Historic Downtown Indianapolis

I really do enjoy staying in downtown Indianapolis when I am attending the National FFA Convention. It seems each city I visit has tried to preserve their history while also trying to modernize and redevelop their downtown. Horse drawn carriage and bicycles rides are available to visitors in downtown Indianapolis. The carriages are really nicely decorated with lights. The bikes had a rider peddling a little cart for 2 people.

The most impressive part of downtown Indianapolis is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. You can see the base of the stone memorial behind the carriages. It is located on Monument Circle a cobblestone street around the memorial. When the Civil War ended Indiana's leaders wanted to impress everyone who came to the capital "with the weight of this sacrifice."

The limestone monument is 285 feet tall with 330 steps to the observation level. You can clime all 330 steps or you can take the elevator to the 290th step. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was built between 1887 and 1902.  The State of Indiana restored the monument including cleaning the stonework and bronze pieces in the 1980's and 90's. While I have walked around the monument many times I have never gone to the observation level. That is still on my "to do list."