Not sure if this is supposed to be Dasher and Dancer…or possibly Prancer and Vixen? But since this was taken on Christmas Eve day, I’m probably on the right track. If my memory of all the reindeer in the ‘Night Before Christmas’ poem is correct, I figure I have a one in nine chance of getting each of the names right. These guys were left cooling their heels…uh, hooves rather, in the corner of the Greenhouse parking lot at IMA. My guess is this sculpture was part of the decorations at a holiday party and then discarded afterwards…it’s fate to melt away slowly into a non-descript puddle. I’m lucky I found it when I did. Not a very noble ending but what are you going to do. Keep it in the freezer till next year?
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Party Animals
Posted on December 26th, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Holidays, Just for Fun, Photo Flash
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Official Tree
Posted on December 24th, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Holidays, Public Buildings & Sites
This being the day before Christmas, I thought this photo would be appropriate. The tree this year that gets the honor of standing in the Capital Rotunda is a 23 year old, 25 ft. Concolor Fir. It was grown in a tree farm in northern Indiana, cut and brought to the Capital building earlier this month. The ornaments visible were made by children from area schools which they hung during recent holiday festivities. I was wondering how they keep it upright and noticed there are cables tethered to it which are still barely visible in the photo. They are attached to the railings around the perimeter of the next floor above and hold the tree in place. When I was here taking this photo, there wasn’t any other person around anywhere, so it was really quiet and the massive rotunda with the tree standing under the stained glass dome had an almost magical presence about it.
For my own home, I always choose a Frazier Fir every year. I like the small needles, the shape and drooping angle of the branches. But mainly I get a Frazier because it’s the same kind of tree that my Grandpa always had in his home. Funny how certain memories last and become important. Christmas is all about tradition. Everyone has their own traditions for their own family that make it special and comforting. Decorating the tree is great but my favorite thing about the tree is the luscious scent that permeates the room when you bring it inside. Nothing else like it.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful and joyous holiday season as you celebrate your own traditions.
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Victory Field
Posted on December 23rd, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Community Feature, Sports & Recreation
I always thought that Victory Field was a great name for a ballpark. When this new one was built in it’s present location a few year ago, it’s good that they didn’t change that. The things that did change were all for the better. It has a wonderful location now in the heart of the White River State Park area downtown, and is truly a marvelous facility. Just recently Indianapolis hosted the baseball owners convention which was a good opportunity to showcase Indy and all it’s other features downtown for the baseball community to see. I’m sure that increased our baseball stock. Who knows, maybe someday Indianapolis can have a major league team here too. The city would support it I’m sure. The park sits idle now, but not for long. Spring is just around the corner.
I must have looked at this photo 20 times before I noticed that the lamppost light is a baseball.
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Land of the Indians
Posted on December 22nd, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Public Buildings & Sites
This is a close-up of one of the gables on a small section of roof on the the Indiana Statehouse. Zoom lenses are great , huh? When I looked at this shot the first time, I was just admiring all the intricate details…and then I started to wonder who this figure was immortalized in stone? It’s definitely an American Indian with feathered headdress. So I’m wondering why they were made a part of the detailed stonework adorning the facade. Maybe it’s just as simple as it being the name of our state, Indiana, which when translated means literally ”Land of the Indians”? I’ll have to look into that.
I appreciate old buildings in general as they have so much to say, but if you’ve read other posts here, it’s not hard to tell that I’m particularly fascinated with this building. It’s truly an amazing structure. The craftsmanship and the amount of work that went into it are off the charts. The original cost of the building was 1.8 million dollars in 1888. That’s a lot of money back then. But if a structure of this sort were built today, with this same quality of materials and workmanship, the cost would be staggering. I found it interesting that the governor who was in office then, gave back $200,000 of the two million dollars that was appropriated for it because they came in under-budget. Today we are used to seeing major cost over-runs on just about any public project and bloated budgets in general. We could sure use some of the same old-fashion financial values now from our current government.
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Seasonal Market
Posted on December 21st, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Holidays, Market Conditions
In other parts of the country where the weather stays warmer, the effects aren’t quite as noticeable, but in central Indiana the real estate market generally slows down somewhat this time of year. Partly due to the weather, as most people don’t feel much like moving when it’s colder…and partly due to the holiday season itself, as people prioritize their time toward holiday preparations, travel, shopping, parties, etc. There’s just less time to shop for homes. Realtors are just like everyone else too. They start kicking in to the holiday mode right along with everyone else. So the effect is the market gets noticeably slower after Thanksgiving through the first of the year. I don’t know of any Realtor though who wouldn’t make time to put a sale together if one of their customers wanted to.
The other side of this is, there still are Buyers out there looking. Usually if they are looking, they are more motivated than the fair-weather crowd for a variety of reasons. Maybe they are switching jobs and relocating to Indy, or their lease is up at the end of December, or for whatever reason, they have to buy a home. So if you are a Seller, it’s not the time to roll up the sidewalks. There are less people looking, but those that are are more serious and less likely to quibble. Homes look so nice this time of the year too with all the decorations.
The Spring market begins and things start picking up about the second week in January after people shake off the New Year’s glow. 2010!…wow. We’ve been so used to saying “Oh-one” through Oh-nine” (‘01 – ‘09). How many times will we hear someone say “Oh-ten” in January? I bet I’ll make that mistake myself a time or two.
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Memorial mystery unveiled
Posted on December 20th, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Downtown, Public Buildings & Sites
The Indiana War Memorial, located between Pennsylvania and Meridian Streets just south of Michigan Street, is one of those buildings that people have seen for years but most pass by, including me, while coming or going downtown. Both of these photos were taken on two different days when I was doing just that. It’s an imposing structure and has a mysterious air about it just because very few know much about it. I can only remember one time being inside of it myself, and that was so many years ago that the memory is a blur. But I remember being surprised that there was a nice auditorium inside with theater-like seating. When I looked it up, I found out that there’s also a museum there that’s dedicated to Indiana war veterans from all the different conflicts Hoosiers have participated in. They just opened a new room there dedicated to the USS Indianapolis, a ship that was lost in World War II. That would be interesting to see sometime.
I’m not sure if the lighting in the upper shot at night is typical or just for the holidays, but the effect makes the building features standout and look more impressive. The shot below is taken from about the same vantage point at mid-day.
