son carrying an axe and a daughter with a spindle. The sculpture has earned a lot of frequent flier miles in its time. It was moved to Garfield Park in 1954 after being deemed a traffic hazard, only to be moved back to its original location due to public pressure in 1969. In 2010 it was put in to storage to protect it from the Cultural Trail construction. It was brought back to its current location in 2014. This piece sits at a major intersection and is small, but still eye catching. For me, the sculpture is more intriguing and valuable due to the story behind it. If it was just a plain old sculpture I would have been like...mehhh! Anyway, there is street parking available near the sculpture or you could probably even see it from the comfort of your vehicle and do a slow rolling drive-by. This is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the wonderful murals in the area, three are right across the street to it to start, to maximize your time and trip.

Though most visitors to Fountain Square notice the central Lady Spray Fountain located in the…read moremiddle of the intersection, some may overlook the statue/fountain across the street. "Pioneer Family" is a bronze statue that was created in 1924 by famed local artist Myra Reynolds Richards to adorn the second version of the fountain in the intersection. This statue stood there from 1924 to 1954 before being deemed a traffic hazard and relocated to Garfield Park. After a 15 year absence, neighbors fought to bring this statue back and after another ten years, placed on a new pedestal and fountain. But historic preservationist wanted a return to a fountain that looked more like the original, so this statue was again removed. Fortunately, it was removed from storage after four years and placed along the newly completed Cultural Trail in 2014. The Pioneer Family was originally dedicated to local politician Ralph Hill. Review #1889

Back in 2014, the underpass on the near east side of downtown was painted as part of the Vibrant…read moreCorridors program sponsored by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) and the Arts Council of Indianapolis. Artist David Orr painted the columns and supports like they were shades of marble. Colors of gold, green, blue, and off white were selected. The artwork looks believably real, especially from a moving vehicle. Review #1774