Indiana park: combines past and future.

Vision and community have come together in a 250-acre park in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana - an urban greenspace which has already sparked considerable redevelopment near the city center, prompted new home and office construction, and helped turn what once was a blighted city waterway into an eye-catching attraction.

White River State Park, the culmination of a 20-year dream for community leaders, offers central Indiana residents and visitors a variety of educational experiences, cultural attractions, urban beauty, family entertainment and recreational opportunity. More than just an urban oasis, the park is a key component of the city's continuing revitalization of downtown, and an important link in the city's greenway trails program, which continues to take shape.

Moreover, White River State Park has contributed to continued economic growth on the west and northwest edges of Indianapolis' downtown. The park provides continuity and identity to a variety of local attractions, including the Indianapolis Zoo, a minor-league baseball stadium, a museum of art, and several sports venues. Straddling the White River, the park also is bisected by Indianapolis' Central Canal, a revitalized waterway that has generated redevelopment and new construction in nearby neighborhoods while providing a new venue for recreation.

The park also provides a variety of opportunities for recreation, including jogging, walking, and cycling, and sites for tennis, aerobics, track, basketball, exercise classes, cardiovascular workouts, and weightlifting. Additionally, the park is home to several annual special events, including a weekend-long Indian Market, a two-day Western Festival, and local jazz and peace festivals.

White River State Park is an urban park, carved out of an existing urban landscape and incorporating both old and new businesses and attractions. Visitors who expect acres of forests and fields or neatly manicured gardens will be disappointed. However, by serving as a link between neighborhoods and attractions, by including a unique combination of amenities, by providing a destination for residents and visitors, and by focusing Indianapolis' attention on its long-neglected riverfront, the park has provided a focal point for renewed enthusiasm in this Mid-western community of 1.4 million.

"There has been a ten-fold resurgence in the importance of enhancing the river, of making it accessible, of making it a focal point of design," said John D. Short, a member of the White River State Park Development Commission. "This represents the culmination of our master planning efforts. We think this is one of the most unique combinations of amenities you could find in an urban setting."

A Dramatic Turnaround

Located on the western edge of downtown Indianapolis, the park represents a dramatic turnaround for Indianapolis. Simply put, the park is re-focusing attention on the city's waterfront - quite a change for a community that, for generations, essentially ignored its primary waterway.

The White River is a wide, slow-moving stream that provides habitat for catfish, bass, carp, and gar, and aquatic and migratory birds, as well as beaver and deer. The river enters the park from a westerly direction and makes a sweeping turn south within the park boundaries.

The area where the park is located - near the historically recognized founding point of the city - for decades was home to heavy industry. Slaughterhouses, milling and tool-making factories that employed thousands of workers lined nearby Washington Street and turned the river into a polluted, overgrown drainage ditch. Following a devastating flood in 1913, city officials hemmed in the river with concrete floodwalls and earthen levees, which made it nearly inaccessible.

But starting in the 1950s, city fathers began re-examining the White River, and the potential of waterfront development. By the 1960s, factories along Washington Street began moving out, pushed in part by the growth of the nearby Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis college campus. By 1979, when White River State Park was formally created, the area was ripe for redevelopment. With city fathers promoting Indianapolis as the country's amateur sports capital, the park and nearby sites quickly became home to several upscale sports facilities, including the National Institute for Fitness and Sport, Indiana University Natatorium, Indiana University Track & Field Stadium, and Indianapolis Tennis Center, home of the RCA Championships.

In conjunction with these changes, city officials also targeted for redevelopment the Indianapolis Central Canal, which is located east and north of the White River State Park. Initially planned in 1836, the Central Canal was one link of an ambitious plan to criss-cross Indiana with 400 miles of canals, connecting the Great Lakes with the Ohio River. But three years later, the debt-ridden state abandoned all canal work. Less than 10 miles of the Central Canal, linking Indianapolis with the then-distant village of Broad Ripple, was completed.

The waterway quickly deteriorated into an open sewer. A contemporary writer noted that "Everybody who lived handy threw their garbage into the Canal until it was too offensive to be borne." In 1850, the state auctioned off the Canal for $2,245.

The Canal languished for nearly a century and a half, winding between warehouses, declining neighborhoods, and crumbling streets and sidewalks. But by 1980, city officials had targeted the Canal for cleanup and redevelopment, with an eye toward turning the waterway into an attraction that would link neighborhoods, provide urban green space and act as a tourist magnet.

