Max Bahr is a slightly over 10-acre park located on Indy's Near-Westside in the neighborhood that formerly housed Central State Hospital.
First established in 1946, the park is named after Bahr (you could probably guess that, eh?). Dr. Bahr was born in Indy in 1874 and graduated from medical school at the University of Berlin in 1908. In 1923, he was named Superintendent of Central State.
The park is, unfortunately, a fairly barebones park. While this neighborhood is experiencing some serious renewal these days, so far this has not translated into a better park experience. The park has two soccer fields, a playground (non-ADA), and a paved parking lot. Generally, it looks quite worn but does get lots of use within the neighborhood.
As recently as 2010, former Mayor Ballard was talking about building a major sports complex in this space. Alas, that hasn't yet happened. It was to include six baseball diamonds, skating rinks, and other features. Given the area's massive improvement, perhaps it's still in the cards.
For now, Max Bahr Park is certainly nothing more than a modest neighborhood park and certainly not one of Indy's destination parks. I happened to be driving by today and stopped to check it out as my brother used to live in this area. If you're in the area, you do have some nearby amenities and recent business additions that are worth checking out. read more