Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area and the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the " cit ...

of Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, United States. Downtown is bordered by

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gu ...

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

, and the White River, and is situated near the geographic center of Marion County. Downtown has grown from the original 1821 town plat—often referred to as the ''Mile Square''—to encompass a broader geographic area of central Indianapolis, containing several smaller historic neighborhoods. Downtown Indianapolis is the cultural, political, and economic center of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Downtown Indianapolis anchors the city's burgeoning tourism and hospitality sector, home to nearly 8,000 hotel rooms and several of the city's major sporting and event facilities. Downtown contains numerous historic districts and properties, most of the city's memorials and monuments, performing arts venues, and museums. Since its founding in 1820, the seats of Indianapolis's local administration and Indiana's state government have been located Downtown. Downtown Indianapolis is also home to the highest density of commercial office space and employment in the state of Indiana.

Location and boundaries

When Indianapolis was founded in 1820, the new capital city was planned to occupy an area of adjacent to the White River and near the geographic center of Marion County. The plat included eastern and western "anchors": the

Indiana Statehouse The Indiana Statehouse is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. It houses the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court, and other state officials. The Statehouse is located in ...

(west) and the Indianapolis City Market and Marion County Courthouse (east), respectively. As the population increased and the city matured, the original plat continued to densify, developing into the region's central business district. The city's historical core and present-day central business district is sometimes referred to as the "Mile Square". However, the Downtown "neighborhood area" defines a broader geography, incorporating an area bounded by 16th Street and

(north), Interstate 65/70 (east),

(south), and the White River (west). Downtown is generally bisected into four quadrants, divided by Meridian Street (north to south) and Washington Street (east to west).(about 7 square miles) Downtown Indianapolis is sited on flat terrain near the confluence of the White River and Fall Creek. Pogue's Run, a smaller tributary of the White River, flows beneath Downtown. The waterway was channeled into a sanitary tunnel in 1914.

Neighborhoods and districts

Downtown Indianapolis contains 36 apartment buildings that are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in the Apartments and Flats of Downtown Indianapolis Thematic Resources. Entries in italics denote designated cultural districts. * '' Canal and White River State Park'' * Chatham–Arch *

Cole-Noble District The Cole-Noble Commercial Arts District is a neighborhood in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is situated on the east side of downtown Indianapolis. History The name Cole-Noble Commercial Arts District derives from two pieces of Eastsid ...

Flanner House Homes Flanner House Homes is a national historic district located at Indianapolis, Indiana. The district encompasses 180 contributing buildings in the Project Area "A" (Indianapolis Redevelopment Commission) of Indianapolis. It was developed between ab ...

Fletcher Place Fletcher Place is a historic district and neighborhood in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana named after Calvin Fletcher, a prominent local banker, farmer and state senator. The neighborhood is clearly defined by I-70/I-65 to the south and East St ...

Holy Rosary–Danish Church Historic District Holy Rosary–Danish Church Historic District, also known as Fletcher Place II, is a national historic district located at Indianapolis, Indiana. The district encompasses 183 contributing buildings in a predominantly residential section located ...

* '' Indiana Avenue'' *

Indiana World War Memorial Historic District The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza is an urban feature and war memorial located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, originally built to honor the veterans of World War I. and (PDF) It was conceived in 1919 as a location for the na ...

* Lockefield Gardens * Lockerbie Square Historic District * '' Market East'' * '' Mass Ave'' * Old Southside Historic District *

Ransom Place Historic District Ransom Place Historic District is a national historic district in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The district consists mainly of a six-square block in a historically Black residential section of Indianapolis, located just one block from I ...

St. Joseph Neighborhood Historic District St. Joseph Neighborhood Historic District is a national historic district located at Indianapolis, Indiana. The district encompasses 57 contributing buildings in a predominantly residential section of Indianapolis. It was developed between abou ...

