Downtown Indianapolis Informations

Downtown Indianapolis is the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters; city, county, state and federal government facilities; several medical centers; Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis; sporting venues; performing arts venues; and most of Indianapolis' tourist attractions. Downtown is sometimes called the Mile Square, referencing the city plat developed by Alexander Ralston and Elias Pym Fordham at Indianapolis' founding. Today, Downtown encompasses about 6.5 square miles (17 km2), as designated by the City of Indianapolis' Regional Center Plan.

Downtown Indianapolis dates to the city's founding as the state of Indiana's new capital in 1820 near the east bank of the White River. The state legislature appointed Alexander Ralston and Elias Pym Fordham to survey and design a town plan for Indianapolis, which was platted in 1821. Ralston's original plan for Indianapolis called for a town of 1-square-mile (2.6 km2). Nicknamed the Mile Square, the town was bounded by North, East, South, and West Streets, although they were not named at that time, with Governor's Circle, a large circular commons, at the center of town.

Ralston's grid pattern with wide roads and public squares extended outward from the four blocks adjacent to the Circle, and also included four diagonal streets, later renamed as avenues. Public squares were reserved for government and community use, but not all of these squares were used for this intended purpose. Ralston altered the grid pattern in the southeast quadrant to accommodate the flow of Pogue's Run, but a plat created in 1831 changed his original design and established a standard grid there as well.

Ralston's basic street plan is still evident in present-day Downtown Indianapolis. Streets in the original plat were named after states that were part of the United States when Indianapolis was initially planned, with the addition of Michigan, which was a U.S. territory at that time. Tennessee and Mississippi Streets were renamed Capitol and Senate Avenues in 1895, after several state government buildings were built west of the Circle near the Indiana Statehouse. There are a few other exceptions to the early street names. The National Road, which eventually crossed Indiana into Illinois, passes through Indianapolis along Washington Street, a 120-foot-wide (37 m) east-west street (more recently converted into a one-way westbound street west of New Jersey Street) located one block south of the Circle. Meridian and Market Streets intersect the Circle. Few street improvements were made in the 1820s and 1830s; sidewalks did not appear until 1839 or 1840.

In the last half of the nineteenth century, when the city's population soared from 8,091 in 1850 to 169,164 in 1900, urban development expanded in all directions as Indianapolis experienced a building boom and transitioned from an agricultural community to an industrial center. Some of the city's most iconic structures were built during this period, including several that have survived to the present day in Downtown: the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1888, dedicated 1902), the Indiana Statehouse (1888), Union Station (1888), and the Das Deutsche Haus (1898), among others.

Following World War II, expansion of the American middle class, suburbanization, and declining manufacturing employment greatly impacted Downtown Indianapolis, similar to most U.S. central business districts at this time. Urban renewal projects of this era hastened the central business district's decline, particularly the clearance of working-class neighborhoods for construction of Interstate 65 and Interstate 70 in the 1960s. The extension schools of Indiana University and Purdue University merged in 1969, creating Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis and its urban campus near Indiana Avenue. Market Square Arena opened in 1974 as home to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Indiana Pacers.

Downtown became the center of Indianapolis' aggressive sports tourism branding strategy. Throughout the 1980s, $122 million in public and private funding built the Indianapolis Tennis Center, Indiana University Natatorium, Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium, and the Hoosier Dome (later renamed the RCA Dome). The latter project secured the 1984 relocation of the NFL Baltimore Colts, the 1987 Pan American Games, and scores of subsequent athletic events of national and international interest.

Modern skyscraper construction catapulted Downtown office and commercial development in the 1980s. A building boom, lasting from 1982 to 1990, saw the construction of six of the city's ten tallest buildings. These include OneAmerica Tower (1982), Fifth Third Bank Tower (1983), Capital Center South Tower (1987), BMO Plaza (1988), Market Tower (1988), 300 North Meridian (1989), and the tallest, Salesforce Tower (1990). Reinvestment continued through the 1990s, including development of White River State Park museums and attractions, Canal Walk, Circle Centre Mall (1995), Victory Field (1996), and Bankers Life Fieldhouse (1999).

Downtown Indianapolis contains 36 apartment buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the Apartments and Flats of Downtown Indianapolis Thematic Resources.