Reclaiming An Urban Eyesore 

In 1984, the city began an $11 million project to improve the Central Canal. The Lower Canal Improvement Project, christened Canal Walk, upgraded 12 downtown blocks of the Canal between Interstate 65 and West Street. Workers drained the Canal, dug and graded it and constructed a new, 50-foot wide, four and a half-foot deep concrete channel. Workers tapped into underground springs, built a 100-foot wide lagoon in a park-like environment and installed waterfalls, bridges, monuments, and landscaping.

The Central Canal improvements began to generate more public interest and attention for nearby White River State Park almost immediately.

"The Canal is a bit of a funnel that brings people into the park and moves people out of the park and into downtown," said John J. Kish, executive director of the White River State Park Development Commission. "It's a recreational development artery that forms a nice border."

Work also continued within the confines of the White River State Park during this time. In 1988, the Indianapolis Zoo moved to a new 64-acre site on the west bank of White River and became another major park tenant. Other commercial endeavors and tourist attractions would soon follow.

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, one of only a handful of museums honoring Native American art, opened in 1989 in a stunning new adobe-style building. In July 1996, the Indianapolis Indians AAA baseball club moved into a new 13,500-seat stadium along the park's southern boundary and promptly set a franchise attendance record of 571,435. In December 1996, an IMAX 3D Theater - only the twelfth in the United States - opened next to the Eiteljorg.

The Canal revitalization and the development of White River State Park came together in 1995 when construction began on a $20 million extension of the Central Canal. The Canal extension bisects the park, running west just north of the Eiteljorg before turning south and emptying into a lagoon. As part of the extension, workers added a spillway with a 17-foot plunge where the Canal empties into White River. Workers also rebuilt the Old Washington Street Bridge, an historic structure that now serves as a public space for events and as a pedestrian crossing over the White River to the Indianapolis Zoo. Part of the old National Road, the bridge is comprised of large granite blocks and new sidewalks, and includes decorative lighting, limestone benches and planters.

Workers also cut down and reconstructed the 1913 floodwalls within the park boundaries in order to build Celebration Plaza, a public meeting space which includes a small amphitheater with limestone seating built into the side of a hill. Celebration Plaza reintroduces visitors to the White River, and allows river access and scenic vistas.

The park also includes a new 300-vehicle underground parking garage and a visitor's center, as well as a River Promenade walkway and Military Park, a 14-acre city park that once was a Civil War training field. Plans for 1997 call for rebuilding the riverbanks near the zoo to include hiking and jogging trails and other public amenities.

Future plans include construction of a new three-story state museum between the IMAX Theater and the Eiteljorg Museum, as well as eventual development of Future Park, a high-tech learning and exposition center, and Freetown Village, a living-history museum that will depict the lives of Indianapolis' African-American community in the 1970s.

Redevelopment Follows

Improvements

Even while still under construction, White River State Park and the Central Canal have made a significant impact on the west side of downtown Indianapolis.

Indiana Avenue, the historic center of the African-American business community in Indianapolis, lies just a few short blocks northeast of the park. By 1916, the area was recognized as the heart of local African-American culture, and was home to 33 restaurants, 33 saloons, 26 grocery stores, 17 barber shops, 16 tailors, and 14 shoemakers.

The avenue began declining in the 1950s as African-American families moved farther north to be near shopping and entertainment. By the 1970s, the area's housing stock had shrunk by half, and area merchants and businesses began following their customers to other neighborhoods. By the mid-1980s, all that remained of the city's historic black section were a liquor store, music shop and hair salon.

But prodded by the city, add prompted by increased investor interest spurred by the Central Canal and White River State Park, Indiana Avenue is now undergoing a resurgence. New residential and office developments are booming at a furious pace. The area already features several new apartment complexes, including the 275-unit Canal Square Apartments and the 124-unit Canal Overlook Apartments, both of which enjoy occupancy rates above 90%. In 1996, plans were unveiled for three new office buildings and construction of additional apartments, townhouses, and hotels.