* Washington Street–Monument Circle Historic District * '' Wholesale District''

History

19th century

Downtown Indianapolis dates to the city's founding as the state of Indiana's new capital in 1820 near the east bank of the White River. The state legislature appointed Alexander Ralston and Elias Pym Fordham to survey and design a town plan for Indianapolis, which was platted in 1821. Ralston's original plan for Indianapolis called for a town of bounded by North, East, South, and West streets (although they were not named at that time), with Governor's Circle, a large circular commons, at the center of town. Ralston's grid pattern with wide roads and public squares extended outward from the four blocks adjacent to the Circle, and also included four diagonal streets, later renamed as avenues. Public squares were reserved for government and community use, but not all of these squares were used for this intended purpose. Ralston altered the grid pattern in the southeast quadrant to accommodate the flow of Pogue's Run, but a plat created in 1831 changed his original design and established a standard grid there as well. Ralston's basic street plan is still evident in present-day Downtown Indianapolis. Streets in the original plat were named after states that were part of the United States when Indianapolis was initially planned, with the addition of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, which was a U.S. territory at that time. Tennessee and Mississippi Streets were renamed Capitol and Senate Avenues in 1895 after several state government buildings were built west of the Circle near the

. There are a few other exceptions to the early street names. The

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

, which eventually bisected Indiana, passes through Indianapolis along Washington Street, a east-west street (more recently converted into a one-way westbound street west of New Jersey Street) located one block south of the Circle. The city's address numbering system begins at the intersection of Washington and

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

streets. Meridian and Market Streets intersect the Circle. Few street improvements were made in the 1820s and 1830s; sidewalks did not appear until 1839 or 1840. In the last half of the nineteenth century, when the city's population soared from 8,091 in 1850 to 169,164 in 1900, urban development expanded in all directions as Indianapolis experienced a building boom and transitioned from an agricultural community to an industrial center. Some of the city's most iconic structures were built during this period, including several that have survived to the present day in Downtown: the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1888, dedicated 1902), the

(1888), Union Station (1888), and the Das Deutsche Haus (1898), among others.

20th century

Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, expansion of the

American middle class Though the American middle class does not have a definitive definition, contemporary social scientists have put forward several ostensibly congruent theories on it. Depending on the class model used, the middle class constitutes anywhere from 25% ...

suburbanization Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urb ...

, and declining manufacturing employment greatly impacted Downtown Indianapolis, similar to most U.S. central business districts at this time.

Urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of bligh ...

projects of this era hastened the central business district's decline, particularly the clearance of working-class neighborhoods. The neighborhoods surrounding Indiana Avenue, the center of the city's African American community, were particularly impacted. The establishment of the

Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

(IUPUI) campus in 1969 and the construction of

and

in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in large-scale displacement of African Americans. The loss of population and activity Downtown prompted civic leaders to plan for economic development and revitalization of the area. Among the first projects was the opening of Market Square Arena, which served as home to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...

and host to numerous concerts and other sporting events. The success of Market Square Arena helped persuade decision-makers to make Downtown the center of an aggressive sports tourism strategy. Throughout the 1980s, $122 million in public and private funding built several athletic facilities Downtown, including the Indianapolis Tennis Center,

Indiana University Natatorium Indiana University Natatorium is a swimming complex on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It also serves as the home of the IUPUI School of Health & Human Sciences (including phy ...

, Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium, and the Hoosier Dome. The latter project helped secure the 1984 relocation of the Baltimore Colts, the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

, and scores of subsequent athletic events of national and international interest. Modern skyscraper construction catapulted Downtown office and commercial space in the 1980s. A building boom, lasting from 1982 to 1990, saw the construction of six of the city's ten tallest buildings. These included OneAmerica Tower (1982), Fifth Third Bank Tower (1983), Capital Center South Tower (1987), BMO Plaza (1988), Market Tower (1988),

300 North Meridian 300 North Meridian is a high rise in Indianapolis, Indiana. Construction started in 1987, financed by Browning Investments. The architects, Haldeman Miller Bregman Hamann (now BOKA Powell), built the outside with brownish-reddish granite and blac ...

