Indianapolis Skyline

From the southwest end of downtown...

Indianapolis Intersections: 12th and Pennsylvania

It was beautiful the day these were taken...

Borg Burlesque

Separated from the collective, now hangs down and out in an alleyway off of New Jersy Street, close to the Old Northside neighborhood...

Lincoln Bling!

The Darkness and the Light

On Mass Ave.

On West Washington Street.

A Poem on Cottage Home

I recently did a post featuring the beautiful Cottage Home neighborhood on the Indianapolis' near eastside. I received many responses from some of the residents within the neighborhood with all kinds of interesting and informative feedback, including a poem.





The picture above features a marker with a poem by Thomas Orr:

COTTAGE HOME
In the old neighborhood my friend is dreaming of houses,
Of what they were and what they could become again,
Their mute architecture silenced by a century of decay,
Full of stories aching to be told. On a warm summer night
Near Polk and Dorman, we climb a ladder of shadows, laughing
At a splash of moonlight through the roof, and he is saying
"Here, over here, the cornice needs some help," and suddenly
I recall another story of this house, of Emma Rae, whom I knew
In her distress. That summer, her children and their children,
The hapless followed by the helpless, ate everything she had,
And the old man, who left his leg at the Battle of Verdun,
Lay moaning on a cot in the living room, attacked by flies.
Relief arrived, but not a rescue. Say that Emma Rae endured.
Say humility made her smile. Always. It is enough. And let
The architecture sing, my friend, restore the voice, but leave
The moonlit hole in the roof, that prayers might rise for Emma Rae.

THOMAS ALAN ORR

Reprinted from Hammers in the Fog (Restoration Press, 1995). Copyright 1995 by Thomas Alan Orr. Used by permission. Reproduction in any form is strictly prohibited without express written consent. For more information, please contact Restoration Press, 1035 Hosbrook Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46203 USA.

My thanks to Tim Harmon and Thomas Alan Orr for providing me with the poem to make this post possible.

Rolling With Class

At least its not a hearse...

The Forgotten

I've featured many abandoned and forgotten areas of Indianapolis in this blog, but this area probably takes the proverbial cake! This area is located between College Avenue and Shelby Street, just south of Washington Street. Many of the streets located in this area were cut off or diverted to make room of I-65/70 and probably eventually lead to this area's downfall. Most of the area has been completely razed; only concrete slabs and foundations remain along the old brick streets.

I wonder how long this water main has been leaking into the nearby storm drain? On College and Maryland Street.

Railroad Underpass on College Avenue, just south of Washington Street.

Along Maryland Street, between College Avenue and Davidson Street.

Maryland Street is dead-ended here, and Davidson makes its way south to Washington Street.

Looking north on Davidson, toward Washington Street.

Ditched!

On the east side of I-65/70; taken close to Bates Ave.

More rusty relics; on Pine Street.

Near Bates and Pine Street.

Back on Bates Ave.

Now on Shelby Street.

On College Avenue

The Shanty

Not exactly what Johnathan Edwards had in mind when he sang the song with said title, but that's what came to mind. This was taken on the bank of the White River under Oliver Avenue earlier this year.

Control the Surplus Human Population?

I've always suspected the 'real' Bob Barker of being a bit of a curmudgeon... On North Alabama Street.

The Other Side of Cottage Home

Located northeast of the intersection of 10th and Massachusetts, it is literally on the other side of the Cottage Home neighborhood. This shows some examples of the warehouses that are intermixed with residential homes that Kevin mentioned in a comment about Cottage Home.

This is quite a large industrial complex; the interesting colors make it look less mundane and boxy.




The most dangerous shot of the day...Being butted up against a retaining wall that is taller than me while high speed traffic is whizzing by makes me nervous...


As luck would have it, a train just happen to come by when I was here...

There are many abandoned buildings like this along this stretch of Massachusetts and track; I intend on coming back and explore these some more.

Looking northeast toward Martindale in Massachusetts.

Wires Over Riley Towers

Glad I Wasn't Here!

On Delaware Street in St. Joseph....If you look closely enough, you can see remnants of tire tracks documenting exactly where the auto left the road and ultimately hit the low retaining wall. I live close to here and am glad I wasn't walking by when this occurred!

Abandon Stretch

On Washington Street, near the new I-65/70 interchange and Southeastern Avenue. I've always loved this stretch, but hope that the new, beast of an interchange in the area doesn't seal it's fate of having an abandoned status for the rest of it's days. At this point, it is neither easy or safe to get to it from downtown.