Downtown Indianapolis ~ 7/5/08

On Saturday, my daughter (who lives in Indianapolis) and I went to downtown Indianapolis for a walk along the canal walkway. The canal which is fed from the White River has a long and extensive history dating back to 1836 and can be seen at this link.

The building to the right is the Indiana State Museum. The Wisteria vines which covered most of side were getting ready to bloom. One of the buildings on the left is the NCAA Hall of Fame.
Indiana State Museum again on the right. There are 92 pieces of art on the building to represent each county in Indiana. This picture was taken after making a jog in the walkway after passing the wisteria vines.
There was a beautiful prairie garden between the Indiana State Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum. Maybe someone can identify these blooms since I am clueless about prairie gardens.
The garden was swarming with bees.



At the top of the path in the prairie garden, we decided to head out front of the Eiteljorg Museum so that I could get a couple pictures of the statuary.
Bronze running deer by Kenneth Bunn, sculptor.

And then back into the gardens where we saw this beautiful statue called Southwest Summer Showers by Doug Hyde.
Some type of prairie grass.
I don't know what this beautiful shrub is, but I would love to have one.(Note 7/14/08: Thanks to Tammy from the Guilty Gardener for letting me know that this is an Oakleaf Hydrangea)
After seeing the gardens, we went back out to the walkway.

Crossed this foot bridge to get to the other side.
And decided to take a paddleboat ride. We are getting ready to cross under, I believe, the Ohio Street bridge. The buildings on the left are the Canal Street Apartments and on the right are businesses.
After paddleboating, standing on a bridge looking down at the canal and the Indianapolis skyline.
After we left the canal district, we went in search of something for lunch and decided on The Old Spaghetti Factory located at 210 S. Meridian Street (the wholesale district).


From the menu, my daughter chose the Pot Pourri which was a spaghetti sampler of browned butter and mizithra cheese, meat, clam and marinara sauces.
And I picked the Half & Half, spinach and cheese ravoli with marinara sauce, and spaghetti with meat sauce. Our entrees came with a small loaf of fresh hot baked bread, salad, and our choice of drinks.
And yummy spumoni ice cream for dessert
After lunch, we walked north passing the Indianapolis Artsgarden: A seven-story-tall glass enclosed structure located above the intersection of Washington and Illinois Streets. The Artsgarden provides more than 300 free performances and exhibits each year, and houses the city's only centralized cultural concierge information service.
The Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. The monument is 284-feet tall and is made of limestone and bronze in the center of Indianapolis at 1 Monument Circle. It was erected to honor the Hoosier who were veterans of the American Revolution, territorial conflicts that partially ledup to the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, The U.S. Civil War, and the Spanish American War.
Mallard ducks (notice how they are standing on one leg).
My daughter, Christy.
Gardens at Monument Circle.