(1989), and the tallest, Salesforce Tower (1990). The non-profit Downtown Indy, Inc. was established in 1993 to help promote economic development, beautification, and program events. Reinvestment continued through the 1990s, with the continued buildout of White River State Park museums and attractions, development of the

Canal Walk Canal Walk is a shopping centre located in Cape Town, South Africa. It is largest shopping centre in the city. Built in what the developers call "Cape Venetian architecture", the shopping centre hosts over 400 stores, 7,000 parking bays, numero ...

, Circle Centre Mall (1995), Victory Field (1996), and Gainbridge Fieldhouse (1999).

21st century

The city's successful sports tourism campaign provided local leadership with a template for increasing Downtown's capacity to host conventions and trade shows. Two of the city's tallest buildings to be completed in the 21st century, Conrad Indianapolis (2006) and the JW Marriott Indianapolis (2011), are hotels. Following the opening of

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium was ...

in 2008, the Indiana Convention Center completed its largest expansion in 2011. In the 2010s, Downtown experienced increased demand for housing. Numerous mixed-use and apartment buildings were developed during this time. According to Downtown Indy, Inc., the number of apartment units Downtown has increased 61 percent from 2011 to 2015, with more than 50 percent of new development occurring inside the Mile Square. In 2010, the population of Downtown was 14,664; by 2020, the population had increased to 22,412.

Economy

Downtown is the densest employment cluster in the state of Indiana. According to Downtown Indy, Inc., in 2021, there were about 154,500 workers. According to

Colliers International Colliers is a Canada-based diversified professional services and investment management company with approximately 18,000 employees in more than 400 offices in 63 countries. The firm provides services to commercial real estate users, owners, inv ...

, the central business district commercial office market contained of office space, with a direct vacancy rate of 16.9 percent in 2017. Downtown Indianapolis is home to two of the city's three ''Fortune'' 500 companies: health insurance company Elevance Health and pharmaceutical company

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colon ...

. Other prominent companies based Downtown include:

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

Global Distribution Headquarters; media conglomerate

Emmis Communications Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which ...

; financial services holding company

OneAmerica OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc. is a U.S. financial services mutual holding organization with corporate offices at the OneAmerica Tower in Indianapolis, Indiana. The operating companies of OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc. are American U ...

; the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

(NCAA); local newspaper ''

The Indianapolis Star ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the '' Indiana ...

''; and fast food restaurant chain Steak 'n Shake.

Tourism

The

hospitality industry The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism. It includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants and bars. S ...

is an increasingly vital sector to the Indianapolis economy, especially Downtown. According to Visit Indy, 28.2 million visitors generated $4.9 billion in 2015, the fourth straight year of record growth. Indianapolis has long been a

sport tourism Sports tourism refers to travel which involves either observing or participating in a sporting event while staying apart from the tourists' usual environment. Sport tourism is a fast-growing sector of the global travel industry and equates to $7. ...

destination, but has more recently relied on conventions. The Indiana Convention Center (ICC) and

are considered mega convention center facilities, with a combined of exhibition space. ICC is connected to 12 hotels and 4,700 hotel rooms, the most of any U.S. convention center. In 2008, the facility hosted 42 national conventions with an attendance of 317,815; in 2014, it hosted 106 for an attendance of 635,701. According to Downtown Indy, Inc., there are 34 hotels with a total of 7,839 hotel rooms. Most hotels are clustered in the blocks immediately adjacent to the Indiana Convention Center in Downtown's southeast quadrant. Notable hotels include: * The Columbia Club * Conrad Indianapolis * Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown *

Hilton Indianapolis The Hilton Indianapolis Hotel & Suites is a hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. The structure was completed as an office building in 1971 and converted to a hotel in 2000. It has 18 floors with a total of 332 rooms. The Hilton was formerly the talles ...

* Hyatt Regency Indianapolis *

Indianapolis Marriott Downtown Indianapolis Marriott Downtown is a high-rise hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was completed in 2001 and has 19 floors. It was the largest hotel in Indiana until surpassed by the JW Marriott Indianapolis in 2011. The Indianapolis Marriott Downt ...

