As of 2010update, 32% of the non-family households included individuals living alone, 8.3% of these households included individuals age 65 years of age or older. Age distribution for the city’s inhabitants was 25% under the age of 18; 4.4% were between 18 and 21; 16.3% were age 21 to 65; and 13.1% were age 65 or older. The remaining 2.8% of the population was reported as multiracial (two or more races). In 2020, the larger Indianapolis–Carmel–Muncie, IN combined statistical area (CSA) had a population of 2,492,514, home to nearly 37% of Indiana residents across 20 of Indiana’s 92 counties. In 2020, the metropolitan area’s population was 2,111,040, the most populous in Indiana and home to 31% of the state’s residents.
Primary and secondary schools
- Indiana limestone has been a signature building material in Indianapolis since the 1800s, featured prominently in the city’s monuments, churches, commercial, and civic buildings.
- On April 16, 1861, the first orders were issued to form Indiana’s first regiments and establish Indianapolis as a headquarters for the state’s volunteer soldiers.
- Experience Indianapolis the local way and discover the neighborhoods and lifestyle of some of Indy’s coolest and most historic areas.
- This small but fascinating museum celebrates Indianapolis’s preeminent literary icon, and includes displays of his trusty typewriter, paintings, family artifacts, and recreated writing space.
- Hinkle, a National Historic Landmark, opened in 1928 as the world’s largest basketball arena, with seating for 15,000.
- The city’s water supply is sourced from the White River and its tributaries as well as aquifers via four surface water treatment plants, four reservoirs, and five groundwater pumping stations throughout the region.
This downtown biergarten serves authentic German cuisine and extensive beer selection in Indianapolis’s best beer garden atmosphere. Its eclectic programming includes local and touring acts across multiple genres. Tour the historic track, kiss the famous bricks at the start and finish line, and explore exhibits featuring winners’ cars and memorabilia. The internationally acclaimed institution provides educational entertainment for families, and sometimes the museum even hosts adults-only museum nights. The world’s largest children’s museum has five floors of interactive exhibits covering everything from dinosaurs to space exploration.
American Civil War
The heart of the city is downtown’s Monument Circle, while neighborhoods like Fountain Square and Broad Ripple have built their own distinct flairs and personalities. The Indiana War Memorial Plaza (1927) is a five-block area just to the north that honours the state’s war dead and includes the American Legion National Headquarters building. The city limits became coextensive with the limits of the county, thus increasing the city’s population by almost a half overnight and greatly expanding its tax base. Indianapolis had become a major rail centre by the start of the American Civil War in 1861, and its importance to Union logistics spurred further growth; its population more than doubled between 1860 and 1870. Waste collection services in Indianapolis are provided by the city’s Department of Public Works Solid Waste Division, Republic Services, and WM.
- Three religiously affiliated universities based in the city are Indiana Bible College, the University of Indianapolis, and Marian University.
- Located in the Mississippi Flyway, the city sees more than 400 migratory bird species throughout the year.
- George Kessler’s Indianapolis Park and Boulevard Plan (1909) linked notable parks, such as Brookside, Ellenberger, Garfield, and Riverside, with a system of parkways following the city’s waterways.
- Each of the county’s nine civil townships elects its own township trustee, three-member board, assessor, and a constable and small claims court judge, all of whom serve four-year terms.
- In Speedway, Borage feels like a community hub, pairing a relaxed café atmosphere with a connected market selling the same locally sourced grains, vegetables, and breads used in its kitchen.
- Further consolidation of city and county units of government resulted in the establishment of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in 2007.
- About 18,000 students are enrolled in tuition-free charter schools sponsored by the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation and Indianapolis Charter School Board.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) is the city’s primary law enforcement agency. The 2019 City-County Council elections expanded Democratic control of the council, flipping six seats to hold a 20–5 supermajority over Republicans. While Indianapolis as a whole leans Democratic, the southern third of the city, consisting of Decatur, Perry, and Franklin townships, trends Republican.
Arts and culture
The Indiana National Guard’s major command units and joint headquarters staff are based at the former Stout Army Air Field on the city’s southwest side. Annual film festivals held in Indianapolis include the Circle City Film Festival, Heartland International Film Festival, Indy Film Fest, the Indianapolis Jewish Film Festival, and the Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival. Other motion pictures at least partially filmed in the city include Going All the Way (1997), Palindromes (2004), Saving Star Wars (2004), Amanda (2009), Walter (2015), The MisEducation of Bindu (2019), Athlete A (2020), and Our Father (2022). Contemporary literary culture includes bestselling young adult fiction author John Green, whose 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars is set in Indianapolis and reflects the city’s local character. In the twentieth century, Indianapolis produced internationally acclaimed novelist Kurt Vonnegut, whose darkly satirical work, including Slaughterhouse-Five, often incorporated the city as a setting or featured Indianapolis-born characters. Prominent writers based in the city during this period included poet James Whitcomb Riley and novelists Booth Tarkington and Meredith Nicholson, who gained national recognition for their work.
Parks
There is a Michigan left at 96th and Allisonville, the extreme north of the city. Washington Street is the main east–west through street, which bends to the south on the westside and Meridian runs north–south far past the boundaries of the city. A handful of streets cut across the city north–south and only a few (10th, 38th, 82nd/86th, and 96th) go across east–west. There is also a ramp onto Washington Street, which is the main east–west artery in the city. Direct travel using I-69 or I-74 is not possible; both are routed around the center of the city on I-465. Travel directly through the city on I-70 (east and west) or I-65 (north and south).
Other notable interments at the cemetery include three U.S. vice presidents (Fairbanks, Hendricks, and Marshall), notorious American gangster John Dillinger, and First Lady Caroline Harrison. Harrison is buried about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the site at Crown Hill Cemetery. The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site includes the archives and restored home of the 23rd president of the U.S., Benjamin Harrison.
Urban agriculture in the city dates to the 1930s, when Flanner House began teaching Black arrivals how to farm on vacant lots during the Great Migration. Other notable events include the Indy Pride Festival and the Marion County Fair in June, the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration in July, the Historic Irvington Halloween Festival in October, and the Circle of Lights during the holiday season. The largest is the Indiana State Fair, regularly drawing more than 800,000 attendees each August. Combined, it is the largest war memorial project in the United States, encompassing 24 acres (9.7 ha).
There are now about 50 craft brewers in Indianapolis, with Sun King Brewing being the largest. Microbreweries have become a staple in the city, increasing fivefold since 2009. In 2016, Condé Nast Traveler named Indianapolis the “most underrated food city in the U.S.”, while ranking Milktooth as one of the best restaurants in the world. Locally based chains include MCL Restaurant & Bakery, Noble Roman’s, and Steak ‘n Shake. According to the city’s Office of Sustainability, there were 129 community farms and gardens https://www.royalspiniacasino.org/ in 2020.
There are many national/international hotel/motel chains in town; listed below are some more unique and/or regionally owned operations. Includes Speedway & Lafayette (parts of Indy incorporated) and Plainfield. Northern Suburbs include Carmel, Zionsville, Noblesville, Westfield and Fishers.
