I already mentioned to you that I grew up outside of the Marion County area (aka Indianapolis) ... about 20 miles southeast of it in fact. Just far enough from the "big city" to have the open fields and pastures dotting the countryside in between. I recall one year when the girls and I had volunteered to have a couple of the soldiers, who were stationed at Fort Harrison yet unable to go home for the Thanksgiving holiday to be with family and friends, and they were a little shocked as we drove to my place -- which was only a half and hour drive -- how the countryside changed from a typical city like landscape to corn fields and sights of sheep or cows grazing. *grin*

Now Indianapolis isn't a small town ... and it really has reached it's limits in how far it can grow since it has now engulfed all of Marion County. As "Indy" grew and swallowed up the smaller towns of Marion County, they retained their names but only as far as neighborhood terms went. Only one town managed to stay separate from Indianapolis though it resided in Marion County also and that was the town of Lawrence. It is ringed by "Indy" but has it's own mayor and city government set-up. The only reason why Lawrence is a separate entity is due to the fact that Fort Harrison was located within it's city boundaries.

Now to be frank with you, Indianapolis pretty much so looks the same regardless of which area you are in. The strip malls seldom vary in styling and each side also boasts of large shopping malls. There is a McDonald's^tm or a Wendy's^tm on almost every corner thru town, separated by a Pizza Hut^tm or a Taco Bell^tm. About every 2 or 3 miles there is a White Castle^tm if you don't care for any of the other drive thru window set-up's selections. East side looks like the west side and west side looks like the south side and so on and so on .... just the landmarks change.

On the southwest side there used to be a little grease spoon that many of us drove to for breakfast after we got off our "grave yard shift" on the west side of town. It was out of everyone's way to go to this particular place, but "The Big Top" not only had the best biscuits and gravy I had in a long long time but the owners were little sweethearts as well. They prided themselves on their home cooked fare at reasonable prices as well as the unique theme of their business (in regards to the decor and the name). Now this wasn't a fancy place, the building was starting to look old and to use the restrooms you had to leave the building and walk around to their location in the rear ... the owners hadn't updated the building's facilities when they acquired it. To be honest though, this was a part of the "charm" of our mornings there -- and when you get the entire serving and cook staff from another restaurant to be willing to car pool and drive out of their way for your locale's offerings ... well then, you just knew it had to be good food! *grin*

Another neat place I found in Indianapolis area was Broad Ripple ... I had been going to this side of town for years now and I always had a good time while I was there. One of my favorite Indianapolis area "landmarks" for *knowing* you are headed the right way to a place is located here ... if you see the Ossip Optometrist billboard, you know you are there!

Now Broad Ripple is a neighborhood in Indianapolis ... but although they have been gulped up by the big city as it grew, it managed to retain it's individual charm that you don't find anywhere else in the town. (I don't mean that negatively though *waiting for an e-mail from the Governor*)

Maybe it's the canal that flows thru the center of it, with the geese and ducks contentedly swimming in the waters as people along the bridges or sides of the canal feed them, that gives it this "feel" per se.

Perhaps it is the fireman who sits near a window in the fire station who waves to you as you drive by there.

Could be as a result of the fact that in the spring and summer all the restaurants in the vicinity open up their outdoor dining areas so you can sit while having a meal and watch others walk or drive by.

And oh, what restaurants they have ... you can go to the Tin Star on the outer edge of the boundaries and have a pork tenderloin sandwich, fries, and a soft drink served to you. I took FP- there once to enjoy this dining experience and Scorplady left her signature on "the graffiti table" there to commemorate her time in the Indianapolis area. *grin* Now they don't just serve it to you any ol' way... first you go in and order, then they give you your drink and tell you to go downstairs to a table. When you go downstairs though, all you see is booths ... with a lone lightbulb hanging over each one, brightly lighting the area as they glow from underneath their aluminum shades. Each booth is separated with a sort of a wall, and you have to open the doors to your booth to sit down. I know, you are thinking, "doors??? on a booth?!?!?!?" Yep, folks, doors... see each booth is made to look like a jail cell, there are the black barred doors and a partial bar partition that comes down onto the open end of the table, that has a "slot" built into it for the waitress to slide in your metal dishes of food! Hahahaha!!!

If you don't like the jail theme for atmosphere, they have a wide variety of pubs along the main "drag". If you don't feel like have the traditional hamburger and fries or American foods line-up, then you have a choice of several Mexican, Greek, Indian, Italian, etc. places to try out as well. There is bound to be a place that will fit your taste bud's craving in this area.