* JW Marriott Indianapolis * Le Méridien Indianapolis Hotel * Omni Severin Hotel

Attractions

Recent developments in downtown Indianapolis include the construction of new mid- to high-rise buildings and the $275 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center completed in 2011. After 12 years of planning and six years of construction, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick officially opened in 2013. The $62.5 million public-private partnership resulted in of urban bike and pedestrian corridors linking six cultural districts with neighborhoods, IUPUI, and every significant arts, cultural, heritage, sports and entertainment venue downtown. A 2015 Indiana University Policy Institute report found assessed property values along the Cultural Trail increased by over $1 billion from 2008 to 2014.

Bars and restaurants

Motorcyclists line South Meridian Street

Downtown's main nightlife areas are located on Meridian Street near Georgia Street and along

Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to: * Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...

. A variety of nightclubs, live music venues, bars, and restaurants are clustered along South Meridian and Georgia streets between

Monument Circle The Indiana State Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a tall neoclassical monument built on Monument Circle, a circular, brick-paved street that intersects Meridian and Market streets in the center of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. In the years s ...

and

. Massachusetts Avenue, or Mass Ave, lies northeast of the central business district and is lined with high-end local bars and restaurants. Easley Winery and

Sun King Brewery Sun King Brewing is a brewery in the Cole-Noble District of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is the largest brewery in Indianapolis and the second largest brewery in the state. In 2011, Sun King won eight medals, including four gold meda ...

are located on College Avenue on the east side of Downtown. Some of the nightclubs and bars in the Wholesale District include Slippery Noodle Inn, Howl at the Moon, Tiki Bob's, Claddagh Irish Pub, Kilroy's Bar and Grill, St. Elmo Steak House, and a cigar lounge called Nicky Blaines. Mass Ave bars include The Eagle, Burnside Inn, Bazbeaux Pizza, Tavern on the Point, Chatterbox, Mesh on Mass, FortyFive Degrees, and Metro. Mass Ave also has various European bars that include MacNiven's (Scottish), Chatham Tap (English), and The Rathskeller (German).

Entertainment

Athletics

The city's professional sports clubs and major athletic venues are located south of Washington Street, including Gainbridge Fieldhouse (home to the Indiana Fever and Pacers), Lucas Oil Stadium (home to the Indianapolis Colts), and Victory Field (home to the Indianapolis Indians). The remaining sports facilities are located in the northwestern section of Downtown on the campus of IUPUI. * Gainbridge Fieldhouse *

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

* Indianapolis Indians * IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium * IUPUI Jaguars * Indy Eleven *

* Victory Field

Music and theater

* Athenæum (Das Deutsche Haus) * The Cabaret * The District Theatre * Hilbert Circle Theatre * Indiana Theatre *

Indiana Repertory Theatre Indiana Repertory Theatre, frequently abbreviated IRT, is a professional regional theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana that began as a genuine repertory theatre with its casts performing in multiple shows at once. It has subsequently become a regi ...

* Indianapolis Artsgarden * Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra * IndyFringe Basile and Indy Eleven Theatres * Madam Walker Legacy Center * Old National Centre * The Pavilion at Pan Am * Phoenix Theatre * TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park

Monuments and memorials

* Indiana 9/11 Memorial * ''

Indiana Law Enforcement and Firefighters Memorial The ''Indiana Law Enforcement and Firefighters Memorial'', officially titled the Indiana Law Enforcement and Fire Fighters Memorial, is a public artwork and memorial dedicated to law enforcement officers and firefighters from Indiana who lost thei ...

'' * Indiana World War Memorial Plaza * Medal of Honor Memorial * ''

Peirce Geodetic Monument The ''Peirce Geodetic Monument'' is a marker honoring the late American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (pronounced "purse"). It is located on Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, a ...

'' * Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument * USS ''Indianapolis'' National Memorial * '' Wooden's Legacy'' Note: ''For an overview and complete list of all memorials and monuments on the grounds of Indiana Government Center, see Indiana Statehouse Public Art Collection.''

