Indiana - Day 14 - Indianapolis sights

Crawfordsville KOA
Friday, 14 June 2019

today's route

When I left the fairgrounds early this morning I still hadn't decided whether to come back tonight or keep on going down the road.  It turned out the fairground didn't stint on the lighting for even an inch.  They had a spotlight between each set of 4 campsites (which were so close together I'm glad there weren't many campers), so I was safe but had a very hard time sleeping.

I'd made a 1:30 appointment to get Gracie her shots at a PetsMart in Avon, on the far side of Indianapolis.  I figured I'd see what time it was when we were done and what the weather's like and how tired I was before deciding.  This morning I dedicated to seeing the sights in Indy.

Monument Circle
My first goal was Monument Circle, and that turned out to be surprisingly difficult to find, considering it's a major landmark.  Never mind that I had online directions from 2 sources and that I'd looked carefully at an online map before I left, I just couldn't find the roads they all claimed were there and got quite lost.  I ended up stopping near a community garden on a dead end street near public housing (very pleasant area) and pulling out my laptop and my hotspot to figure out where I was and how to get downtown.  Turned out to be easy, once you know how.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Lady Victory at top

This monument is 284' high and was dedicated in 1902 to honor all those who fought for the nation prior to that time.  It can be seen from a long distance, and I saw it long before I got to it.







Indiana Statehouse
The Indiana Statehouse is only 3 blocks away from the circle, making it hard for me to get lost, even with all the one-way streets.

Obviously I didn't take this photo, or the two above, but the traffic wouldn't have allowed me to just hop out at any point so I'm cribbing.

The Statehouse was built in 1888 and is just as impressive in person as in this photo.  As you can see, it covers a city block.

About a block away is a large pond, big enough for paddle boats, but I wasn't expecting it so wasn't prepared to stop and, oddly, can't find any photos online.  I guess I just don't know what to search for.  Pretty, though.

Pres. Benjamin Harrison Home

Pres. B. Harrison

his home

Only a mile away is the house where Benj. Harrison and his family lived when he was governor of Indiana and later after his presidency.

Though in these days of extensive media exposure it's unlikely an unusually short man could be elected president, Harrison lived before then.  In the tradition of the time, he didn't go out campaigning but welcomed people who came to his house.  That beautiful porch wasn't on the house then but, instead, the front door opened directly onto the steps.  I mention the media attention because Harrison was 5'6".

He is the only president who won over a candidate in one election (G. Cleveland in 1888), only to be beaten by that same candidate in the next election (1892).  He is also the only president whose grandfather was also president (William Henry Harrison).  And he is the only president that can be claimed by Indiana (he was 21 when he moved here, but lived here the rest of his life).

The house has been beautifully restored and cared for but I'm once again confirmed in feeling like I've seen as many old museum-houses as I care to see.  They have many items that belonged to Benjamin and Caroline Harrison and their children, but I usually feel like been-there-done-that.  However, there are exceptions.

walking stick - a gift

his law office desk

You'll need to blow up the photo on the left to see what an amazing bit of carving it is, but it shows the names and faces of each president from Washington through Harrison.  Harrison liked to walk and, when he was governor, often walked the mile from his house to the statehouse.  There's a collection of walking sticks near that desk.

The desk on the right is a beautiful piece in its own right, and it's the desk he used during his law practice.  That chair is one he took to the White House.

The item on the left is called a Hoosier Cabinet and was sold by Sears.  This particular one didn't belong to the Harrisons but they likely had a similar one.  Behind those doors would be special storage for sugar and flour and so forth.

Besides having furniture, Harrison was also president of the United States from 1889 to 1893.  During his one term, he signed the Sherman Antitrust Act; he refused to fill his cabinet with patronage seekers, thus infuriating powerful Republicans who helped insure he served only one term; he worked hard, though unsuccessfully, for civil rights - especially voting rights - for African-Americans; his record with Native Americans was not so good: the Sioux massacre at Wounded Knee happened during his term. 

During his presidency, 6 states were admitted to the Union: North and South Dakota (both Nov. 2, 1889 - he covered and shuffled the edicts so no one knew which had been admitted first), Montana (Nov. 8, 1889), Washington (Nov. 11, 1889), Idaho (July 3, 1890) and Wyoming (July 10, 1890).  Quite a spree out west.

He was the first president to have his voice preserved, using a wax phonograph cylinder in 1889.  He had electricity installed in the White House, but both he and his wife were terrified of being electrocuted and refused to touch the power switches, leaving them to sleep with the lights on often. 

Harrison's wife Caroline was an interesting woman in her own right.

She was an accomplished painter and especially enjoyed painting china dishes.  It's likely this interest prompted her to begin the official collection of White House china that so many enjoy today.  Of course, she designed the Harrison china pattern.  Sadly, she died of tuberculosis in the White House a few months before the 1892 election.

Benjamin Harrison survived her by only 10 years, dying of complications from pneumonia at the age of 69.

The grounds are beautifully landscaped by the local master gardeners (dogs not allowed there) and provided me with a pleasant surprise:

Do you see it?

Indy Motor Speedway

No visit to Indiana would be complete without at least taking a look at this very famous place.

I didn't pull in to take photos so this one is from the internet, but I could see a great deal of the racetrack and surrounding areas.  It doesn't look as big as I'd expected it to, though that's likely just the angle I had of it.  What surprised me the most is that it's only about 4 miles from the Statehouse - practically downtown.  I always assumed it was out in the country somewhere, but it definitely isn't.

PetsMart
I had to take both dogs in, even though the appointment was only for Gracie, to keep Dexter from barking the entire time we were gone and scratching up the windows to get out to us.  The vet was fine with that but told me just the day before she'd been in a similar situation and the non-examined dog had tried to attack her when she started to check the other one and how sure was I of my dog?  We all agreed that the vet's assistant could bribe Dexter with treats, and the vet was very gentle with Gracie, and Gracie didn't act too weird about getting her examination and her shots, so all's well that end's well.

At this point it would take only about 15 minutes longer (per Google) to get to the next campground as it would to get back to the fairgrounds on the other side of town, so when the KOA said they had room, I decided to keep going.

Crawfordsville
As I drove into town, I saw a sign saying Crawfordsville is the home of Ben-Hur.  This seemed extremely far-fetched to me, but I looked it up and it's absolutely true.

Lew Wallace lived in Crawfordsville for many years and wrote Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.  When the 1959 version of the movie came out, my parents deemed us too young to go see it (and I'm sure they were right), and I've never gotten around to seeing it yet.  I've always retained an idea that it was about Romans and chariot races or something like that, so with this title, I was sure this book had nothing to do with the movie of my childhood.  Once again, I was wrong.   https://www.ben-hur.com

This book was second only to the Bible as a best-seller in the 1800s.  How about that?  And it all came from tiny Crawfordsville, Ind.  (See how broadening travel can be?)