Broad Ripple is known for 3 things primarily. One is the fact that it is where David Letterman grew up and went to high school. Second is the Vogue Theater, an old movie house turned into a bar that often hosts local talent (John Cougar Mellancamp used to perform here for $5 a ticket when "Crumblin' Down" started to rise on the charts, prior to that time you could have seen him perform for free. Henry Lee Summer and Duke Tomato still sometimes perform here also.) and some "big names" for slightly more in ticket prices (I saw Leon Russel with Johnny Winter perform here for $20 a ticket and their show lasted nearly 3 hours!! I also saw Flock Of Seagulls perform here back in their "heyday" of the hit song "And I Ran" for $10). On Sundays, last I heard, they have alternative music nights where they have a DJ spin non-stop tunes with a unique blending style that makes you want to get up and dance and dance and dance.

The third thing they are known for is their "nightlife" ... The Vogue isn't the *only* place to catch the best of local talent performing. While walking along the streets after 9 p.m. you will hear strains of the blues mixing with another group's sound of jazz punctuated by a hard thumping rock-n-roll band and the vocals of a band's renditions of some of the Top 40 tunes while hearing a DJ try to encourage folks to fill the dance floor to maximum capacity! Some places host "jam sessions" and others will encourage folks who don't belong in a band but can play a mean guitar or writes original tunes to get up and perform on "open mike" nights.

Yes, there is no problem with finding entertainment or a good spot to grab a meal in the Broad Ripple area. Not surprising that on Friday or Saturday nights, many folks just park their car and stroll along, going to one place or another at nite to sample the musical or food offerings of places. Not necessarily a "Party Town" theme though, don't get me wrong ... yes, some folks do see how much they can consume or try to be a little rowdy but that can happen at any location. Whereas when you stroll the streets at nite here, you find that there are folks of all ages and interests cruising along them also and yet, you are not put off by this either. It is, after all, Broad Ripple and the sidewalks are heavily traveled sectors of it.

I generally go to Broad Ripple in the daytime hours though, oftentimes with my girls, to cruise the shops they have there. Which causes FP- to say that there is a *different* list as to what Broad Ripple is known for: 1) that I drag him from store to store while there, 2) that I can walk for hours contentedly there even though his feet are crying out for a place to sit down, and 3) I don't want to leave it once I am there, pouting when it is time to leave. *chuckle*

They have a wide variety of mom&pop type shops along here, nothing looking like "chain stores" in the heart of the town. Artsy Phartsy's is a step above Spencer's in as they offer a wide variety of per se "gag gifts" and novelties. They also have a display of wind up toys -- not your typical little wind up toys though, but metal wind up cars, buses, carousels and etc. that are pretty decently sized! Another unique are of the store is the clothing they offer... yes, they have the cutesy-pie or sarcastic sloganed t-shirts lining a wall, but they also have a fairly decent clothing selection in a separate area of the store filled with trendy fashions or such. Then there is Chelsea's ... a card shop a full notch above every other one I had ever seen! I have never seen their card selection duplicated anywhere else yet and they also offer a nice line of jelewry and gifts (i.e. lamps and wind chimes) that you will spend a fair amount of time oohhing and ahhing over. And I can't mention these two shops by name without mentioning New Age People, by far my most favorite new age shop to visit and browse about it! This is the store where FP- and the girls selected my engagement ring ... *fond smile* Then there is Peabody's and .... well, I think you get the drift. The one secret I will pass along to you about Broad Ripple's shopping district is this ... (looking around to make sure no one else is listening in) ... it's not limited to the store front area. In other words, take the time to stroll bits and parts of the residential area that surrounds the main shopping area and I think you will chance upon a few pleasant surprises and some great businesses also. *grin* Now let that be a secret though...*chuckle*

This is by far my most favorite part of Indianapolis to stroll thru. People sit along the canal area, reading a book or just chatting with others. Store owners and servers smile at you (and mean it) and joke around with you as you wander thru their shops or dine at their establishment. You don't feel like you are in an area of a large town or city whatsoever while you are in this area. *smile*

Geeze, there ain't enough I can say about this area of town ... and yet the words I have written so far doesn't seem to quite capture the exact "feel" or "aura" this place has. It is a place that I still make a point of going to when I visit Indiana and I tried to take guests to when I did live in Indiana. I suppose that you will just have to visit it yourself to know what I am trying to express here on this page though ....

Last Updated March 1998