Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Indianapolis

While at Gen Con, I went to Sunday Mass at Saint John the Evangelist Church which is just across the street from the convention center. It is on Georgia Street, which was the main venue for the food trucks where I had many a yummy meal.

St. John the Evangelist church, seen from Georgia Street

The parish is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Indianapolis. It was founded in 1837. The first church was built a few blocks away and called the Chapel of the Holy Cross. In 1850, a new church was built at the current location and the name changed to Saint John the Evangelist. A larger church (the current structure) was completed in 1871.

Morning sunshine on the front of the church

I arrived early to Mass and was impressed that a large group was praying the rosary. The service was reverent and filled with lots of good music. The priest said he was a visiting priest. He and three other priest friends come every year to Gen Con and stay at the rectory. The pastor goes on retreat while they are visiting, so it's a win/win situation.

The nave gives a sense of the classical styling of the church. After Mass, I met a fellow who said they had a small fire a few years back. That sparked a renovation and cleaning. They took out the carpets and cleaned all the art, adding some extra items to make it more beautiful than before. Here are the results!

Nave

Main altar

Above the main altar

Side altar to Virgin Mary

Side altar to St. Joseph

Pieta altar

Baptismal font with holy oils behind

They did not use this pulpit

Indianapolis Stuff

Here's some more bits from Indianapolis...

This cauldron sits where the Pan American Games Torch Relay ended in August 1987.

Pan Am Cauldron with food trucks and St. John's behind it

The rest of the Pan Am Plaza

The convention center has some fun sculptures on the outside.

Turtle tourists?

A random lion

Across the street from the convention center is Victory Field, where the minor league team the Indians play.

Victory Field

In front of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is the Richard and Billie Lou Wood Fountain featuring deer.

Eiteljorg Museum

Running deer fountain

Statue of a Native American (sorry I didn't get the name)

Marriott building looking like a monolith

Wisdom Keepers is a sculpture by Bruce LaFountain (a Turtle Mountain Chippewa born in 1961).

Wisdom Keepers

Allan Houser's Morning Prayer from 1987 is in the back garden of the museum.

Morning Prayer

Water Whispers is a 2005 sculpture by Truman Lowe (a Ho-Chunk born in 1944).

Water Whispers

Near the convention center is Hudnut Commons, dedicated to the Honorable William H. Hudnut III, mayor from 1976 to 1992. They even have a casual statue of him.

View of Hudnut Commons from the convention center

The commons

Statue of Hudnut

A few blocks away is the state capitol and several civic buildings with the usual array of patriotic statues and decorations.

Government center

The state capitol

Golden eagle perched on one building

Too many trees to get a good shot

George Washington

Thomas Hendricks statue (he was the 16th governor and the USA's 21st vice president)

Just down the street is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, even larger than the Washington and Hendricks monuments put together!

Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Nearby is the Indiana Repertory Theatre with the world's fanciest crosswalk.

Indiana Repertory Theatre

The crosswalk claims its the Indianapolis Arts Garden

Canal Walk, Indianapolis

On the final day of Gen Con, the convention closed at 4 p.m. That is, the convention center closed at 4 so everyone who didn't have official business had little to do inside. Since my shuttle to the hotel was scheduled for 7 p.m., I decided to see some of the city. The most interesting feature posted on the helpful little maps downtown is the canal. It wasn't far away so I went for a canal walk.

The Indianapolis Canal Walk

By the NCAA Hall of Champions

View of a Marriott Hotel

The canal was built as part of the early 1800s canal craze sparked by the Erie Canal. The plan for the Indiana Central Canal was to connect the Ohio River to the Wabash and Erie Canal, a distance just under 300 miles. A financial crisis in the 1830s wiped out the funding for the canal, so only parts of it were completed. The Indianapolis part of the canal (about eight miles) eventually became the property of the city. A 1980s project rebuilt the downtown portion of the canal, making a pleasant walking path.

Walkers enjoying a getaway from downtown

Reminds me of Venice

Side view of that Marriott building

Walking isn't the only mode of transport on and around the canal. A boat rental agency has paddle boats, canoes, and kayaks.

Ship merchant

A fountain people went around but not in

Another rental agency rents foot-powered cars, almost like Fred Flintstone!

Foot-mobiles

In action

The walk also includes various works of art. Underneath one bridge is a delightful mural.

Cool and refreshing on one side...

...hot and exciting on the other

A few museums line the canal, providing some more impressive works.

The Eiteljorg Museum

Outside the Indiana State Museum

Indiana Steam Clock (also outside the State Museum)

In the canal is a three-part work of art called the Vessel series. It was made by William Dennisuk in collaboration with the Herron School of Art and Design. Dennis says, "The project draws attention to our relationship with water, and stands as a metaphor for how we might interact with the extended environment. The open-frame structures, together with their reflections, tend to intermingle and mesh with their wider surroundings; suggesting an inter-dependent and more collaborative partnership with our environment." [quoted from signs on the canal walk]

The first part is Pulse, which "refers to the rhythmic fluctuations we find in nature and in ourselves; the recurrence of vibrations, undulations, waves and the simple beat of the heart." [also from the canal walk]

Pulse

The second part is Valence, referring "to the relative capacity of a person or thing to unite, to react with, or affect another in a special way, as by attraction or the facilitation of a function or activity." [from the canal walk]

Valence

Spin is the final part, referring "to a fundamental movement that can be found in nature and ourselves; the spinning planet and angular momentum of elementary particles, the winding of fibers, throwing clay or the dance of the whirling dervish." [from canal walk]

Spin

The canal walk is a very pleasant place to spend a few hours on a sunny day!

Another fountain

Another patriotic bit