Museums

* Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum * Crispus Attucks High School and Museum * Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art * Emil A. Blackmore Museum of The American Legion *

Indiana Historical Society The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...

* Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau * Indiana State Museum * Indiana World War Memorial Military Museum * Indianapolis Firefighters Museum *

James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home The James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home, one of two homes known as the James Whitcomb Riley House on the National Register of Historic Places, is a historic building in the Lockerbie Square Historic District of Indianapolis, Indiana. It was named a ...

* Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library *

Masonic Library and Museum of Indiana Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

* NCAA Hall of Champions * Rhythm! Discovery Center

Other

* Central Library * Circle Centre Mall * Indiana Convention Center * Indianapolis Catacombs * Indianapolis City Market * Scottish Rite Cathedral

Parks, plazas, and squares

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument - 2016-03-14 - Deb Nystrom 04

In 2021, Downtown Indianapolis contained about across 28 parks and public spaces. The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza encompasses three distinct downtown greenspaces: American Legion Mall, Veterans Memorial Plaza, and University Park. The Indianapolis Canal Walk also includes three pocket parks: Community Service Plaza, Vermont Street Plazas, and Walnut Street Commons. Bicentennial Unity Plaza, the newest public space Downtown, is anticipated to open by the end of 2022. Note: ''Entries in italics denote privately-owned parks and plazas or those not under the management of the State of Indiana or the City of Indianapolis.'' * Babe Denny Park * '' Ball Nurses' Sunken Garden and Convalescent Park'' * Bicentennial Plaza * Bicentennial Unity Plaza * ''Bill Gray Plaza'' * Charles L. Whistler Memorial Plaza * ''Chatham Commons'' * ''Cummins Central Plaza'' * Edna Balz Lacy Family Park * ''Fallen Firefighters Memorial Plaza'' * Hudnut Commons * '' Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick'' * Lt. Jr. Gr. Graham Edward Martin Park * ''Matthew R. Gutwein Commonground at Eskenazi Health'' * ''Merrill Street Pocket Park'' * Military Park *

* ''Pan American Plaza'' * Pathways to Peace Garden * Presidential Place Park * ''Ransom Place Neighborhood Park'' * Richard G. Lugar Plaza * ''South Street Square Park'' * White River Greenway * White River State Park

Public art

Government

As the state capital, Indianapolis is the seat of Indiana's state government. The city has hosted the capital since its move from Corydon in 1825. The Indiana Statehouse, located Downtown, houses the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government, including the offices of the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. ...

, and the Indiana Supreme Court. Most state departments and agencies are located in Indiana Government Centers North and South. The consolidated city-county government of Indianapolis and Marion County (known as Unigov) is also located Downtown at the City-County Building. The City-County Building houses the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of local government, as well as municipal departments, and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Federal field offices are located in the

Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse The Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, formerly known as the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office and as the Federal Building, is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, located in Indianapol ...

(which houses the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (in case citations, S.D. Ind.) is a United States district court, federal district court in Indiana. It was created in 1928 by an act of Congress of the United States, Congress ...

) and the Minton-Capehart Federal Building, both located Downtown.

Infrastructure

Education

Downtown is home to

(IUPUI), the third largest campus in the state based on enrollment, with 30,105 students. IUPUI contains two colleges and 18 schools, including the Herron School of Art and Design,

Robert H. McKinney School of Law The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 2001 ...

, School of Dentistry, and the Indiana University School of Medicine, the largest medical school in the U.S. Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is headquartered Downtown in the John Morton-Finney Educational Service Center. , IPS was the second largest public school district in Indiana, serving nearly 30,000 students. Located Downtown, the

Indianapolis Public Library The Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL), formerly known as the Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library, is the public library system serving the citizens of Marion County, Indiana, United States and its largest city, Indianapolis. The libra ...

's Central Library is the hub of the public library's 23 branch system, which served 4.2 million patrons and a circulation of 15.9 million materials in 2014.

