The monument, which at 264 feet 6 inches, is only 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty. It was completed in 1902, and was originally designed to honor the memory of Indiana's Civil War veterans, but it now commemorates the valor of Indiana's military men and women in all wars prior to World War I.
Looking west from the monument is a beautiful view of the Indiana State Capitol building two blocks away.
This view is of the monument includes the Chase Tower, the tallest building in Indiana at 48 floors (830 feet) high.
When we arrived downtown there was a 2-block long farmer's market going on. We wanted to buy some fruit and vegetables but wanted to wait until after we had some lunch and looked around. However, after lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings (one of our faves), and after strolling around the monument area, when we headed back to the market area all the booths were gone. What the...? We found out the market is only there from 9am to 1:30pm. Bummer. But we did take a walk through the indoor City Market.
We found out that Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL team, offers tours. The stadium is about a half mile from downtown, so we stopped by and took in the tour. It cost $10 (7$ for seniors over 65 and military).
Indoor football stadiums are always very awesome to see. We've visited several NFL stadiums in our travels, and always enjoy going behind the scenes and seeing areas not usually open to the public. Lucas Oil Stadium was built in 2008 and hosted the Super Bowl in 2012. It's very beautiful with its brick architecture.
Inside - in the words of Donald Trump - it's HUGE!
A unique feature of the stadium is the large window on the north end. When the weather is nice, along with the retractable roof they can open it up to give the stadium a more open feel. When we were there the roof was closed, but the window was open. Here's how it looks from outside.
And inside if you face one direction you can look out the window...
... and the other direction is the stadium bowl only a few feet away.
The stadium was built so the window faces downtown, offering a beautiful view of the city skyline.
And here's one more view of the window from the top of the sideline stands.
It's very unique, and very cool! We were taken into one of the club areas where the rich folks enjoy themselves.
We were taken inside the Colts' locker room.
And the training room, where the players' injuries are treated.
Then we got to follow the route of the players on game day, from the locker room through the tunnel and onto the field.
It's always a neat experience to walk onto an NFL playing field and look up at all those grandstands.
Dee walking on the field.
We enjoyed the stadium tour. Most NFL and Major League baseball stadiums offer free tours, and we highly recommend them for a fun hour or two.
Today we went to the movies. There's a big 17-screen cinema about four miles from us, so we went to see the new movie "Everest".
It was a very tense, edge-of-your-seat adventure about the disaster on Mt. Everest in 1996 when 12 climbers lost their lives. It was based on the book "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. We saw it in 3D on a huge IMAX screen, which added to the suspense. Highly recommended!
The only thing we have planned for this weekend is lunch with a friend tomorrow, so we'll see you early next week at our next destination.
4 comments:
Hi Jim and Dee,
Did you two visit the Civil War Museum that is under the monument? We were there this summer and toured through that with friends from the area. In fact we stayed at the same park that you are in. We didn't check out the stadium but will have to another visit. Safe travels, Rick and Jenn
Adventures abound with you two. How great it is to follow along and read your journal and see all the great photos! Keep that information flowing.
Joe Sherri and Kris
We've passed through the Indianapolis area many, many times through the years. I guess we need to stop and check it out sometime!
I enjoyed your stadium tour! We live about and hour and a half from the Dallas Cowboys stadium but haven't taken the tour yet! We've been wanting to do that. Thanks for the reminder and I enjoyed your post!
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