Since blog-posting brevity is not usually one of my strong suits, I figured it was time I tackle a subject that has to be short. The topic itself is small. Chances are, I’m making a mountain out of a molehill. But it nonetheless caught my attention as a potential harbinger of problems down the road. …
As much as I try to avoid double-dipping with my blog posts, I had to include this reference to my latest post on my blog, American Dirt, because it is so Indy-centric. I featured it on Dirt because it is a follow-up on an essay from a few years ago. When I first featured the …
[AUTHOR’S NOTE: I had to change the title because I mistakenly thought PUP was founded in early 2008. Having learned that it began operations in November of that year, it has clearly just passed its fourth anniversary. My apologies.] Perhaps it’s just another byproduct of our stereotypical self-effacement, but few Midwestern cities seem to assume …
Obviously not every old building in Center Township is architecturally distinct enough to justify a National Historic Landmark status; nor is every neighborhood sufficiently preserved in its original state to earn a National Park Service historic district recognition. But sometimes a structure deserves a little respect, because it captures the essence of what the neighborhood …
I originally posted an article on the Indianapolis City Market on my personal blog, American Dirt, two days ago. I had written an extensive study on the 125-year-old Market back in 2009 on that blog, so it made sense for any follow-up to take place there as well. But then it occurred to me that …
Earlier in the month, the Indianapolis Star featured an article on the extensive development plans that are materializing for the City of Greenwood, with the goal of turning the historic main street back into a desirable retail destination for locals and visitors.  The southerly suburb’s commercial center sits at the convergence of Main Street and …
“FRASIER: Remember when you used to think the 1812 Overture was a great piece of classical music? NILES: Was I ever that young?†-      Frasier, 1993. The recent press releases about the city-subsidized proposal for redeveloping the downtown IFD parcel along Massachusetts Avenue have generated an above-average level of buzz, both here, the Indianapolis …
An announcement from IBJ’s Property Lines last week raised eyebrows when the author revealed that MainSource Bank, the new tenant in the Barnes and Thornburg Building, was using its half of the leased space on South Meridian Street formerly occupied by Borders and embellishing it with a busy array of awning signs. The article noted …
On August 23, Mayor Ballard signed into approval Proposal 208, a Complete Streets ordinance that had already passed the City-County Council unanimously. No doubt most regular readers of this blog already know the basic principles of Complete Streets, but for those in the dark, the new ordinance will require that the City “shall develop a …
A few years ago I was touring a down-and-out portion of City X (it doesn’t really matter—could be any city) for the first time, when a colleague of mine made the observation: “You can immediately tell that land values are low here; just look at all these used car dealerships!â€Â I concurred without saying anything; …