Healthcare

Downtown's northwest quadrant is home to the largest cluster of healthcare facilities in the region. Located on the IUPUI campus, the

Indiana University Health Indiana University Health, formerly known as Clarian Health Partners, is a nonprofit healthcare system located in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the largest and most comprehensive healthcare system in Indiana, with 16 hospitals under its IU H ...

Medical Center encompasses the Indiana University School of Medicine, University Hospital, and

Riley Hospital for Children The Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health is a nationally ranked freestanding 354-bed, pediatric acute care children's hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is affiliated with the Indiana University School of M ...

. This area is roughly bounded by 10th Street (north), Michigan Street (south), University Boulevard (east), and Riley Hospital Drive (west). Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital, the largest facility in the state, is located on 16th Street, immediately outside Downtown in the Near Northside neighborhood area. The city's primary public medical centers, Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital and the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, are situated immediately west of the Indiana University Medical Center in an area bounded by 10th Street (north), Michigan Street (south), Eskenazi Avenue (east), and Porto Alegre Street (west).

Transportation

Downtown Indianapolis has been the regional transportation hub for central Indiana since its establishment. The first major federally funded highway in the U.S., the

(now Washington Street), reached Indianapolis in 1836,Baer, p. 11, and Hyman, p. 34. followed by the railroad in 1847. Indianapolis Union Station opened in 1853 as the world's first union station. Citizen's Street and Railway Company was established in 1864, operating the city's first mule-drawn streetcar line.Brown, p. 50.Sulgrove, pp. 134, 424–26. Opened in 1904 on West Market Street, the Indianapolis Traction Terminal was the largest

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...

station in the world, handling 500 trains daily and 7 million passengers annually. Ultimately doomed by the automobile, the terminal closed in 1941, followed by the streetcar system in 1957. Two of the region's four

interstate highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

(

and

) form an "inner loop" on the north, east, and south sides of downtown Indianapolis. I-65 and I-70 radiate from downtown to connect with the "outer loop," a

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

called Interstate 465.

IndyGo The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation, branded as IndyGo, is a public transit agency and municipal corporation of the City of Indianapolis in the U.S. state of Indiana. It operates fixed-route buses, bus rapid transit, microtransit ...

operates the city's public transit network, with downtown Indianapolis serving as the region's hub and spoke origin. In 2016, the

Julia M. Carson Transit Center The Julia M. Carson Transit Center is the hub for public transit in Indianapolis, Indiana. Opened in 2016, it is sited in downtown Indianapolis at 201 East Washington Street and is near the Cultural Trail and YMCA Bike Hub. The center received ...

opened as the downtown hub for 27 of its 31 bus routes. The Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority (CIRTA) is a quasi-governmental agency that operates three public buses from the Julia M. Carson Transit Center to employment centers in Plainfield and Whitestown. Downtown Indianapolis continues to be the city's intercity transportation hub.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

provides intercity rail service via the '' Cardinal'', which makes three weekly trips between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. Union Station served about 30,000 passengers in 2015. Three

intercity bus service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...

providers stop in the city:

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...

and Burlington Trailways (via Union Station), and Megabus (via City Market). The Indianapolis Airport Authority operates the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport, which opened for public use in 1979.

Utilities

AES Indiana AES Indiana, formerly known as Indianapolis Power & Light Company (also known as IPL or IPALCO), is an American utility company providing electric service to the city of Indianapolis. It is a subsidiary and largest utility of AES Corporation, wh ...

, the city's electricity provider, is headquartered on Monument Circle. Citizens Energy Group's

Perry K. Generating Station Perry K. Generating Station is a small multi-fired power station producing steam for one of the largest central district steam heating systems in the United States. The plant is located on the south side of downtown Indianapolis, at the intersec ...

burns natural gas to produce steam to provide heat and hot water to 200 customers in Downtown's district heating system.

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Downtown Indy, Inc.City of IndianapolisVisit Indy
{{Central Business Districts in Indiana Tourist attractions in Indianapolis Neighborhoods in Indianapolis Economy of Indianapolis Indianapolis metropolitan area Indianapolis