Veterans Day

It is often said that Indianapolis has more memorials to veterans than any other city in the country aside from Washington, D.C. I don't know if that is true, but we do have several wonderful sites in the Circle City. And today would be a great day to enjoy them.

Almost everybody knows about the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. It's the monument in the middle of Monument Circle. It was dedicated to the memory of Civil War, Spanish/American War, and other veterans. The Eli Lilly Civil War Museum is located in the basement. A gift shop is located above the museum. And usually the observation level is open up top (though not at the moment...still under construction).

The World War Memorial is a monument that is often seen by many but rarely visited. Located on a block bound by Meridian, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, it was originally dedicated to the veterans of WWI but has since taken on remembrance of all military skirmishes that Hoosiers have been involved in. Inside are some of the best kept secrets in Indianapolis. A museum covering military activity from pre-Revolutionary War to present. The sacred space that is the Shrine Room. And a beautiful auditorium.

To the north of the Indiana World War Memorial is Veterans Memorial Plaza, an urban park dedicated to all veterans. The center piece of the park is an obelisk and fountain.

To the north of Veterans Memorial Plaza is the American Legion Mall. The Mall is home to two office buildings. The smaller building on the westside of the mall is the original headquarters to the American Legion. They outgrew the building very quickly, building the larger building on the eastside. The original building is now home to the state American Legion headquarters. Also on site is the historic cenotaph (empty tomb) and memorials to WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

On the canal, there are two important memorials. At Walnut Street you will find the USS Indianapolis Memorial, a ship sunk during WWII. At White River State Park, you will find the National Medal of Honor Memorial, a beautiful contemporary memorial.

There are many other monuments and memorials all around town. Cemeteries, like Crown Hill, often have several memorials. And it shouldn't be forgotten that the airport terminal is named for Col. H. Weir Cook. The city is filled with reminders of sacrifices made for our country. It is a good day to recall the inspiration behind the structures.

Unfortunate

I just read on IBJ Property Lines that St. John Church at E. Washington Street and German Church Road may be demolished to make way for a CVS.

The congregation is aging rapidly and is looking at building a new church that can include amenities that will attract younger families. This is an unfortunate situation. I feel for the congregation who is selling because they can't afford the building they are in because they can't attract new members.

But it is a beautiful 1914 Tudor Gothic Revival church that I have passed many times during my 10 years of living on Indy's eastside. I hate to see a landmark church disappear. It is the reason that German Church Road is called "German Church Road."

I suspect we'll see situations like this happen more rapidly. Churches in downtown and urban areas have a tendency to be revived as offices, performance spaces, and residential buildings. But this suburban intersection is a prime location for commercial development. And with Walgreen's on one corner, it is no wonder that CVS made the congregation an offer they couldn't refuse.

It is an unfortunate situation to be in. And I doubt that the congregation has taken this decision lightly. Historic Landmarks Foundation is trying to get an emergency designation for the church as a protected historic landmark. A maneuver that may save the building for now, but if the congregation can't afford the "estimated $1.3 million over the next 10 years" for maintenance and renovations, how long will the building truly last?

The only win-win would involve CVS reusing the building. But what are the odds of that happening?

A step back in time

This is a photo from the Bass Photo Collection at the Indiana History Center. It is circa 1910. Notice that the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is open. That is how it was originally intended. It was enclosed in the 1930's.


This is what the monument looks like on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 23rd. The 1980's enclosure has been removed. And a new enclosure awaits. But for this brief moment in time, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is as close to its original form as it has ever been since the 1930's. Even though the column supporting the statue "Victory" (non "Miss Indiana"...she lives in Seymour) is exposed, there is a certain elegance to the original design, even today.

Take it in...

What do the numbers tell us?

The Indianapolis Star has an article on the express bus routes that IndyGo provides and a great chart that illustrates ridership trends. The Greenwood route is being cancelled. It just never caught on. And the Fishers and Carmel routes may come to an end as federal funding expires.

Greenwood probably didn't catch on as much because the service started when gases prices were at $2 per gallon or lower. Nobody had a reason to take the bus and, therefore discover it.

The Fishers and Carmel routes had big ridership jumps after about two months. Probably as people discovered the convenience of it and positive reviews got around. Ridership peaked as gas prices jumped, no surprise there. When the gas prices declined, so did ridership. But both routes have leveled out, with Fishers taking in about 6,000 to 7,000 riders per month and Carmel between 3,000 and 4,000. Assuming 22 work days a month (and assuming that these are one way riders), that's 135 to 160 round trip riders per work day for Fishers and 70 to 90 riders per work day for Carmel.

Those numbers don't seem all that impressive. But when you consider that Indy is very auto centric and that the buses are subject to the whims of traffic patterns just as cars are, I'm pleased.

Do the numbers justify rail transit in the northeast corridor? Arguable. There definitely right of ways available for rail transit, while recent and current interstate construction projects make it next to impossible to build dedicated bus and HOV lanes.

But maybe there's a middle ground. What if the unused and underused rail right-of-ways were paved to create dedicated busways? What if we used BRT's in the right of ways? Less expensive to build. Vehicles are less expensive. The routes can be more flexible. And it leaves open the opportunity to upgrade the system to rail in the future should demand require it.