The nearby Madame Walker Theatre Center, the restored hub of an historic African-American business empire, attracts patrons of all races to Indiana Avenue though special events, exhibits. shows and jazz concerts. A local African-American partnership also has purchased and is renovating a historic three-story building across from the Walker Center. Built in 1882, the Italianate structure will house a jazz restaurant and club on the ground floor, and office space on the second level. Plans call for the building's decor to recall local jazz greats, such as trombonist J.J. Johnson, guitarist Wes Montgomery, and keyboard player Erroll "Groundhog" Grandy. In a second phase, developers plan to add a three-story office building to the 1882 building, replacing some non-historic structures that are slated for demolition.

"We're bringing in new people and new businesses - the Canal is becoming a place to see, not only for residents, but visitors," said Ray R. Irvin, manager of greenways for the Indianapolis Department of Parks and Recreation. "You can pour all the money into it that you want, but nothing is going to happen until you make it a destination or a place people want to be. Once you can do that, people then realize it,s a wonderful space and that changes the character of the neighborhood."

Linking To City Greenways

White River State Park and the Central Canal are considered both key portions and destinations of Indianapolis, growing greenway system.

First proposed in 1989, the greenway system will eventually include 150 miles of trails connecting 55 city and two state parks, including White River. Designed to provide comfort and convenience for cyclists, pedestrians, joggers and roller-bladers, the greenway system bisects residential areas, links, commercial centers, and ties neighborhoods closer to the city parks system. Portions of the system are currently under construction, but by late 1997, pedestrians or cyclists will be able to travel the city greenway system from Indianapolis' far northern suburbs to the very heart of the city. By using the greenways to link existing parks, flood plains, river levees, and old railroad lines, developers will add 4,700 acres of recreation and conservation space to the county's public lands.

"Our plan was to reconnect our neighborhoods and communities with our park system," said Irvin."There was a time when you or I could say `Gee mom, can I ride my bike to the park? Today we can't do that because of the vehicular traffic. With a greenway system, young people and senior citizens can be reconnected to these resources."

The city greenway system has been an unqualified success. Traffic studies on a newly opened path near the Broad Ripple neighborhood show that the trail has been used by up to 763 people per hour during peak times. City officials originally projected the trail would attract about 500 users per hour.

The greenway system, which has included the sprucing up and redevelopment of some city eyesores, has resulted in increased property values on adjacent lands. Additionally, the system is hailed as an urban amenity which has boosted the quality of life for both residents and visitors. Greenway projects also have created their own energy. In Broad Ripple, nearby wedding parties frequently provide free refreshments to trail users, while on the Central Canal, paddleboat operators and pushcart vendors serve weekday and weekend customers.

The future looks very bright for White River State Park. With state funding - likely to be approved in 1997 - work will begin on the new Indiana State Museum. Plans call for the museum to wrap around and connect to the existing MAX 3D Theater just west of the Eiteljorg Museum.

The state museum will feature a three-story, 62,000-square-foot exhibit area with an additional 13,000 square feet for temporary displays. The limestone, glass, and steel structure will feature 17-foot gallery ceilings and soaring space for exhibits as high as 60 feet.

The Indianapolis Zoo has unveiled plans for a three-acre conservatory and garden complex along the west bank levee of White River. The $10 million complex will include a glass-enclosed conservatory; outdoor demonstration gardens; water gardens, a wedding garden for ceremonies and receptions, a resource center, a gift shop, and an indoor/outdoor cafe.

Future Park is being planned by a team of educators from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Preliminary ideas include interactive learning modules with virtual auto racing and other activities, week-long daycamps for students and educators, and interactive exhibit areas for cutting-edge commercial products.

Freetown Village is investigating moving into a vacant 19th century building just west of the Canal. Freetown organizers plan to create a museum center in the building, and an accompanying outdoor village. Plans call for a gallery for temporary exhibits, a museum store, a family-style restaurant with outdoorseating, administrative offices, and a research center for African-American history and Indiana history. The outdoor village will consist of approximately 12 small buildings that represent a church, school, general store, bakery, blacksmith shop, and so on, where actors and interpreters will re-create life in the 1870 community.

"One of the themes of development was creating the river as a functional amenity," Executive Director Kish said of White River State Park. "We're really introducing people to the river. Our goal is general - of creating a park in the finest sense of the word, where people can come and enjoy their time and have a peaceful, restful time and enjoy some amenities. We want it to be a resource for the people of Indiana."