The prosperity of recent years has boosted some former Rust Belt cities, such as Indianapolis, into a new league of 21st century successes. Chicago probably wins first prize for progress in the Middle West, while Detroit remains a hard luck story and Cleveland is still struggling.
My first trip back to Indy in maybe 16 years just ended with an exit through a crowded, outmoded airport that is about to be replaced at a whole new site. The Hoosier Dome that was new when I lived briefly in Indianapolis in 1989-90 is also slated for demolition and the new retractable roof stadium to replace it already is under construction.
But the big surprise is downtown's busy shopping and office core, once the reason for such choice sobriquets as "Indianoplace" and "Naptown." It seems to me that construction in the past two decades has nearly doubled the square footage of Indiana's capital city while adding entertainment and conventions as a whole new focus. Retail activity was dying out in the years after urban renewal nearly destroyed the periphery of downtown and left the hub itself a daytime-only government and office complex; but now city heart has revived. A skybridge-connected mall was thronged this past weekend, as was a new Nordstrom store. Unfortunately, the exterior, ground level for the Nordstrom store is a brutalist design that would be better suited to a riot zone, not street-friendly Indianapolis. (What were they thinking?)
At one point a block of the city's many fine early 20th century ten story masonry buildings was gutted to make way for new construction. But the handsome facades were first removed, repaired and then placed back when the interior works were finished. It is not the ideal option for historic preservation, but here it works well to retain the character of the old city. Indianapolis' downtown coheres in various styles and eras.
The economy of Indiana is suffering job losses, along with neighboring Ohio and Michigan (a one-state recession), largely because of the benighted mismanagement of America's automotive leaders these past decades. Manufacturing generally is down. But Governor Mitch Daniels and an aggressive economic development team has helped bring in replacements--Toyota and Honda, notably--that soon should help take up the slack. The current ethanol fad is helping the state, too, as farmers (the Indianapolis Star reports) are planting more corn than at any time since World War II.
Public education is a problem in Indianapolis, as in other urban areas. But a couple of miles from the downtown, in the company of philanthropist Don Roskowski, I visited a two year old charter school that gave me great hope for the future. The school's design and all its policies are aimed at personalizing the education of the students and helping them feel safe in identifying with the school, not with some peer group. The key, of course, is state legislation that allows charter schools in the first place, even if it doesn't adequately fund them in comparison with other public schools. A great many more charter schools could help realize the goal of sustainable development in Indianapolis and cities like it.
On a balmy Friday night tour, back downtown and at nearby Massachusetts Avenue, I witnessed the new scene of city night life--mostly wholesome evenings-out for young people and families at restaurants, the vibrant theaters and movie houses and stores--that put me in mind of the new "city place" constructions in Florida's boomtowns. Only this was not an attempt to create New Urbanist pleasures from scratch, but revival and extension of an existing, one time Old Urban success. As a result, the heart of Indianapolis has an air of authenticity and continuity that good historic areas of big cities, as opposed to shopping centers, can boast. Here you see horse-drawn carriages roam, teens gather in Indiana University and Purdue sweatshirts to watch each other at the central monument circle, while outdoor diners bask in early spring warmth.
The old Gothic revival Columbia Club that was a Republican hangout for over a hundred years now is "integrated" with Democrats, ever since the latter's favorite, the Athletic Club, burned. You can get very good food there, but also at any of the numerous and interesting new restaurants nearby. Great lodging at exceedingly reasonable prices (compared to either Coast or Chicago) can be had at such new establishments as Hilton's "Conrad" hotel, where the service is almost over-the-top friendly. (I paid $179 a night on a "conference rate" arranged by the Indy-centered Liberty Fund.) There is even an Indiana wine festival coming up in town. That really stuns me!
On a Saturday morning the downtown is lively again, this time with teams of kids and parents going to a soccer tournament, people attending a convention and early shoppers. Friends who were about to leave Indianapolis a few years ago and retire in the West say, why go? Where else is living so easy and inexpensive? Houses are priced at half the cost in Seattle or Washington, D.C. And with the savings you can take off for a warm climate in the winter without any financial stretch.
Now the long term financial prospects look good, too, and with that, a commitment to civilized life.
You don't have to be a Hoosier to appreciate Indiana. I wish more states were like it.
