Pleasant Street Bugs

Buskin' Tom

Tom is without a doubt one of the coolest people in Indy. His voice is deep and resonant and he sings old-timey songs like "Ol' Man River" with authority. Tom plays downtown almost daily and can usually be found near the circle smiling and respectfully tipping his hat between songs.

Indiana State Fair '08

The beautiful Normandy Barn on the grounds of the 2008 Indiana State Fair. Click to enlarge.

Indianapolis' skyscraper "One Indiana Square"" is getting a new facade as a result of damage it sustained from a storm on Sunday April 6, 2006. Progress on the facade has been slow, but steady. It's already making a positive impact on the skyline, adding a much needed touch of color.

Broken Glass, Everywhere

Outdoor glass screenprint on a building tucked behind the Murphy Arts Center in Fountain Square. Click for enlargement.

Indiana War Memorial Pt. 2

Part 1 can be found here.

Tucked away in the basement of the Indiana War Memorial is a rarely seen time-capsule of American war relics. Visitors will often wander alone through the large collection of memorabilia, which is not unlike a portal into another dimension. This is unfortunate for the museum's attendance records, but absolutely necessary to completely descend into the surreal, war-crazy world that lives under the streets of Indianapolis.

Porky's Pizza Delivery

Classic Fountain Square. Note the juxtaposition of stickers and completely optional "In God We Trust" license plate. Click image for enlargement.

The Most Beautiful Bus Storage Facility in the World Pt. 1

Sometimes living in Indianapolis is hard. When one is emotionally moved by the visual aesthetic of their surroundings, it can be downright painful. Take, for example, the current state of the Coca Cola Bottling Company building at 858 Massachusetts Avenue. It's a fine illustration of the urban war wounds an architectural empath must endure, when traveling through Downtown Indy.

The first section of the Coca Cola Bottling Company building was built in 1931 and designed by prominent Indianapolis architects Rubush & Hunter. It housed a state-of-the-art bottling facility that churned-out bottle after glass-bottle of the Classic, for thirsty midwesterners. After an expansion in 1940, it was said to be the largest facility of its kind in the world. It was certainly one of the most beautiful.

The building's facade is primarily terra cotta, and slathered in classic Art Deco ornament. An abstracted fountain motif and floral arrangement are prominent, repeated via the terra cotta, and in iron as well. The building's original signage uses a Modern sans-serif typeface, inset into the terra cotta and accented with brilliant gold. The typeface may have been both designed by the architects, and unique to the building, as that was common practice at the time.

The Coca Cola Bottling Company building is an enduring jewel of the Art Deco movement, just one of a handful in the Indianapolis area. It was a great source of pride for the residents of Indianapolis for almost 40 years.

(to be continued in Part 2)

Sign of the Times

It looks like the costume industry has seen better days. This sign is on the west side of Virginia Avenue, just north of where it intersects with College Avenue.

Indiana War Memorial Pt. 1

The Indiana War Memorial contains one of the most spectacular interior spaces in the nation. Although the exterior of the memorial is impressive in its own right, it does little to prepare the viewer for the spectacle within.

Indianapolis Cultural Trail - East Corridor Illumination Pt. 2