I believe the availability of federal dollars puts a greater emphasis on infrastructure projects for rails than buses. But if federal funding could be obtained for such a project, I think it would be the more logical next step for the Indy metro area.

What do you think?

Not gone, just in hiding

If you haven't noticed, it has been almost two months since I last posted here.

Coincidentally, my wife gave birth to our second child almost two months ago.

Explains things, doesn't it?

There seem to be a lot of things going on around town. A lot of items I want to touch on.

The first item I want to point out is a series of new bus shelters designed by Indianapolis architect Donna Sink which will be installed along the cultural trail. It was recently mentioned on the blog architechnophilia. And there is more information on the Cultural Trail website.

From the website:
“Moving Forward,” by Indianapolis-based architect Donna Sink, is a series of three custom-designed eco-friendly bus shelters that will showcase original poetry by published writers. The shelters will be located along the Cultural Trail on the south side of Virginia Avenue near Lexington Street, McCarty Street and Woodlawn Avenue.
I like this design. I like that it is simple yet sophisticated. It is a modern design, but doesn't overwhelm the historic Fountain Square neighborhood. And the incorporation of bus shelters into the art fixtures along the Cultural Trail are a major win-win for the city. And while the green shelters around downtown are nice, I do like the use of various, original designs. I'd like to see more art/shelters around the city.

Wood windows

Being an architect who lives in a historic district, I'm often asked to defend some of the practices of the historic preservationist and the decisions of historic preservation commissions. One of the most frequently asked questions are about replacement windows.

You can't go anywhere around Indy without replacement window advertisements blaring at you. Billboards, tv ads, newspaper ads. Even the digital display on my car radio when tuned to a certain station has been showing messages for a big window company.

People think that new windows, especially vinyl framed, double paned windows, are easier to maintain and more energy efficient. I have a hard time convincing them other wise.

A favorite website of mine, called "Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space", recently posted five reasons to conserve historic wood windows, which came from Dave Taylor in the Architectural Conservation Notes series published by the Ontario Ministry of Culture.

It is worth a read. It covers all the reason: aesthetics, energy conservation, maintainability, durability, and everything tied to the almighty dollar. All of which are worth considering before buying replacement windows.

The future for Indy cyclists looks promising

Adding bike lanes to Michigan and New York Streets seemed like a very long ordeal. A couple years of planning followed by an extended construction process. As I've mentioned, the results were worth the hassle. But I dreaded the thought that every added bike lane would go through the same long process.

Then one day I noticed bike lanes on a small stretch of Ritter Avenue between Pleasant Run Parkway and 10th Street. It was included as part of a repaving project. I was surprised to see it, especially since I hadn't heard anything about it.

And this week, while traveling to Wanamaker to see some friends, I noticed that a paving project on Southeastern Avenue between Five Points and Franklin Road was completed. And it included bike lanes.

We are being invaded by bike lanes! Where will they be popping up next?

And then I was directed to the website for Sustain Indy and the plans for the future of bike lanes in Indianapolis. The hope is that in just over 10 years, the bike lane system in Indianapolis will look like this:

The lines in red are roads with bike lanes. Green are greenways and blue is the cultural trail.

That seems pretty impressive, especially for an auto-loving city like Indy. It won't happen overnight, obviously, but the website outlines several phases. Current bike lanes are listed as:

New York & Michigan Street bike lanes - 11.0 miles - Arlington Avenue to White River Parkway West Drive (2009)
52nd Street - 1.0 mile - Monon Greenway to Keystone Avenue (2008)
Westlane Road - 1.41 miles - Michigan Road to Ditch Road (2008)
Ritter Avenue - 0.43 miles - East Pleasant Run Parkway South Drive to 10th Street (2009)

I've not been on 52nd and Westlane, but I'm assuming they wouldn't lie to me, right?

In next two years, they have other lanes planned, with most funded using federal funds (Allisonville) or as part of resurfacing projects. The latter two are not yet funded but they believe it will be:

Allisonville Road - 5.5 miles - Binford Boulevard to 82nd Street (late 2009/early 2010)
Illinois Street - 1.17 miles - New York Street to 16th Street (2009)
Illinois Street/Capitol Avenue - 4.63/5.63 miles - 16th Street & New York Street to Canal Towpath (2010?)
East Street - 0.72 miles - Sanders Street to Fletcher Avenue (2009)
Southeastern Avenue - 0.57 miles - South Sheridan Avenue to Hunter Road (late 2009/early 2010)
Southeastern Avenue - 1.81 miles - Franklin Road to Five Points Road (late 2009/early 2010)
Allison Pointe - 0.90 miles - 82nd Street to Dead End (2009)
Lafayette Road - 13.29 miles - County Line to West New York Street (2010?)
Broad Ripple Avenue - 1.03 miles - Monon Trail to Keystone Avenue (2010?)

There are more maps and phase descriptions on their website. It is very exciting to me and it seems like a easy and relatively inexpensive way to improve the quality of life in Indianapolis.