Horses With Jobs: Wedding Bells

On my way home from the fair last weekend,

I looked up to see a trio of white horse-drawn carriages,

each being pulled by what looked like horses that

were Clydesdales, or relations thereof.

As it turned out, they were on their way to pick up

a wedding party from the Capitol Building

just across the street. The first carriage, fashioned 

after a Cinderella coach, carried the bride and groom with,

I'm assuming, the maid and matron of honor.

The second and third carried the bridesmaids and

groomsmen, respectively.

Congratulations, Happy Couple!

I hope your lives together bring you joy

and growing love, as big and

beaming as your smiles.

Just Folks

It's about 4:40 PM and all we want is to get home.
This bus is always full.

After work, a lot of my co-workers and I make a dash for the bus home.

It is virtually always packed with people, standing room only.

If we happen to miss the bus, we have to wait about forty minutes

 for the next one going downtown. A lot of us, including myself,

have to make a connection downtown to the bus that

will take us the rest of the way to our homes. 

If we miss that connection, it can be as long as an hour 

before the next bus is scheduled to arrive.

When I ride the bus to work in the morning,

the other passengers are usually all workers for downtown

businesses or students.  We are all alike in that

we are just wanting to get to our jobs so that we can

put food in our kids' bellies, clothes on our backs and

a roof over our heads -- as do the people who

drive to work. I will be the first to admit that a great

many of the people I see at the downtown bus stops are

less than reputable, but that problem would remedy itself,

as would problems with scheduling, if more 

of the office workers left their cars at home.

To say that the city government has no regard or respect

for commuters who use the bus system would

be putting it politely at best. Consequently, the Indygo bus system

is the "red-headed step-child" of the city/county government.

They all seem to have forgotten that the people who clean 

the offices where they work, who serve them in the restaurants

and cook the food, who file the paperwork, who park the cars, 

who make the beds in the hotels that host the city's sports events 

and conventions -- all of them are likely minimum 

wage workers who also take the bus to their jobs.

If they could not get to work, then business would

likely come to a halt. When was the last time

a CEO bused his own table, emptied his own waste basket

or unclogged his own toilet? 

From time to time, plans are floated to the public about

prospective urban rail systems, but so far its only

lip service; somebody, somewhere, is making too much money

from the parking garages, as well as the new meters that have been installed

by an outside vendor, which splits the proceeds with the city/county

government. Obviously, an improved bus system that actually

is well-scheduled, well-run and that works for

the commuter would be a threat to the sweet amount 

of pocket change received in parking fees.

Mr. Bendo

Looking as though he's ready to drop the puck 

to start an ice hockey game, Mr. Bendo has stood 

sentry outside Ralph's Muffler & Brake Shop

on West 16th Street for over forty years.

Apparently, he is one of a set of triplets,

his siblings promoting Bendo muffler pipes

well into middle age, even as the shops have 

changed hands and names.

One is located atop a muffler shop in Chicago,

while the third is alive and well in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 

He is supposed to be holding a length of muffler 

tubing in his hands but over the years age and injury 

have forced changes in his arms, 

resulting in the odd  "Heil Dumbkoff" salute.

Several years ago, when he was taken down for repairs,

a mold was made and replacement limbs 

are stored for future use. 

Same Time, Last Year

Due to a small medical issue, I've had to stay pretty 

close to home this week, so my camera and 

I haven't been able to wander much.

This will be remedied within the next day or so.

Meanwhile, here are a few pictures I took

at this same time last year during a walk downtown.

The top picture was taken underneath

one of the flowering trees near the bus stop 

at the Federal Court House.

The picture above shows the flowering trees 

around the Indiana War Memorial. In the background,

from right to left, are the Baker & Daniels law offices,

AT&T buildings make up the next two, while

the fourth building is a Sheraton hotel. 

 This restored, red-painted brick home is 

on a side street off Alabama Street, just north 

of the downtown area. I was tempted

to replace the light fixture on its pole, but was 

unable to reach it from outside the fence.

Jazz Corner

Standing at the intersection yesterday, 

at Indiana Avenue and North Streets, I realized

I was standing in the middle of an area where so much

of the culture of Indiana's African-American

population was developed and expressed. 

The building above is the Madame Walker Theater, 

built in 1919 by Madame C.J. Walker, 

America's first self-made woman millionaire.

She had made her fortune through the development

and sale of her own line of hair care products.

The building shown above was a structure 

that made a big impression on me when I moved 

to Indianapolis in the late 1970s. Then, its brick facade 

was painted white with black trim. I knew it

as Arlene's, a record store whose primary clientele

was black. I love the building and have been 

very pleased to see it restored, with all of its beautiful

details accentuating its form. 

Hydrant

The fire hydrant seemed to have its own little shed. 

It serves as added protection for a hi-rise apartment

in downtown Indianapolis.

April Theme Day: Cobblestones

As a member of the City Daily Photo blog community, 

each month I look forward to sharing a picture

based on an assigned theme. 

