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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis’ Cultural Trail just got a mile longer.
The first phase of a two-mile, $30 million extension of the trail opened to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday. It connects portions of the original six-mile Cultural Trail to historic Indiana Avenue neighborhoods, the future 16 Tech bridge, and the hospital and university campuses on the west side of downtown.
The trail includes the Indiana Avenue Sound Experience, an art installation highlighting music and musicians that have roots on Indiana Avenue and have influenced music worldwide. It’s the first Cultural Trail art installation to incorporate sound, and will first feature music from Lamp Records, a record label founded by Herb Miller in the late 1960s from a record store Miller owned in the neighborhood around Indiana Avenue.
An additional mile segment along South Street is slated to open later this year.
The one-mile path runs alongside the Madam Walker Legacy Center, which the Cultural Trail partnered with to create a decorative plaza and a “Walk of Fame” highlighting individuals in the Indiana Avenue community and musicians who have played at the theater. It will also provide a connection to the Fall Creek and White River Wapahani greenways.
Funding from Lilly Endowment Inc., Elevance Health Foundation, Lilly Foundation and the city added up to $28.5 million for the first expansion. The cultural trail is seeking contributions to cover the remaining $1.5 million.
An additional one-mile expansion will cross the White River as part of the planned Henry Street Bridge south of Washington Street. That project is expected to cost $21.2 million. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. will contribute $18.2 million and the city plans to contribute $3 million.
Indianapolis-based Rundell Ernstberger Associates designed the trail expansion.
When the two expansions are complete, the trail will total nine miles.
This segment includes 170,000 decorative pavers, 23 stormwater planters, 8,950 perennials and shrubs, 78 trees, new benches and bike racks.
Officially named the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene and Marilyn Glick, the path opened in 2013 as a way to connect cultural districts Mass Ave, Indiana Avenue, the Central Canal, White River State Park, the Wholesale District and Fountain Square.
The trail made a loop around downtown and covered six miles with a development price tag of $63 million. Federal grants, local businesses and philanthropic sources provided the funding.
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These are nice things for the city…..but if you don’t have pervasive police presence, who will feel safe using them?
I use the Cultural Trail quite often to get to the canal from the Monon and never felt threatened.
Perhaps the many, many people who visit this area every single day, along with many more who live there. This stretch of trail runs alongside IU Indianapolis and a busy, popular residential area. If downtown were as dangerous as many commenters here allege, there would not be so many people clamoring to live there.
John S take this danger narrative to a Fox News comment section and you might get some traction. Those of us who actually live in the city know that its an incredibly safe trail system that’s providing huge benefits to the entire city. You need a new schtick.
Spoken like someone who doesn’t take the Monon south of 96th street
Good to see. This Indiana Ave section should have been the original trail route as opposed to the contrived and forced St Clair St section.
Is the south street section ever going to be completed? They have been “working” on it for over 3 years and I haven’t seen any progress in months. I don’t even see workers out in that area anymore.
This section took “only” a few weeks shy of 3 years itself. And the 30th St. Bridge over White River is near 2 years “in progress”.
The interstate build downtown took less time.
Great addition to downtown!
Wonderful,the city keeps getting Greater!!!