| Indianapolis | |
| City in the United States | |
| Location | |
| State | Indiana |
| County | Marion County |
| Coordinates | 39°46’7″N, 86°9’29″WL |
| General | |
| Surface | 953.18 km² |
| – country | 936.3 km² |
| – water | 16.88 km² |
| Residents (April 1, 2020) |
887,642 (948 inhabitants/km²) |
| Politics | |
| Mayor | Joe Hogsett (D) |
| Website | indy.gov |
According to Existingcountries, Indianapolis is the capital and largest city of the US state of Indiana. The city is located in the central part of the state. Indianapolis has a population of 829,718 according to the 2010 census, the metropolitan area about 2 million.
History
Indianapolis was founded in 1821 in a swampy area, and in 1825 Alexander Ralston, a student of Pierre Charles L’Enfant the designer of Washington, DC, was commissioned to construct the state capital of Indiana. Central to Ralston’s design is a large square where the governor’s residence was located until 1857. Today the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument stands here.
In the fall of 1847, the Madison & Indianapolis Railway began regular services, resulting in population growth. In the following decades, Indianapolis developed into one of the busiest transportation hubs in the Midwest. Indianapolis continued to grow until the mid-20th century, partly due to the discovery of petroleum and natural gas in the vicinity. In the 1970s and 1980s, the city began to decline somewhat with the migration of the middle class to the suburbs. This tide was turned in 1990 by a revitalization project in the city center that was intended to make the center more attractive for residents and businesses again.
Geography
Indianapolis occupies an area of 963.5 km². The city is located at an elevation of 218 m (218 m) above sea level on the White River and Fall Creek in a prairie region known as the Central Till Plains. The town is virtually flat with only a few gently rolling hills.
Climate
Indianapolis has a subtropical climate (Cfa according to the Köppen classification). In January the average temperature is about -2.2 °C, and in July 24.1 °C. Because the coldest monthly temperature is between 0 °C and -3 °C, Indianapolis has a continental climate, according to some American scientists. The most extreme temperatures recorded in the city are 41 °C (in July 1954) and -33 °C (in January 1994). There is an average annual rainfall of 1078.0 mm.
Demographics
The 2000 census put the population of Indianapolis at 781,870, an increase of 6.9% from 1990. More than 69% of these are white while the black population makes up more than a quarter of the population and 1.4% of Asian origin. Hispanics and Hispanics make up about 3.9% of Indianapolis’ population. The largest groups of Europeans are Germans and Irish who make up about 16% and 10% of the population respectively. 11 % of the population is older than 65 and 32 % consists of single – person households. Unemployment is 3% (census figures 2000). The median income per capita is $21,640. 14.8% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Economy and tourism
Indianapolis is located in the industrial part of the Midwest known as the Manufacturing Belt and stretches from New York to Chicago. Despite this, Indianapolis has managed to diversify its economy and function as a regional business center and tourist attraction. The annual Indianapolis 500 car race is one of the biggest crowd pullers.
Education
University education in Indianapolis is provided at Indianapolis University, Butler University, and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, part of Purdue University, among others . Butler University was the first to open, in 1855 as a Christian school, but no longer tied to a particular religion. The Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana is the largest institution of higher education in the city with some 12,000 students.
At the lower level, various school districts provide primary and secondary education. The largest among these is Indianapolis Public Schools, which manages 79 schools with nearly 40,000 students.
Culture & Attractions
In the geographic center of Indianapolis is Memorial Circle on which the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument is located. The Indiana State House, which houses the Legislative Assembly of the State of Indiana, is on the List of Historic Landmarks. Other points of interest in the city include the Indianapolis Zoo, Indiana World War Memorial Plaza, and nearly 200 city parks, museums, and historic districts.
The Indiana State Fair and the Indy Jazz Festival also attract many visitors.
