Indianapolis underrated?

[Unionstation13]

Okay, alot of us know that Indianapolis has some gorgouse 19th century hoods, wonderful monuments and many beautiful old buildings.

But is Indianapolis underrated as a tiny downtown and soulless? And we have southern accents?

Indianapolis is in my opinion underrated(especially in its culture and architecture.)

[Rural King]

I selected in the middle. On some things Indy is underrated IMO - its amenities, its urban character, its overall safety compared to other peer cities, etc., while on others its viewed about right - its governance, its economic standing, etc.

I do not see how anyone could think Indy residents have southern accents.... standard midwestern IMO for thte locals, nor do I find the city's downtown to be small or soul-less for the city's size and the character of its population.

[WOT]

I selected in the middle. On some things Indy is underrated IMO - its amenities, its urban character, its overall safety compared to other peer cities, etc., while on others its viewed about right - its governance, its economic standing, etc.

I do not see how anyone could think Indy residents have southern accents.... standard midwestern IMO for thte locals, nor do I find the city's downtown to be small or soul-less for the city's size and the character of its population.

[DaltonGA]

Yeah, I would agree Indy is underrated, but ranks as one of the best known underrated cities in the country thanks to the Indy 500.

Many outside Indianapolis may remember "One Day at a Time" was set in there and shows the "pyramid" office buildings in its opening credits. A lot of others may remember Indy as the HQ for Burger Chef.

Regarding the southern accents, I have heard Indiana called the northernmost southern state before, but I always thought the southern accents would be primarily in the south near the Kentucky border, but nonetheless, neighboring parts of southern Ohio and Illinois are accused of having southern accents. Even the grocer Winn-Dixie had stores in the Louisville suburbs prior to its downsizing, and grocery chains don't get more southern than "The Beef People."

Indianapolis and Indiana being underrated has a lot to do with it being bordered by three populous states-Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan and being close to Chicago, which dwarfs the remainder of Illinois and leads to Wisconsin and Milwaukee being overlooked and underrated as well.

I think Inidana is probably a state that is a blend of the US as whole. Southern and Midwestern come together with Eastern urbanity and industry. The saying "it it plays in Peoria" is just as applicable to Anderson, Muncie, Kokomo, Columbus, Terre Haute or even Indianapolis. Indiana represents a cross-section of the United States and is a natural crossroads for north, south, east, and west.

[Unionstation13]

I think one of the things Indiana is underrated for is its urban areas.

We have beautiful cities, very victorian era cities, of massive rings of beautiful homes, and downtowns of beautiful victorian-era architecture, clocktower courthouses, and gothic cathedrals. Downtown Indianapolis, has ALOT of beautiful architecture, and we seem to constantly have our european immigration history ignored. I lived in LaFayette when I was younger, and the only time I heard southern accents(from locals) was in the suburbs. In Indianapolis I dont hear it often(if ever). Indiana may have strong conservative rural towns, but many of its cities have growing social liberal communities, Indianapolis is a fairly liberal city(ignoring the suburbs). Indiana, like anyother state connected to the south, has southern influences, but really nothing more signifigant then Illinois, or Ohio. Indiana has so many eastern influences, has anyone been to downtown c-ville? Italianate golore! Or LaFayette, that victorian era feast, or Madison, the prarie and federal style city. Indiana is so beautiful, its more then cornfields, our amazing long history, with a town(vincennes) dating to the age of 275! We are home to the third largest unsupported dome in the WORLD! Palace like mansions scattered in our cities, and historical palace hotels scattered across the state. And whats even more amazing, is how in use so many of them are.

[smeagolsfree]

I drove up to Indianapolis and back yesterday just to see what was going on. I love the city but was dissapointed to see that there is not a lot of construction in the urban core or for that matter anywhere in the area that I could see. If I were going to move to anycity in the north, it would be Indy. I have visited a number of times and was always impressed with the city and the people.

There was a large group of cranes on the SW side of DT. Could anyone tell me what project that is?

[WOT]

I drove up to Indianapolis and back yesterday just to see what was going on. I love the city but was dissapointed to see that there is not a lot of construction in the urban core or for that matter anywhere in the area that I could see. If I were going to move to anycity in the north, it would be Indy. I have visited a number of times and was always impressed with the city and the people.

There was a large group of cranes on the SW side of DT. Could anyone tell me what project that is?

[smeagolsfree]

I am sure that was it. There seemed to be about ten cranes up. I was not aware they were building a new facility for the Colts.

