Another Gem

Last week, I went to the Indiana State Library to do 

a bit of research. While I've been there before, 

I've never been beyond the contemporary addition. 

Attractive on the outside, its limestone exterior does contrast 

with that of the original building, but not so much 

that it's offensive to the eye.

The contrast between the interiors of each section 

is what I found most startling. The older building is

a homage to books, learning, and history,

with frescoes on the ceilings, murals, and stained glass.

It is ironic really, given that the state politicians at the

Capitol Building, are doing their damnedest to tear down 

the public education system in favor 

of corporate run schools. Already, the names of artists,

inventors, and writers incised in the library's walls

are mere afterthoughts; the state preaches the need for

an educated workforce, but instead seeks to create

a population of menials, an underpaid workforce that

will end up fighting over resources.

The light fixtures look like sheaves of corn,

taking reference from a Native American shown in

one of the stained glass windows, holding stalks of corn. 

Whether he is the base of the picture, 

holding up the images of the states founders,

or being trampled into submission by

William Henry Harrison and General 

"Mad Anthony" Wayne is a matter of viewpoint.

There are murals at each side of the main entrance 

to the old building, which leads one to 

the BEST PART - the card catalog! Yay!

There they were, rows and rows

of stacked, tiny drawers, mounted along

the long wall. A place of honor.

The picture below shows only about a third

of the drawers in this hall.

I used a smaller catalog in another

department of the library. The habits learned

in childhood quickly returned and I was

able to use the system almost intuitively.

I loved the feel of the little file cards.

They were almost velvety to hand and it was 

as though I was greeting old friends.

Venice by the Cornfield

Looking southwest, the Indiana State Office Building is shown in the background,
while a glimpse of the J.W. Mariott Hotel can be seen behind the tree.

Not really, but eh, what the hell, it might catch some attention. 


Until the development of the steamboat in 1807, people had never traveled by any means other than on foot, horse power, or by boats and ships pushed by the wind. Roads were hopelessly tedious and uncomfortable, making the country's rivers the preferred mode of travel. 


When the Erie Canal was completed in 1825, connecting the east coast at Albany, New York with Erie, Pennsylvania its success launched decades of "canal fever" by states eager to provide their landlocked citizens with a way to get themselves and their produce to markets on the east coast and New Orleans. 


Indiana was not alone in this craze, but only one of its planned canals was completed, the Wabash and Erie Canal. Connecting Lake Erie at Toledo with the Ohio River, the canal route roughly paralleled the Maumee, Wabash and White Rivers over 468 miles, making it the longest canal in the country. Only two sections of Indiana's other planned canals were completed: the Whitewater Canal in southeastern Indiana, and the Central Canal in Marion County.

Construction of the Indiana Central Canal began in 1836 and was meant to connect Peru with Evansville over 296 miles, generally following the path of the White River. Portions of the canal still supply water to the city, while other sections serve as recreational areas. Stretching through the west side of downtown Indy, it connects the Indianapolis Zoo, the NCAA Headquarters and Hall of Champions, the Indiana State Museum, and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. 

"Big Blue," the new J. W. Mariott Hotel,
opened at Indianapolis in February, 2011.

Restored in the 1980s and extended in 1995, this portion of the canal is part of the White River State Park, extending from Eleventh Street on the north at Boggs Temple, to the White River just above West Washington Street. Other sections of the canal can be seen on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Butler University, and running through the Broad Ripple neighborhood