Culture & Recreation

     

Residents of Indianapolis and its surrounding counties enjoy all of the conveniences of a large city, while retaining the benefits of a small town.

Entertainment options for everyone are just minutes away. Indianapolis has an impressive group of entertainment options to offer its residents and visitors. Museums, shopping, monuments and six professional sports organizations continue to entertain both citizens and visitors from around the world. We have listed just a few of our magnificent venues.

Athenaeum

The Athenaeum started construction in 1893 and is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It includes the Keller Bar, a biergarten with band shell, banquet facilities, YMCA, the city’s oldest restaurant, the Rathskeller, and the American Cabaret Theater. The American Cabaret Theater offers year Indianapolis Region, around shows with all the distinguishing features of a Broadway production.

Circle Centre / Indianapolis Artsgarden

The successful Circle Centre is an 800,000 square-foot shopping and entertainment complex in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. Anchored by Nordstrom and Parisian, it has four levels that offer more than 100 shopping, dining and entertainment options. Circle Centre also offers meeting and party facilities and is connected by weather-protected walkways to seven of the major downtown hotels, the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome. The Artsgarden is a unique glass-domed structure elevated over Washington and Illinois streets’ intersection serving as the entrance to Circle Centre Mall. The Artsgarden provides free arts information and events.

Clay Terrace and Hamilton Town Center

70-acre Clay Terrace and 63-acre Hamilton Town Center are the Indianapolis region's two open-air shopping centers. They are home to a variety of upscale specialty stores and restaurants.

Hilbert Circle Theater / Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

Built in 1916, the Hilbert Circle Theater was the first movie palace in Indianapolis. It was renovated in 1982 to become an acoustically superb home for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The ISO performs 200 concerts each year to a total audience of more than 500,000 people. The group has been heard in more than 250 radio markets in 37 states and has performed in three European musical capitals.

Indianapolis Zoo / White River Gardens / White River State Park

The Indianapolis Zoo is the nation’s only accredited combined zoo, aquarium and botanical garden. It is a 64-acre, $13.5 million zoological and botanical complex where animals, plants and people connect through education, exhibition, conservation and research. White River Gardens is a beautiful 3.3-acre botanical attraction combining the best of gardening, plants and inspirational design. Both of these are located within White River State Park, which capitalizes on its urban setting by offering a mix of top-quality attractions, indoor and outdoor recreational facilities and natural greenspaces.

Murat Centre

The Murat Centre hosts everything from Broadway shows and big name musical performers to private parties within its facilities. The building includes enormous towers, an abundance of copper roofing, patterned brick work and marble and stained glass windows set within arched openings of varying design.

Paramount Theatre Centre

Downtown Anderson’s Paramount Theatre Centre and Ballroom is home to the Anderson Symphony Orchestra, conferences, ballets, receptions and proms. The Paramount is considered the entertainment and cultural center of Madison County.
Indianapolis is eighth among large cities for being the most kid-friendly. (Kid-Friendly Cities Report Card, 2004)

Verizon Wireless Music Center

Recognized as one of North America’s premier entertainment venues, Verizon Wireless Music Center hosts the top names in the entertainment world. The 220 acre, 23,000+ seat (6,147 covered) amphitheater includes a hospitality/event plaza with full catering and beverage service.

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

The Children’s Museum is the largest museum of its kind. It also ranked the #1 children's museum by Parents magazine and among the top 10 museums for families in 2011. The five-story museum houses 105,000 artifacts, the largest collection of any youth museum in the world. It also contains 10 major galleries that explore the physical and natural sciences, history, world cultures and the arts. The Children’s Museum’s newest permanent exhibit is Dinosphere, one of the largest displays of real dinosaur fossils in the United States.

Conner Prairie

Conner Prairie is a large, open-air living history museum made up of five distinct historic areas, a modern museum center and more than 1,400 acres of natural beauty. Conner Prairie’s mission is to serve as a local, regional and national center for education and activities exploring the lives, times and values of the 1800s in America. It also hosts Symphony on the Prairie each summer where residents enjoy performances by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Eiteljorg Museum of Native American and Western Art

Architecture at the Eiteljorg Museum complements the displayed art which serves as the primary venue for Native American art and culture in Indiana. Its collections include works from artists such as Frederic Remington, Georgia O’Keeffe, Charles Russell and members of the original Taos, New Mexico, artists’ colony.

Indianapolis Museum of Art

The IMA is the largest general art museum in the United States. The museum contains on its 152 acres an enhanced main museum complex featuring new acquisitions and major special exhibitions, a new 100-acre Art & Nature Park, and the restoration of the former J.K. Lilly Jr. estate, known as Oldfields. The IMA is undergoing a $74 million construction project to add 164,000 square feet to the museum. This construction project also includes the renovation of 90,000 square feet of museum space.

Monument Circle

If you’ve heard the saying that Indianapolis is the “Circle City”, you will know why after visiting Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. Monument Circle, built in 1901, is the site of many different festivals, concerts and gatherings all year long. Besides being a gathering spot, Monument Circle is also a memorial to honor veterans of WWI. It is only 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty and contains an observation deck at the top.

NCAA Hall of Champions

The 35,000 square-foot NCAA Hall of Champions highlights all 22 sports and 84 national championships administered by the NCAA. The Hall features a Great Hall, theaters, display areas, a Hall of Honor, the Gymnasium and a wrap around video wall.

Canal Walk District

Canal Walk is one of Indianapolis’ most scenic spots, as well as a prime residential area. This area between 11th and Washington streets is an oasis with landscaping, fountains, antique-style lamps, walkways, jogging paths and murals depicting Indiana life. It also sets the scene for the nearby Indiana Government Center, NCAA headquarters, Indiana State Museum and more.

Eagle Creek Park

Eagle Creek Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the United States. The park contains almost 1,400 acres of water and more than 3,900 acres of dry land activities. Many different activities from sailing to windsurfing to bird watching are sure to please everyone in this park located only 10 minutes away from downtown Indianapolis.

Fort Harrison State Park

Landscape and history blend in a unique setting in northeast Indianapolis at Fort Harrison State Park. The 1,700-acre park features walking and jogging trails, picnic sites, fishing access to Fall Creek and two national historic districts. The former Citizen’s Military Training Camp, Civilian Conservation Corps camp and World War II prisoner of war camp is preserved at the park headquarters location.

Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium

Following the completion in December 2010 of its fourth expansion, the Indiana Convention Center now boasts 566,600 square feet of contiguous space, 11 exhibit halls, 71 meeting rooms, 3 ballrooms and 48 docks. It is connected via skywalk to 4,700 rooms in 12 hotels and is located just 15 minutes from the new Indianapolis International Airport terminal. Lucas Oil Stadium, the new home of the Indianapolis Colts, features 182,500 square feet of contiguous space and a variety of meeting options.