Indianapolis, Indiana

Dates visited: August 20 - 25, 2022

By Marty 

Our KOA park was 25 minutes east of Indianapolis. On the one occasion that we went into the city we drove to a suburb and rode our bikes on the Monon trail (a rails to trails paved multi-use path) into the city center.

 Soldiers & Sailors Monument

From the web: 

Recognized as one of the world's outstanding monuments the Soldiers & Sailors Monument is Indiana's official memorial to the Hoosiers that served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Frontier Wars, and the Spanish-American War.

Constructed in 1902 the monument stands 284' tall, just 15' shorter than the Statue of Liberty. Elaborate sculptures like those you see in the photo above can be found on all four sides of the monument.

Indiana State Capitol

We have visited a number of State Capitols, but also missed a few because of Covid closures. The Indiana Capitol interiors are as impressive as any that we have seen.

You're not looking down, you're looking up!  

I placed my phone on the floor in the center of the rotunda and used the timer for this photo. In the photo above this one you can see a portion of this blue glass rotunda ceiling.

Our bike ride took us along the Canal Walk, a three mile loop that is part of the Indiana Central Canal.

The Indiana Central Canal was conceived in 1836 during the heyday of canal building in the U.S. It was to be a 296 mile long canal from northern Indiana to the Ohio River at the Indiana/Kentucky border. Alas, the rise of railroads put the kibosh on canals as a cost effective way to transport goods. Only eight miles of the canal was built before financing was rescinded. Much of the eight miles was in and near Indianapolis. The downtown portion was restored and opened in 2001 as an amenity for locals and tourists.

10 swans a swimming?

 

USS Indianapolis CA-35 Memorial

The USS Indianapolis was a heavy cruiser that delivered secret components for the atomic bomb to Tinian Island in August, 1945. On it's return voyage a Japanese submarine sank it. The ship sank in a mere 12 minutes, taking 300 of her crew down with her. 900 men went into the water. Four days and five nights passed before the survivors were spotted and rescued. By this time only 316 men survived.

For more about the USS Indianapolis:

USS Indianapolis - History.com

Right?

 

On this day we drove an hour east to visit the Levi and Catharine Coffin Home (about which you will learn below) and Indiana's Antique Alley. But first we had to fortify ourselves at Waffle House! We are back in Waffle House country, but not for long! On our route from here to home Waffle Houses can be found in Missouri and Kansas and a handful in Colorado.

Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad - The Levi and Catharine Coffin Home

Over a 20 year period Levi and Catherine Coffin, from their home in Newport, Indiana, worked to provide transportation, shelter, food and clothing to more than 1,000 enslaved people seeking freedom. 

The Coffin House is a State of Indiana museum and Interpretive Center. It was ranked as one of the nation's "Top 25 Historical Sites" by the History Channel. 

From the museum's website:

For their journeys north, freedom-seekers often used three main routes to cross from slavery to freedom—through Madison or Jeffersonville in Indiana, or Cincinnati, Ohio. From these points, slaves traveled to Newport through the Underground Railroad. The Coffins’ “station” was so successful that every person who passed through eventually reached freedom.

The location of the house, on Highway 27 at the center of an abolitionist Quaker community, allowed the entire community to act as lookouts for the Coffins and give them plenty of warning when bounty hunters came into town.

The rocker bench is  called a "mammy bench rocker". The front board on the right side keeps the baby from rolling off but it can be removed when not needed.

This room is the servants quarters (paid servants, not slaves)

Indiana was a free state but the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850 allowed bounty hunters to pursue runaway slaves (freedom seekers) anywhere in the U.S. and compelled citizens to assist in the capture of runaways. A fine of $1,000 and six months in jail was the penalty for helping runaways.

However, the bounty hunters were required to obtain a search warrant to enter a home. This was not always expedient in a free state like Indiana so the Coffin home was not often subjected to searches. On one occasion when their home was searched the crawl space behind the beds was used to hide 17 freedom seekers! The bed was moved over to hide the door.

The false bottom under the grain sacks would conceal freedom seekers while in transit

Cool mural of the Coffins and freedom seekers

Our route back to the KOA took us on Antique Alley, a mecca for antique shoppers that is spread over six towns and 35 locations with over 1,200 different dealers. Cambridge City, home to a dozen antique shops and malls within two blocks, seemed to be the best spot so we stopped there and browsed through most of the shops.

We are not big antique shop people. So many of them, to us, are junky and tacky and smell funny! I must say, though, that we were really impressed with the quality of the shops in Cambridge City.

The Abraham Lincoln Funeral Train passed through Cambridge City on it's way to Springfield Illinois on April 30, 1865.

Hoosier Gym - from the movie "Hoosiers"

We stumbled onto the gym where the fictitious Hickory Huskers played their basketball games. Hoosiers is one of my favorite all-time movies. Of movies that I have watched more than once, this one tops the list for viewings. Including my latest viewing a few days ago.... I have seen it 5 or 6 times!

Hickory Huskers all the way!

Hoosiers is rated the 4th best sports film by the American Film Institute

                          The movie trailer:

We were given a private tour by Tom, who volunteers for the local booster group. Tom asked me if I wanted to put up a few shots on the court.  Heck ya I do!  I took a half dozen shots, missing more than I made. My last shot was my one and only free throw attempt: nothin' but net!

Hoosiers is based on the true story of the Milan High School basketball team that won the Indiana High School Boys basketball tournament in 1954. Back then all high schools were in one bracket for the State championship, regardless of school enrollment.  Milan, with an enrollment of 161 students, beat the much larger Muncie Central High School team in what became known as the Milan Miracle.

This door leads from the locker room to the court. In the movie Gene Hackman says to himself "welcome to Indiana basketball" just before opening the door to join his team in the raucous gym for his first game as coach.

It was a big thrill for me to walk through that door!

The Hoosiers State championship game was filmed at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Butler University Campus in Indianapolis. On our biking day we (okay... I ) made a point of driving over there to see if we could get in to see the gym. This was before I was even aware of the Hoosier gym being in our vicinity.

Needless to say, we were allowed into the gym! The gym, while still a classic, is more modern looking inside than it was in the movie, thanks to the $36M renovation in 2014. What a beautiful and historic facility it is!

Upon opening in 1925 Hinkle Fieldhouse, with a capacity of 15,000, was the largest basketball arena in the U.S. and continued as such for the next twenty years.

 

If you don't plan to watch the movie you might enjoy seeing this two minute clip, filmed in Hinkle Fieldhouse, of the end of the movie... the Huskers are down to their last shot...