[Unionstation13]

I drove up to Indianapolis and back yesterday just to see what was going on. I love the city but was dissapointed to see that there is not a lot of construction in the urban core or for that matter anywhere in the area that I could see. If I were going to move to anycity in the north, it would be Indy. I have visited a number of times and was always impressed with the city and the people.

There was a large group of cranes on the SW side of DT. Could anyone tell me what project that is?

[WOT]

LOS, lucas oil stadium.

Indianapolis will be filled with construction this summer. Alot of residential projects are in the works, and many downtown parking lots are in the works for infill, etc. There will be new highrises soon, marriott, MSA, penn tower, and many restorations are occuring. This summer downtown will be filled with crains and construction. Indianapolis is bidding for the superbowl aswell. The lucas oil stadium is going to be in a brick sort of 1930's stadium look.

[Unionstation13]

Does anyone know when the JW Marriott construction starts? (By the way, our JW here in GR just announced it will have a "female Only floor") Also - did any developer ever come up with something for the old MSA lot?

[WOT]

Does anyone know when the JW Marriott construction starts? (By the way, our JW here in GR just announced it will have a "female Only floor") Also - did any developer ever come up with something for the old MSA lot?

[smeagolsfree]

LOS, lucas oil stadium.

Indianapolis will be filled with construction this summer. Alot of residential projects are in the works, and many downtown parking lots are in the works for infill, etc. There will be new highrises soon, marriott, MSA, penn tower, and many restorations are occuring. This summer downtown will be filled with crains and construction. Indianapolis is bidding for the superbowl aswell. The lucas oil stadium is going to be in a brick sort of 1930's stadium look.

[WOT]

I think the growth is hitting the entire country at this point in time and didnt figure it was just in the south. Nashville is growing like an out of control weed. Hope Indy takes off like wildfire.

[smeagolsfree]

There is an article in the USA Today about Detroit and the loss of jobs and status in todays issue. Interesting read.

[Unionstation13]

Thanks for the reply. I was dissapointed that there was not a lot of construction that I cluld see. I am glad to see there are a number of projects for Indy. I think the growth is hitting the entire country at this point in time and didnt figure it was just in the south. Nashville is growing like an out of control weed. Hope Indy takes off like wildfire.

[VistaLakes01]

Indianapolis is actually growing, at a fast pace(for a midwestern city). Even though we are going through a crime wave, the neighborhoods around downtown are getting packed, and then neighborhoods around are being rehabbed, and it just keeps spreading! Many beautiful houses are being restored, thats just part of Indianapolis charm! Thousands of people are trying to pack into downtown. If a structure is built or rehabbed, and is reasonably priced, they are rented out or sold like hot cakes!

I am renting a duplex in a hood near downtown, when I first moved here, it was okay, but now alot of the structures are being rehabbed and sold like hotcakes, and people are just moving in, and the neigborhood just keeps getting better. The duplex I am in was restored in 2003, and is maintained, it seems like a great trend. These are the types of houses people should live in, other than that, we have an amazing flashy new airport terminal going up, and several other things, alot of infill underway, and some major projects aswell(marriott, penn tower, LOS, library addition, etc. )

[Unionstation13]

My dad's side of the family is from Indiana (Greencastle) (Reelsville, to be more specific) and my aunt and her son have some sort of twang in their voices, not really southern, it's not as pretty as a southern accent (I'm talking Birmingham or Atlanta when I say pretty, those women have some beautiful accents in those areas.) Is Indianapolis underrated? Well, it does manage to have NFL and NBA teams. I feel if people visited Indy they would be a bit surprised, it has the action of a growing city although I find it still a bit conservative. I am from and live in Orlando which really can no longer be compared to Indy. Orlando is in a different league now, with it's metro (CSA) population approaching 2.7 million and Indy's metro (CSA) is 1.9 million. However Indy is Indiana's premiere "big city" so it gets whatever amenities that decide to go into Indiana, such as Nordstrom in the retail sector. Florida has 4 very large metro areas and Miami is usually first and the other cities follow (except Jacksonville.) Indy definitely has Jax beat. I always thought Columbus was a more progressive city that is similar in size and status to Indianapolis. Columbus has no big league sports team so Indy has that over it. Also Columbus had the beautiful Columbus City Centre downtown and that has pretty much failed, I'm not sure how well Circle Centre is doing but if it is surviving well then Indy also has that over Columbus. Population wise Columbus seems more progressive, but they have that huge university in the middle of the city. San Antonio is similar in metro size but seems to have a lot more going on than Indy, but it has a large tourism industry also. Overall I'd say Indianapolis is a great city, it just needs to be a little more accepting of diversity. But yes, it is underrated!