Traffic and transport
Roads
There are five major interstate highways in Indianapolis including I-70, I-74, I-65 and I-69. Interstate I-865 includes a portion of US 52 and connects I-65 and I-465 on the northwest side of Indianapolis. There are future plans to extend I-69 to Evansville. Major highways passing through the region are the 31, 40, 52, 36, 136 and 421.
Public transport
Public transportation in Indianapolis is provided by the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation, also known as IndyGo. The company was founded in 1975 after the city council took over responsibility for the bus network. Before 1997, the company was called Metro.
In 1953 the last trams disappeared, four years later, in 1957, the trolleybuses disappeared from the streets. Since that year, only buses have been running in the city.
People mover
Until 2019, the Clarian people mover connected Indiana University School of Medicine, James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, Wishard Memorial Hospital and faculties of IUPIU and Indiana University School of Medicine with Methodist Hospital. This Clarian people mover was freely accessible for use by the public. There are plans to set up a large system that would serve the entire city center. The people mover was sometimes misdescribed as a monorail.
Aviation
Indianapolis International Airport is the largest airport in the state of Indiana and is located 11 kilometers southwest of Indianapolis. Since 2006, it has been the only commercial airport in the United States to be completely maintained by a private company. However, a termination procedure for the management contract is currently underway as BAA Limited chose not to renew the contract.
Sports
Indianapolis has two sports clubs that compete in one of the top four American professional sports. It’s about:
- Indiana Pacers (basketball)
- Indianapolis Colts (American football)
Indianapolis is perhaps best known for its auto races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, an oval track. The most important race on the American calendar, the Indianapolis 500, is held annually. Another well-known race that is held is the Brickyard 500. This race is part of the NASCAR sprint cup season. The circuit hosted a Grand Prix Formula 1 race from 2000 to 2007. A month before the Indianapolis 500 race, the 500 Festival kicks off with parades and other events held in the lead-up to the race.
Nearby places
The figure below shows nearby places within a 12 km radius of Indianapolis.
Indianapolis
Beech Grove (9 miles)
Crow’s Nest (7 km)
Meridian Hills (10 km)
North Crows Nest (9 km)
Rocky Ripple (7 km)
Speedway (9km)
Spring Hill (6 km)
Warren Park (5 miles)
Wynnedale (6 km)
Born in Indianapolis
- Marshall Walter Taylor (1878–1932), track cyclist
- Earl E. McCoy (1884–1934), composer and conductor
- Clifton Webb (1889–1966), actor
- Walter Bedell Smith (1895–1961), soldier
- CL Moore (1911–1987), writer
- John Cooper Fitch (1917–2012), racing driver
- Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007), writer
- Wes Montgomery (1923–1968), jazz guitarist
- Philip Anderson (1923-2020), physicist and Nobel laureate (1977)
- Richard Lugar (1934-2019), politician
- Billy Henderson (1939–2007), singer
- Freddie Hubbard (1938–2008), jazz trumpeter
- James Sloyan (1940), actor
- Anthony England (1942), astronaut
- Jane Fortune (1942), philanthropist and writer
- Connie Booth (1944), writer and actress
- Mary McCaslin (1946-2022), folk singer
- Dan Quayle (1947), United States Vice President, Senator and Attorney
- John Hiatt (1952), singer-songwriter
- Mark Warner (1954), Senator for Virginia
- David Wolf (1956), astronaut
- Maria Cantwell (1958), Washington Senator
- Doug Jones (1960), actor
- Ron Klain (1961), civil servant and lawyer; White House Chief of Staff
- Ron Miles (1963-2022), jazz musician
- Vincent Ventresca (1966), actor
- Brendan Fraser (1968), actor
- Abraham Benrubi (1969), actor
- Mike Epps (1970), actor, stand-up comedian, writer, rapper
- Serena Auñón (1976), astronaut
- John Green (1977), writer and vlogger
- Adam Lambert (1982), singer
- Ashley Spencer (1993), track and field athlete
- Farida Osman (1995), Egyptian swimmer
- Drew Kibler (2000), swimmer
