Take a trip through Indianapolis’ storied past, from 1821 to present.
1821
General Assembly approves site selected by the commissioners and adopts the name of Indianapolis on January 6. Corydon continues as state capital until 1825.
1825
Indianapolis became the state capital of Indiana.
1830
The National Road, U.S. 40, was routed through Indianapolis.
1839
The Central Canal on the White River was built to provide a transportation link for factories, papermills and sawmills. Today, because of a $15 million renovation, the “Canal Walk” is a garden like oasis with fountains, antique-style street lamps, walkways and jogging paths. Flanking the area are new residential and commercial complexes.
1847
A railroad was built and became the first to have all of its lines meet in one union station. Because of the railroad, Indianapolis was designated as the “Crossroads of America.”
1886
City Market was established as a market place for vendors offering produce, meat, baked goods, flowers, imported foods and coffee. Today, the City Market is listed as a National Historic Landmark.
1902
The 284-foot Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument, the first monument in the country to honor the common soldier, was dedicated.
1909
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) was built. This 2 1⁄2-mile oval racetrack is home to the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the IMS Hall of Fame Museum.
1911
The inaugural Indianapolis 500-Mile Race was held. That event is now the largest single-day sporting event in the world.
1926
The Children’s Museum, now the largest of its kind in the world, opened.
1968
Richard G. Lugar (now a U.S. Senator) began serving eight years as mayor of Indianapolis.
1970
Indianapolis merged with surrounding Marion County to form a consolidated governmental structure called Unigov.
1971
The first Indiana Black Expo/Summer Celebration (IBE) was held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The event is now the largest and longest running exposition of its kind in the nation, celebrating African-American culture and heritage.
1972
The $26.1 million Indiana Convention Center opened. The 5,200- acre Eagle Creek Park, one of the nation’s largest, was formally dedicated. Indiana Repertory Theatre, the city’s first professional theater, was founded.
1974
The $23.5 million Market Square Arena, home of the NBA Indiana Pacers, opened.
1975
Wm. H. Hudnut, III, began serving an unprecedented 16 consecutive years as mayor.
1982
The first Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis was held. This event has become the richest string competition in the world.
The $2.5 million Major Taylor Velodrome, a bicycle racing track, opened.
1983
USA Gymnastics (formerly the United States Gymnastics Federation) relocated to Indianapolis from Fort Worth, Texas.
1984
The $77.5 million RCA Dome (formerly the Hoosier Dome) opened as an expansion to the Indiana Convention Center.
The NFL Colts moved to Indianapolis from Baltimore, Md.
The first Circle City Classic football game — the country’s second largest college bowl game between two historically black colleges —pitted the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils against the Grambling Tigers at the RCA Dome.
The Hudson Institute, one of America’s foremost “think tanks,” relocated from New York to Indianapolis.
Circle Theatre, a 1916 movie palace, was renovated and became the permanent home of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The building is now called the Hilbert Circle Theatre.
1985
Indianapolis Heliport opened. It is the only full service downtown heliport in the United States.
1986
America’s first union railway depot, Union Station, re-opened as a festival marketplace.
1987
The Tenth Pan American Games were held. The event brought 4,453 athletes from 38 countries to Indianapolis.
Regatta course at Eagle Creek Park was built. This is one of only two courses in the U.S. sanctioned for international competition.
1988
Indiana Statehouse $10.9 million-restoration completed. The $64 million Indianapolis Zoo opened in White River State Park. Conner Prairie, a living-history museum, opened a $10 million museum center. Madame Walker Theatre Center, a national historic landmark in memory of Madame C.J. Walker, an African-American woman who became America’s first female self-made millionaire, completed a $5 million renovation.
1989
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art opened. Deer Creek Music Center (now Verizon Wireless Music Center), a 200-acre, 6,200-seat performing arts amphitheater, opened in Hamilton County, north of Indianapolis.
A $1.5 million renovation of Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University was completed. Indianapolis Museum of Art’s $36.5 million renovation and expansion was completed.
American Cabaret Theatre moved to Indianapolis from New York.
1990
A $15.7 million dollar expansion of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis was completed. Included in the project were a 20,000-square-foot atrium entrance and Welcome Center with the world’s largest water clock, the SpaceQuest Planetarium, and the Eli Lilly Center for Exploration.
1991
Indianapolis hosted the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship (the Final Four), the PGA Championship and the World Gymnastics Championships.
1992
On January 1, Stephen Goldsmith was sworn in as the 46th mayor of Indianapolis.
Eli Lilly and Company opened a $204 million Biosynthetic Human Insulin Production Complex at the Lilly Technology Center.
1993
A $43 million expansion and renovation of the Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome was completed.
Construction on the $110 million DowElanco World Headquarters at the Dow Venture Center was completed.
The City of Indianapolis kicked off a $529 million infrastructure repair project, called Building Better Neighborhoods, to improve streets, sidewalks, sewers and parks.
1994
Brickyard Crossing, a Pete Dye-designed championship golf course, opened to the public at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The inaugural Brickyard 400, the first NASCAR Winston Cup stock car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ran August 6. It was the first major racing event other than the 500-Mile Race to be held at the Speedway since 1911.
Indianapolis hosted the World Rowing Championships. This was the first time that the international event was held in the United States.
