IndyGo operates and manages the city’s public bus system, including bus rapid transit, microtransit, and paratransit services. The city’s Department of Public Works maintains more than 3,400 miles (5,500 km) of local streets in addition to alleys, sidewalks, curbs, and 510 bridges. Defunct major newspapers include the Indianapolis News, an evening publication which printed its last edition in 1999; and the Indianapolis Times, which ceased publication in 1965. Other public institutions with satellite campuses in the city include Ball State University’s Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning, Purdue Polytechnic Institute, and Vincennes University.
Sidewalks are absent from nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of the city’s roadways, contributing to Indianapolis’s low walkability among peer U.S. cities. Indianapolis averaged 1.63 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8. In 2015, 10.5 percent of Indianapolis households lacked a car, which decreased to 8.7 percent in 2016, the same as the national average in that year. About 1.5% used all other forms of transportation, including taxicab, motorcycle, and bicycle. Launched in 2018, electric scooter-sharing systems operating in Indianapolis include Bird, Lime, and Veo.
With 144 criminal homicides, 2015 surpassed 1998 as the year with the most murder investigations in the city. IFD provides mutual aid to the excluded municipalities of Lawrence and Speedway, as well as Decatur, Pike, and Wayne townships (all of which operate separate fire departments). The Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) comprises seven battalions with 44 fire stations. Incumbent mayor Democrat Joe Hogsett faced Republican State Senator Jim Merritt and Libertarian Doug McNaughton in the 2019 Indianapolis mayoral election. Republicans held the mayor’s office for 32 years (1967–1999), and controlled the City-County Council from its inception in 1970 to 2003. Until fairly recently, Indianapolis was considered one of the most conservative major cities in the U.S.

• Lugar is credited with initiating downtown revitalization efforts, overseeing the building of Market Square Arena, renovations to Indianapolis City Market, and the formation of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis.
• The popular rooftop Cannon Ball Lounge and brunch at Hulman restaurant also make the hotel a local favorite.
• The name Indianapolis is derived from pairing the state’s name, Indiana (meaning “Land of the Indians”, or simply “Indian Land”), with the suffix -polis, the Greek word for “city”.
• The city’s first luxury hotel in nearly two decades is housed within the historic 1926 Illinois Building, and is recommended by Travel+Leisure’s A-List advisor Maria Diego.
• Within a few years, more than 200 families were tending 600 garden plots on nearly 100 acres (40 ha) of land on the city’s near north side.
• The 2019 City-County Council elections expanded Democratic control of the council, flipping six seats to hold a 20–5 supermajority over Republicans.

Once rivaling Detroit as an early center of automobile manufacturing, Indianapolis hosted more than 60 automakers in the early 20th century, including luxury marques such as Duesenberg, Marmon, and Stutz Motor Company. Eli Lilly is the city’s largest private employer, with approximately 11,000 workers engaged in research, manufacturing, and corporate administration. The metropolitan area anchors one of the nation’s largest life sciences clusters, particularly in pharmaceuticals and agricultural biosciences. Major regional exports include pharmaceuticals, motor vehicle parts, medical equipment and supplies, engine and power equipment, and aircraft products and parts. Religious denominations headquartered in the Indianapolis area include the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Free Methodist Church the Lutheran Ministerium and Synod – USA, and the Wesleyan Church.

The contemporary city

Indianapolis is the 16th-most populous city in the United States and the fourth-most populous state capital. According to the 2020 census, the Indianapolis proper had population 887,642. Indianapolis is situated in the state’s central till plain region along the west fork of the White River.

Wholesale District

The Red Line rapid transit connects downtown to some of the most popular neighborhoods, although you’ll need either cash or the MyKey App to pay for rides. The Indianapolis Cultural Trail has an eight-mile-long urban bike and pedestrian path connecting downtown to key neighborhoods like Mass Avenue, Fountain Square, and White River State Park. The neighborhoods intersect with the Monon Trail, an extensive bike and pedestrian trail that runs through the city.
In recent years, grassroots and artist-led initiatives have gained increased visibility. Major collections include the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis Public Art Collection, the Indiana Statehouse Public Art Collection, and installations along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. The Indy Art Center, located in Broad Ripple, houses the Marilyn K. Glick School of Art and includes galleries and a sculpture garden. Since 2005, the school has been housed in Eskenazi Hall at IU Indianapolis, which contains five public galleries and hosts exhibitions, lectures, and educational programs throughout the year. Downtown Indianapolis is home to the Eiteljorg Museum, which maintains a collection focused on visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas and Western American Art.