The boundaries of Downtown Indianapolis have varied over time as the city has grown. The city's original platted area, known as the Mile Square and bounded by North, South, East, and West streets, is sometimes used to denote the downtown area. However, the Regional Center Plan designated by the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development defines the boundaries to be 16th Street on the north, Interstate 65/70 on the east, Interstate 70 on the south, and the Belt Railroad on the west, enclosing an area of 6.5 square miles (17 km2).

Downtown Indianapolis is situated on flat land near the confluence of the White River and Fall Creek. Pogue's Run, a smaller tributary of the White River, flows beneath Downtown. The waterway was channeled into a sanitary tunnel in 1914.

According to Downtown Indy, Inc., the number of apartment units in Downtown has increased 61 percent from 2011 to 2015, with more than 50 percent of new development occurring inside the Mile Square. Likewise, Downtown's 2010 residential population of 17,589 is expected to more than double to 34,000 by 2018.

Five of seven designated Indianapolis Cultural Districts are located in Downtown, including:

Downtown Indianapolis is the largest employment cluster in the state of Indiana, with nearly 43,000 jobs per square mile (17,000/km2). According to Downtown Indy, Inc., Downtown's daytime population is about 150,000. According to Colliers International, the central business district commercial office market contained 11,800,000 square feet (1,100,000 m2) of office space, with a direct vacancy rate of 16.9 percent in 2017.

Downtown Indianapolis is home to the city's three Fortune 500 companies: health insurance company Anthem Inc. (33); pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly (141); and Simon Property Group (488), the largest real estate investment trust in the U.S. Other prominent companies based Downtown include: Cummins Global Distribution Headquarters; media conglomerate Emmis Communications; financial services holding company OneAmerica; the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); local newspaper The Indianapolis Star; electricity provider Indianapolis Power and Light; and fast food restaurant chain Steak 'n Shake.

The hospitality industry is an increasingly vital sector to the Indianapolis economy, especially Downtown. According to Visit Indy, 28.2 million visitors generated $4.9 billion in 2015, the fourth straight year of record growth. Indianapolis has long been a sport tourism destination, but has more recently relied on conventions. The Indiana Convention Center (ICC) and Lucas Oil Stadium are considered mega convention center facilities, with a combined 750,000 square feet (70,000 m2) of exhibition space. ICC is connected to 12 hotels and 4,700 hotel rooms, the most of any U.S. convention center. In 2008, the facility hosted 42 national conventions with an attendance of 317,815; in 2014, it hosted 106 for an attendance of 635,701.

According to Downtown Indy, Inc., there are a total of 7,514 hotel rooms. Notable hotels include:

Recent developments in downtown Indianapolis include the construction of new mid- to high-rise buildings and the $275 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center completed in 2011. After 12 years of planning and six years of construction, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene and Marilyn Glick officially opened in 2013. The $62.5 million public-private partnership resulted in 8 miles (13 km) of urban bike and pedestrian corridors linking six cultural districts with neighborhoods, IUPUI, and every significant arts, cultural, heritage, sports and entertainment venue downtown. A 2015 Indiana University Policy Institute report found assessed property values along the Cultural Trail increased by over $1 billion from 2008 to 2014.

Downtown's main nightlife areas are located on Meridian Street near Georgia Street and along Massachusetts Avenue. A variety of nightclubs, live music venues, bars, and restaurants are clustered along South Meridian and Georgia streets between Monument Circle and Lucas Oil Stadium. Massachusetts Avenue, or Mass Ave, lies northeast of the central business district, and is lined with high-end local bars and restaurants.

Some of the night clubs and bars in the Wholesale District include Slippery Noodle Inn, Howl at the Moon, Tiki Bob's, Claddagh Irish Pub, Kilroy's Bar and Grill, St. Elmo Steak House, and a cigar lounge called Nicky Blaines.Mass Ave bars include The Eagle, Burnside Inn, Bazbeaux Pizza, Tavern on the Point, Chatterbox, Mesh on Mass, FortyFive Degrees, and Metro. Mass Ave also has various European bars that include MacNiven's (Scottish), Chatham Tap (English), and The Rathskeller (German).

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