Indianapolis Cultural Districts

Indianapolis has seven designated neighborhoods as Cultural Districts: Broad Ripple Village, Massachusetts Avenue, Fountain Square, the Wholesale District, the Canal & White River State Park, Indiana Avenue, and Market East.

Originally an independent municipality, Broad Ripple was annexed by Indianapolis in 1922.

It currently hosts an active social scene, fueled by the near presence of Butler University. A large number of private art galleries, bars, and independently owned restaurants line the Village's streets. There are various venues for eating, entertainment and shopping. There are several restaurants that you can get a good variety of food such as Chinese, Indian, Thai. For entertainment, there is comedy, sports bars, and two brewpubs.

Massachusetts Avenue offers some of the city's most visible theaters and art galleries. Located just a few blocks northeast of Monument Circle, Massachusetts Avenue was designed in 1821 as one of Downtown's four original diagonal streets and began as a commercial artery that mainly served the surrounding residential area. The Avenue gained popularity as service-oriented businesses sprung up with the development of streetcar lines. The Avenue grew continuously between 1870 and 1930.

Bernard Vonnegut, grandfather of author Kurt Vonnegut, and Arthur Bohn designed the Athenaeum in 1893 as a home for German societies in Indianapolis to gather. Both were American-born sons of German immigrants, a culture that had a strong influence in the area around this time. Following these many years of good fortune and commercial growth, this area and all of Downtown fell into economic decline following World War II once Indianapolis lost its importance as a railroad hub.

Gentrification in the 1990s propelled the area from squalor to one of the city's more fashionable addresses. Currently, redevelopment of "Mass Ave" focuses on fostering locally owned shops, theaters, and restaurants. The once destined-for-demolition Athenaeum building now houses the American Cabaret Theatre, Rathskeller Restaurant and downtown YMCA location.

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