Cities

Congress designated four sections of land in central Indiana as the future seat of state government, contingent on tribal removal. The name Indianapolis is derived from pairing the state’s name, Indiana (meaning “Land of the Indians”, or simply “Indian Land”), with the suffix -polis, the Greek word for “city”. Prominent industries include trade, transportation, and utilities; education and health services; professional and business services; government; leisure and hospitality; and manufacturing.

White River State Park

Effective January 1, 1970, Unigov expanded the city’s land area by more than 300 square miles (780 km2) and increased its population by some 250,000 people. In 1880, Indianapolis was the world’s third-largest pork packing city, after Chicago and Cincinnati, and the second-largest railroad center in the U.S. by 1888. Among the city’s historic sites and districts, Indianapolis is home to the largest collection of monuments dedicated to veterans and war casualties in the United States outside of Washington, D.C. The city’s international reputation rests primarily on the Indianapolis 500, https://www.royalspiniacasino.org/ the world’s largest single-day sporting event. Since the 1970 city-county consolidation, known as Unigov, local government administration operates under the direction of an elected 25-member city-county council headed by the mayor.

• The cemetery’s 555 acres (225 ha) represents the largest green space in Center Township, home to an abundance of wildlife and some 130 species of trees.
• On January 11, 1820, the Indiana General Assembly authorized a committee to select a site in central Indiana for the new state capital.
• IFD provides mutual aid to the excluded municipalities of Lawrence and Speedway, as well as Decatur, Pike, and Wayne townships (all of which operate separate fire departments).
• Four diagonal avenues—Indiana (northwest), Kentucky (southwest), Massachusetts (northeast), and Virginia (southeast)—radiated a block from the circle.
• President Benjamin Harrison (1875) and poet James Whitcomb Riley (1872) have been preserved as museums.
• The city of Indianapolis maintains 212 public parks, totaling 11,258 acres (4,556 ha) or about 5.1% of the city’s land area.

Located at the National Collegiate Athletic Association headquarters, the NCAA Hall of Champions contains exhibits on collegiate athletics in the U.S. Due to its leadership and innovations, the museum is a world leader in its field. Poet Mari Evans, a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement, lived and worked in the city, influencing generations of writers and earning widespread recognition for her work. Indianapolis has also been central to African American literary contributions. Vonnegut credited Indianapolis with shaping his humor and perspective, stating that all his work was rooted in the city. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Indianapolis emerged as a center of the Golden Age of Indiana Literature.
The Peterson administration focused on education reform and promoting the arts. Bart Peterson took office in 2000, the first Democrat elected to the post since John J. Barton’s 1963 election. Amid the changes in government and growth, the city pursued an aggressive economic development strategy to raise the city’s stature as a sports tourism destination, known as the Indianapolis Project. Lugar is credited with initiating downtown revitalization efforts, overseeing the building of Market Square Arena, renovations to Indianapolis City Market, and the formation of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. The Indianapolis streetcar strike of 1913 and subsequent police mutiny and riots led to the creation of the state’s earliest labor-protection laws, including a minimum wage, regular work weeks, and improved working conditions. Once home to 60 automakers, Indianapolis rivaled Detroit as a center of automobile manufacturing.

Explore the Neighborhoods

Of U.S. cities, Indianapolis is the largest without a universal curbside recycling program, resulting in one of the lowest landfill diversion rates. Telecommunications, including cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services, are provided by AT&T Communications, Metronet, Spectrum, Verizon Communications, and Xfinity. The city’s water supply is sourced from the White River and its tributaries as well as aquifers via four surface water treatment plants, four reservoirs, and five groundwater pumping stations throughout the region.

Indiana limestone has been a signature building material in Indianapolis since the 1800s, featured prominently in the city’s monuments, churches, commercial, and civic buildings. The 48-floor Salesforce Tower, completed in 1990, is the city’s tallest, with a roof height of 701 feet (214 m). More than 260 properties and historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Marion County; most sites are located in Center Township, listed separately.
Small milestones mark all of the major cities along this All-American Road. Motorists wanting to experience a bit of history may wish to take a trip along Washington St. which forms part of the National Road (a.k.a. Cumberland Road). Interstates 65 and 70 intersect at a region known as “the split” south of downtown. The city has had two droughts since 1980, neither of which was disastrous. Indianapolis exists within a tornado region but has never been impacted by major twisters. City planning is intelligible to outsiders with a grid system broken up by a few major diagonal streets, a large beltway loop (I-465), and a general lack of gridlock and traffic.
The International Typographical Union and United Mine Workers of America were among several influential labor unions based in the city. Some of the city’s most prominent architectural features and best known historical events date from the turn of the 20th century. Some of the city’s most notable businesses were founded during this period of growth and innovation, including L.