Indianapolis had become an important railroad center at the start of the American Civil War in 1861, and its importance to the logistics of the Union fueled greater growth; its population more than doubled between 1860 and 1870. In addition to the main Nordstrom and Parisian stores, Circle Centre has more than 100 specialty stores, restaurants and nightclubs, as well as a nine-screen movie theater, a virtual reality theme park and the Indianapolis Artsgarden. Not only can you fly internationally, but Indianapolis Airport offers direct flights to almost anywhere in the country, greatly reducing the stress (and travel time) of your trip. When surveyors arrived in Indianapolis in 1826, they decided to follow Washington Street, already conceived as the main street of the young city.
Since the 1970s, urban renewal projects, including the City-County Building and the Riley Center, have significantly improved the quality of life in Indianapolis. Only 7 miles (11 km) to 9 miles (14 km) of the canal that connected Indianapolis to the village of Broad Ripple to the north was open to traffic. If you want to get out of the city and travel to local areas, a small town outside Indianapolis that you should visit is Broad Ripple. The Indianapolis Zoo, the first urban zoo to be built in several decades, is home to more than 2000 animals.
A local saying says, “You can never get lost in Indiana, because all major highways lead directly to Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1930 and currently conducted by Raymond Leppard, has been rated by the New York Times as one of the ten best orchestras in the country. Walker, an African-American businesswoman, philanthropist and activist who started her beauty empire in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Art Center is a non-profit community arts organization whose mission is to make art accessible to all Indianapolis residents.
Beginning January 1, 1825, the seat of state government was moved to Indianapolis from Corydon, Indiana, and the first session of the Indiana General Assembly in the state's new capital began on January 10, 1825.The following is a summary of data on several key cost-of-living factors in the Indianapolis Area. In 1821, Indianapolis became the seat of the newly configured Marion County, and four years later, when the state legislature first met, Indianapolis had one street and a population of 600 people. In the city's early years, manufactured goods were transported overland in wagons or along the White River in keelboats and flatboats, but much of the local products were not exported to markets outside Indianapolis until railroads began passing through the city in the 1850s. Monument Circle is the heart of Indianapolis, a focal point that people use as a meeting point within the city.