1995
The $319.5 million Circle Centre mall opened.
A permanent memorial to the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the legendary World War II flagship that was sunk by a Japanese torpedo two weeks before the war ended, was dedicated.
The Indy Racing League, an auto racing series that is aligned with the Indianapolis 500 and that emphasizes oval tracks, was created.
1996
Hughes Electronics Corporation assumed operation of the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) on the city’s east side. It was the largest and first full privatization of a military facility in U.S. history.
Victory Field, the AAA Indianapolis Indians’ new home, opened in White River State Park downtown. The 13,500-seat baseball stadium cost $18 million.
The $10 million IWERKS CineDome large-format theater and a $2.5 million ScienceWorks at the Dow Science Center gallery opened at The Children’s Museum.
Indianapolis’ Fort Benjamin Harrison, a U.S. Army post since 1903, is closed as a result of military downsizing. The site reopened a month later as Fort Harrison State Park.
The historic Central Canal was extended into White River State Park.
A $10 million IMAX 3D theater opened in White River State Park as the 12th theater of its kind in the U.S.
An $11 million expansion and renovation of the Murat Theatre, the largest Shrine Temple in North America, was completed.
1997
Indianapolis hosted the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship (the Final Four).
Larry Bird, Indiana native and NBA superstar, was hired on May 8 as head coach of the Indiana Pacers.
1998
Construction began on a $45 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome. The expansion added approximately 100,000 square feet of column-free exhibit space.
Work began on a new national headquarters and Hall of Champions museum for The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in White River State Park.
1999
White River Gardens, a sister institution to the Indianapolis Zoo, opened on June 13. The $15 million project contains 3.3 acres of botanical and water gardens and a five story conservatory.
The Indiana Historical Society opened on July 10 in a four-story neoclassical structure alongside the Central Canal in downtown Indianapolis.
Conseco Fieldhouse opened Nov. 6 for the Pacers first home game of the 1999-2000 NBA season. The fieldhouse occupies 750,000 square feet with a seating capacity of approximately 18,500, including 69 suites, 2,500 club seats, Indy’s first Starbucks Coffee and a Varsity Club restaurant. The fieldhouse is also the home of the WNBA expansion team, the Indiana Fever.
Conner Prairie declared a grand reopening to announce educational and museum center improvements planned through the year 2003. Food services and enhanced museum programs are among the many changes the museum is scheduled to make.
2000
Bart Peterson was inaugurated the 47th mayor of Indianapolis on January 1, 2000.
Indianapolis hosted the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship (Final Four) for the fourth time in April. Indianapolis hosted the event in 1980, 1991 and 1997 and will host it again in 2006.
Internationally renowned architect Michael Graves designed the NCAA Hall of Champions, which opened March 30, 2000. The Hall, which is adjacent to the NCAA headquarters in White River State Park, celebrates the journey of the student-athlete.
In response to the city’s booming tourism and convention market, the Adam’s Mark Hotel & Suites opened May 11, 2000. The Adam’s Mark Hotel & Suites converted an existing building near the State Capitol into 332 luxury suites and guest rooms at a cost of $50 million.
On July 13, 2000, the Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome opened an additional 100,000 net square-feet of exhibit space. This addition brings the total prime exhibit space available to 403,700 square-feet and boosts the center into the top 25 largest convention facilities in the country. The expansion will be completed in its entirety early in 2001 at an estimated cost of $45 million. It will add 19,000 square-feet of new meeting room space including the 10,000 square-foot Wabash Ballroom, a 5,800 square-foot food court, two new glass encased entrances, 35,680 square-feet of pre-function space, a landscaped plaza and a skywalk link to the new Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. This is the third expansion to the convention center since its opening in 1972.
The inaugural SAP United States Grand Prix, held on September 24 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was the three-day event that brought Formula One racing back to the United States for the first time since 1991.
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art announced plans for a $16 million expansion that will increase gallery space by 50 percent and add 30,000 square feet of outside gardens and terraces along the Central Canal. Construction is projected to begin in 2001 and finish in 2002.
The Arena Football League Firebirds made a move from Albany, New York to make Indianapolis their new home. They play in Conseco Fieldhouse and began their season in spring of 2001.
2001
The Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, opened in February, 2001. This $90 million project connects an additional 615 rooms to the Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome, making it Indiana’s largest hotel. Additional amenities include 28 suites, concierge floors, a health club, indoor pool, whirlpool, business center, full service restaurant, room service, and Champions Sports Bar.
The $1 million Indiana Law Enforcement and Fire Fighters Memorial was dedicated on June 6. The crescent-shaped park honoring fallen Hoosier heroes is on the corner of Government Way and Senate Avenue.
The Black Coaches Association relocated its national headquarters to Indianapolis in the summer of 2001. The 1,000 member organization was formerly located in Somerset, N.J.
In an effort to further Indianapolis’ cultural tourism initiative, the Capital Improvement Board and the Lilly Endowment collectively granted the city $10 million. The plan hopes to strengthen Indianapolis’ reputation as a cultural destination and maximize local arts experiences for both visitors and area residents.
After 26 years of hosting everything from the Indiana Pacers to Elvis’ legendary last concert, the era of Market Square Arena came crashing to a dramatic close when the structure was imploded on July 8.
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