Day 45 of our 2025 RVing Adventure with Historical & Musical Interludes

It's Sunday June 15th, day 45 of our 2025 summer adventure. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! I took my walk around their neighborhood. I even took the map that Craig made for me! After that, we enjoyed a leisurely morning on the back patio at Craig & Tracy's. Our RV is nicely backed into their driveway and only slightly blocking the sidewalk. At noon, we left for our drive around Indianapolis. 

Our first stop was the Old Southside. Like many places in Indianapolis, the Old Southside is considered a historic neighborhood. The Old Southside has a history as old as the city itself. As the city began to grow, Indianapolis attracted workers to help build the Central Canal, the National Road, and Union Station. The aftermath of the Civil War brought immigrants from both Europe and the South, and by 1980, our neighborhood had more foreign-born residents than any other district in the city. Those immigrants built homes here and created a community that continues to thrive today.     

The towering bohemian in the background is Lucas Oil Stadium. Lucas Oil Stadium was officially opened to the public on Saturday, August 16th, 2008. The approximate cost of the building was $720 million. The stadium was financed with funds raised jointly by the State of Indiana and the City of Indianapolis in conjunction with the Indianapolis Colts. 

In 2006, Lucas Oil Products secured the naming rights from the Indianapolis Colts at $122 million to be paid over a 20 year period. 

This mammoth NFL gridiron sprawling out across downtown Indianapolis has long been called "the house that Peyton Manning built," a tribute to the Hall of Fame Colts quarterback.

Just past Lucas Oil Stadium, you find Victory Field. The professional baseball team that plays there is the Indianapolis Indians. They are a Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Indianapolis Indians are the second-oldest minor league franchise in professional baseball.

Indianapolis' premier convention hotel is the JW Marriott. It offers over 1,000 guest rooms and 50 meeting rooms. The hotel is one of the largest JW Marriott's in the world. It is directly connected to the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium via a climate-controlled sky bridge. The hotel is located across the street from White River State Park.

Across the street is the Indiana Government Center. I love how this picture captured the long walk through this arch.

Looking for a fun way to see downtown Indianapolis? Check out renting a Swan boat and paddle around the basin!

The beloved, yet cantankerous author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. grew up in Indy and penned many of his famous novels like "Breakfast of Champions" or "Cat’s Cradle" based on the city’s sights, sounds, and even its people. In fact Vonnegut once quoted, “All my jokes are Indianapolis. All my attitudes are Indianapolis. My adenoids are Indianapolis. If I ever severed myself from Indianapolis, I would be out of business. What people like about me is Indianapolis.”In November of 2019, the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library found a permanent home on Indiana Avenue, right in the heart of the historic Jazz district and the Madame Walker Legacy Center. 

Kitty corner to Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is the last surviving iconic building on Indiana Avenue. The Madam Walker Legacy Center is a significant piece of our nation’s history and is listed on the register of National Historic Landmarks.The Walker building, once the headquarters and manufacturing plant of Madam CJ Walker Hair Care and Beauty Products, boasts much of its original 1927 architecture… but it is more than just a building. They use their historic building as a venue for celebrating history, heritage, and the arts. From their beautifully restored main stage that has seen the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Patti LaBelle, Michael Bolton, and Lena Horne perform, to their intimate Grand Casino Ballroom where local jazz greats like Rob Dixon and Clint Breeze and the Groove entertain – the Walker building still stands strong… a beacon of inspiration, progress, and artistic excellence. 

Located at the corner of Indiana Avenue and St. Clair Street is an outdoor art exhibit "Looking Through Windows" a painted steel and acrylic piece. Through a grant from Central Indiana Community Foundation and a gift of land from the Indianapolis Urban League, students from the Herron School of Art & Design at Indianapolis University Purdue University Indianapolis participated in a competitive request for proposals for a temporary art project at the site. The winning installation, “Looking Through Windows” by Michael Kuschnir, was installed in April 2012. In April 2014, at the end of the loan period, the artist generously donated the sculpture to Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Inc. so that it could remain on display in the neighborhood. Walking the neighborhood, reflecting on the historic homes and windows in the area, and speaking with existing residents and individuals who work near the site inspired Kuschnir.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is actually located in Speedway, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix and the Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix. 

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is nicknamed "The Brickyard". This nickname comes from the track's original surface, which was paved with over 3.2 million bricks. While the track has since been repaved with asphalt, the nickname "The Brickyard" has remained. A three-foot strip of the original bricks is still preserved at the start/finish line. 

One of Craig's favorite places is Daredevil Taproom. Its part of the Daredevil Brewing Company. The brewery is the owners' baby. Brothers Shane and Michael Pearson, and Bill Ballinger, have built it exactly how they want it. It is the first newly constructed brewery built in Indianapolis since prohibition. This production craft brewery is built in the heart of the Indianapolis metro area located just minutes from downtown and in view of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

Daredevil Brewing Co has been brewing since 2011 in Shelby County, focusing mostly on its flagship beer, Lift Off, a West Coast-style IPA. The production brewery model made sense, as they wanted to keep their day jobs, Shane said. The former brewery didn't have a public taproom. 

We enjoyed craft beers, a blueberry mule and their signature pizza! They offer a tavern-style, thin crust pizza, we had the C3PO, with giardiniera, bacon, sausage and pepperoni. 

Everything is racing in Indianapolis,  even the fire hydrants have a checkered flag!

We headed back into Greenwood and made our way to downtown. Since the first pioneers arrived 200 years ago, commerce has flourished in the center of town. Shops, restaurants and banks provided the lifeblood for residents over two centuries. People built ornate homes surrounding the historic district. Greenwood's origins trace back to 1823 when brothers John B. and Isaac Smock established the first settlements, leading to the area initially being known as "Smocktown" or "Smock's Settlement." In 1833, to avoid confusion with another Indiana town named Greenfield, it was renamed Greenwood. The city's growth was significantly influenced by the arrival of the Indianapolis, Greenwood & Franklin Railway in 1900, enhancing connectivity and commerce. The Greenwood Commercial Historic District, featuring architectural styles like Italianate and Romanesque, stands as a testament to the city's rich past. Existing buildings in the commercial district carry the signature Italianate, Romanesque Revival and Classical Revival architectural styles stemming from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In downtown Greenwood, I found another mural from the Color the County public art display. The Johnson County Community Foundation (JCCF) sponsored the countywide mural program. Amy Hommell won the Color the County Contest in 2016. Hommel’s mural design of eight mandalas represent the eight fields of interest areas that the foundation gives money to, such as education, agriculture and health and human services. The mural was designed and sketched by Hommell on the side of a building on Main Street next to DeBaun’s Auto Service. More than 300 community members showed up to help paint the mural, and Hommell finished the higher areas.

We ended our day at Draft Day Pub, it has been open for about 6 months. we enjoyed hand-crafted small-batch brews in Old Town Greenwood.

A great day with great friends in the greater Indianapolis!

Stay tuned for more Two Lane Adventures!