Just Before the Night Comes

Early Thursday evening, as I left a meeting at the NCAA 

headquarters, I looked to the east and saw this - the sun, 

reflected by the entrance to the NCAA Hall of Champions, 

was just beginning to dip below the horizon, while 

the J.W. Marriott Hotel was doing its damnedest 

to blend into the night sky. A few yards farther on, the

walkway bridge over the Central Canal provided

a lighted path back towards the downtown.

Finding the Front Door

For a long while I've been wondering what this building is used for. 

It is an addition to the NCAA headquarters just to the east, 

but why? Does administrating the national collegiate sports programs

really require so much additional space? As it turned out,

the building is a conference center, a place for the

organization to host its meetings with the member schools.

 I'd always seen it from this side which is, essentially, the back door.

I found this out when I followed the path to the north side

of the building, where I saw a large sweeping 

drive with a canopy over the entrance.

The side of the building is glass-enclosed, but striped horizontally, 

allowing some daylight to enter but providing privacy 

for the people inside. The alternating widths of the stripes

echoed the horizontal at the back of the building, which seem 

to break up the huge expanses of glass that look out

on the White River State Park just beyond.

What I found to be amazing is that I took these pictures 
with my little digital camera, yet the images of the buildings 
came out looking like architectural renderings. Huh.

A Quiet Walk

I was downtown early on Saturday to volunteer for a triathlon. 

I went to the zoo to find the volunteer tent. 

Nuthin'. No one. People were jogging along the Canal and the 

White River Promenade, but not a one wearing

a number. It was gray and humid, which matched my

mood when a zoo security guy told me I'd come on the 

WRONG DAY! Argh! @*&$# and (sh)ucks!

Well, at least I wasn't late.

I'd planned to take pictures, so took them of the buildings and Canal, 

rather than guys in Spandex pants with numbers drawn 

on their upper arms.

All of the photos are of the NCAA Headquarters, located along the canal 

in White River State Park. The size of the building alone 

is proof positive that college athletics is very big business. The top

photo is of an entrance to one of the sections, while the public entrance,

to the Hall of Champions, is shown in the second photo.

That first section was designed by renowned architect, Michael Graves.

The second section, just recently opened, was designed by 

a local firm, Ratio Architects. They also designed a neighboring

building, the Indiana State Museum, which is just on the 

other side of the Canal.

The image below is of the Indiana State Museum, taken at about 

7:30 in the morning, long before people show up en masse

to report for work, visit or, as in my case, 

to volunteer for an event.

About 24 hours early.

Another Textured Tuesday: On Limestone & Vine

I started early enough there was still dew on the plants and flowers.
Even the humble kale looked to be dressed in sequins. Unfortunately,
it just didn't show in the pictures.

This morning, I took my little camera for another long walk, this time along the western section of the Canal Walk from the State Office Building to the  NCAA Headquarters building and into White River State Park along the Riverwalk behind the Indianapolis Zoo.

Yep, here I am at the corner of Limestone & Vine, where the canal turns south
to run along between the Indiana State Museum and the  NCAA Headquarters.

 I made another right turn where the Canal turned towards an expanse of lawn, then fed back into the White River. Beginning with the old Washington Street Bridge, which is now a sculpture park, Riverwalk follows the river behind the Indianapolis Zoo. Walled in with massive blocks of rough-hewn limestone, it reveals numerous small beauties and surprises and is a popular place for joggers and casual walkers.

A self-portrait in shadows and granite.

Looking south beneath the Old Washington Street Bridge at other bridges
which also span the White River on the west side of downtown Indianapolis.

And now we enter the shade and beauty of the River Walk which stretches behind the Indianapolis Zoo. Office workers, athletes and firefighters assigned to a near-by station are among the many people who enjoy the trail.

Yes, there are many "pretty weemin," but
I prefer the sight and scent of the species above. Oooh.

A limestone "rose" hidden among its massive brethren.

The crooked little tree and giant limestone blocks
play off and accent each other, adding to the beauty of each.

The path doesn't end at the Zoo's boundary at White River Drive, but continues along that drive and, depending on the direction you choose, will take you north -- to the Indianapolis Museum of Art and northward beyond the county lines -- or back downtown. Here, I turned around to walk the other side of the Canal, where there are additional treats to be seen, which I will show another time as they deserve their own little show.

Jogger passing under the Promenade
outside the ISM Administrative Offices

And I will end with a picture of a couple of the many turtles I saw in the driftwood caught under the piers of the bridge. They were happily swimming, drifting and basking on logs in the river. Just as the turtles extended their necks to look around them, my little camera strove mightily to help me with these pictures, exhausting itself soon after.