Unfortunately, that portal was hacked and some

of the CDP members set up a website where

we might post pictures of our April theme,

Cobblestones. However, I can't recall

where I last saw cobblestones in Indianapolis,

so was happy to find this nicely bricked

alley-way just off the downtown area, 

along Massachusetts Avenue.


To see contributions to this theme by other 
CDP participants, click here.
Hooray! The City Daily Photo portal
has been restored. To see contributions  
on the CDP portal 
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Contrasts

The buildings in the Downtown Indianapolis area 

are a mixture of starkly sleek granite and glass

with the restored fillips of older, more ornate buildings.

Like many cities in the U.S. Indy has suffered through

years of neglect and abandonment, as her people

fled the downtown area for the promise of the 

cement block offices on the outskirts.

Thankfully, that attitude has enjoyed a remarkable shift

as people returned to the city with intents to rebuild,

restore and refurbish many of the beautiful

structures that remain.

Sadly, these houses lie within two miles of the

office buildings shown in the top photo. They speak to a struggle

endured by many of the people who walk every day in

the shadows of the downtown. In the aftermath of 

the mortgage and bank fraud debacles, the people who've lost 

their homes and jobs are the ones who suffer,

while those in the boardrooms write checks,

buy votes and influence legislation that destroys 

the foundation of the nation.

At a time when we need to adapt our educational 

system to the new technology, make good healthcare

available to everyone, feed our children and keep

roofs over their heads, those systems are falling apart

under a systematic cacophony of political posturing

designed to destroy them without replacing 

them with something viable, something better.

Every person in every one of those modest homes

needs to be certain they have a picture ID, are registered to vote,

and shows up at the polls to take America back from

the corporations who've stolen it.

Pigeon Feed

This morning, I went to work late because I had to take care

 of some business. Due to the overcast,  I was feeling discouraged

about the prospect of finding any interesting pictures.

Then I saw this young man feeding granola to the street fowl.

He moved slowly, purposely, to encourage the pigeons 

to take the cereal from his hand, while in the background

a flock of sparrows formed a circle just beyond the larger birds,

waiting for a small crumb to come their way. It did.

While he distracted the pigeons with a larger helping of food, 

a small scattering was tossed to the little guys.

Somewhere above, a pair of  peregrine falcons

is dining on grain-fed street chickens.  

Same Time, Different Day

I took the above shots from the same spot at about 7:50 in the morning, 

while waiting for the bus.The one above was taken last Thursday, 

the day of the "frosty roses," and the one below Tuesday morning. 

I liked the first one because of the pink in the reflections and the steam.

With the exception of the limestone building second from left, 

that looks like it's wearing a rectangular hat, most of the buildings 

were constructed in the 1980's. Fortunately, some of the older 

structures in the Mile Square downtown area were spared

and their more ornate facades provide relief from the

otherwise straight lines of their taller cousins.

"...No Mean City"

Shown above is a close-up of one of a pair of limestone eagles which guard the entrance of the old Indianapolis City Hall building, which was dedicated in 1909, the same year the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was opened. Carved by Alexander Sangernebo, the eagles fronted a building which, for the first time, had all the city offices under one roof. It remained that way until 1962, when the city government moved to a new high-rise building. 

The building stood vacant until 1967 when the Indiana State Museum took over the site, the first permanent headquarters the museum had enjoyed since it was established in 1862. Until that time, the Museum's collection had been shuffled around, in and out of musty rooms as if it were an eccentric uncle's collection of moth-eaten artifacts. 

The Museum's Foucault Pendulum hung suspended from the Hall's rotunda, swaying gently above the terrazzo floor where previously the movers and shakers of the city's government had trod and made deals. It remained there until a new building was erected in White River State Park, opening in May, 2002.  

Again the building stood empty until The Marion County Public Library needed an interim site until construction of a new addition was completed. Old City Hall was again adapted for reuse and served as the main library from 2001- 2007. Unfortunately, it once again stands empty, as the eagles maintain a sort of sad majesty, awaiting another opportunity to prove useful. 

Victory Reigns

"Victory" debuted her new look last Friday, October 21, 

when the scaffolding surrounding her was completely removed. 

Her makeover complete, and finally released from bondage, 

she once again reigns over the city.

Polished and proud, her golden torch gleaming in the sun,

Victory has resumed her vigil amid the surrounding buildings,

even if the air does seem to be a tad nippy up there,

285 feet above her loving subjects.  

Above It All

A visitor grabs a bit of quiet time in the air conditioned Artsgarden, located above the intersection of Washington and Illinois Streets in downtown Indianapolis. He is facing east watching the west-bound traffic on Washington Street. Completed in 1995, the Artsgarden connects the Conrad hotel and Embassy Suites to the Circle Centre Mall and serves as both a performance and exhibition area throughout the year. There is also a kiosk where visitors may obtain information about various local events, as well as purchase tickets.


As seen in the above photo, the Artsgarden is a pleasant place to pass time, meet friends, perhaps have a bite to eat. In warm weather it provides respite from the heat and in winter one can watch the snow fly all around without being in it.

The exterior shown above shows the Artsgarden as seen looking west 

from Washington Street.