Does Indianapolis Have A Quality Downtown? (design, housing, things to do)

[urbanologist]

Originally Posted by missik999

Indy does love the chain restaurants. What amazes me is that so many people support the chains rather than the local restaurants. Far too many of the local places are in danger of folding, and some have already closed. I guess people here love their Applebees and and Olive Garden.

Yes, Indy does especially the ones based in Cincinnati (Skyline Chili) and Columbus (White Castles, Wendys etc.)

[chet_kinkaid]

i love downtown indy..go there quite often but it almost feels suburban..the hotels grouped by teh convention area are almost clustered like an off ramp only a larger scale..indy lacks signature older buildings such as the carew tower in cincy or the leveque tower in cbus..i do love the area around the circle..go to teh symphony there 2-3 times year..used to go to ims 4-5 times a year before tony george killed open wheel racing in the us.indy is a great host city for sports...but i wouldnt call it a great sports city..i hope the city supports the colts after manning is retired..the lucas stadium is awesome and the city should support the pacers..iguess what i find lacking in downtown indy is a typical urban feel..but there are alot of good things too

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by chet_kinkaid

i love downtown indy..go there quite often but it almost feels suburban..the hotels grouped by teh convention area are almost clustered like an off ramp only a larger scale..indy lacks signature older buildings such as the carew tower in cincy or the leveque tower in cbus..i do love the area around the circle..go to teh symphony there 2-3 times year..used to go to ims 4-5 times a year before tony george killed open wheel racing in the us.indy is a great host city for sports...but i wouldnt call it a great sports city..i hope the city supports the colts after manning is retired..the lucas stadium is awesome and the city should support the pacers..iguess what i find lacking in downtown indy is a typical urban feel..but there are alot of good things too

Entitled to your opinion but seeing as how organizations choose indy because of that same hotel configuration for conventions, ease of use, access, cleanliness, I would venture to say most people would defer to them. Oddly enough, cincy hotels are clustered as well or is 5th and 6th streets right off the highway considered clustered for Ohio? As far as signature buildings, well Monument circle should be enough said as neither of the C's has anything as signature to a city as that. Of course there still is the Murat (Oldest shrine temple), Union Station (first union station), Hilbert Theatre and Circle tower, both on the circle, Scottish Rite but again, the Circle is more than enough to counter that argument.

[missik999]

Originally Posted by urbanologist

Yes, Indy does especially the ones based in Cincinnati (Skyline Chili) and Columbus (White Castles, Wendys etc.)

I was actually thinking more about the TGI Fridays, Applebees, Chili's, O'Charley's and the other chain restaurants people here support over local restaurants.

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by missik999

I was actually thinking more about the TGI Fridays, Applebees, Chili's, O'Charley's and the other chain restaurants people here support over local restaurants.

With the exception of TGI Fridays by Victory Field, non of these restaurants are downtown

[REM]

Originally Posted by missik999

Indy does love the chain restaurants. What amazes me is that so many people support the chains rather than the local restaurants. Far too many of the local places are in danger of folding, and some have already closed. I guess people here love their Applebees and and Olive Garden.

This statement isn't true at all, Franchise and local business have been hit hard everywhere, there was a rescission you know. But there are locally owned clubs, cafes, restaurants, and even breweries opening up all over the city.
Franchise companies popping up in Indianapolis
There was an indy star article on the subject as well, but I can't find it.

[urbanologist]

Originally Posted by msamhunter

As far as signature buildings, well Monument circle should be enough said as neither of the C's has anything as signature to a city as that.

Yeah, a lot of cities around the country would kill to have Monument Circle. It's to our city what Piccadilly Circus is to London or Times Square is to New York. We are so lucky to have it. I'll take that over a single building like Carew anyday.
It's where people go to. There's nothing like it in the Midwest. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[urbanologist]

Originally Posted by missik999

I was actually thinking more about the TGI Fridays, Applebees, Chili's, O'Charley's and the other chain restaurants people here support over local restaurants.

You have a ton of them around the country. I just ate at a Applebees in Tewksbury,MA (Boston area) last week. The food was pretty good but I don't believe downtown Indy only has chain restaurants. Yatz is one of my favorite places to eat just to name a few as good Cajun is actually hard to get in some cities I've been to.

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by jaxontwinz

I just saw al ist from Forbes of the best downtowns in America. Chicago andPortland were at the top (no surprise), but there were some cities (Kansas City, GreenvilleSC, Winston-Salem) that i wasn't too sure about. Being from KC, I think ours is ok, but not top 10. 1,000 times better than 15 years ago and still improving but not that great.

Indianapolis was one of those cities on that list. I've never heard of Indy being mentioned of having a great downtown. Is it that good? What does it have to offer? What companiesare there? To me a great downtown is a place with good nightlife, lots of pedestrians, quality public transportation, and lots of restaurantsand shops.

Does Indianapolis have any of these?

Downtown Indy has improved, but it's hard for me to say it's as great as it's sometimes touted as being.There are things to do, but I have found it anything but vibrant or energetic. Even during the week, when there are many people around, it still feels slow. On weekends, it is a total ghost town accept for an event (race, sporting event, etc). It's OK; no more no less. There aren't that many modern apartment or condo/townhouse developments.

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by LIS123

Downtown Indy has improved, but it's hard for me to say it's as great as it's sometimes touted as being.There are things to do, but I have found it anything but vibrant or energetic. Even during the week, when there are many people around, it still feels slow. On weekends, it is a total ghost town accept for an event (race, sporting event, etc). It's OK; no more no less. There aren't that many modern apartment or condo/townhouse developments.

Looks like there's plenty and 3500+ more going up.
http://www.indydt.com/DowntownLivingOpportunities.pdf

Everytime I'm downtown, it's always vibrant whether it be on the canal or hanging, eating out.