“As the driver, you have the wheel to hang on to, so it’s not as noticeable,” says racecar driver Sarah Fisher. “But from a passenger standpoint, you’re certainly thankful to have bucket seats to brace yourself in.” My breathless moments were just a taste of what it’s like to race in the Indianapolis 500, the world’s largest single-day sporting event. The pace car, which sets the speed before the green flag
children’s museum, the city also show- cases world-class culture and attractions, all draped within a burgeoning skyline next to the grassy 250-acre White River State Park, home to the city’s zoo, a Minor League Baseball stadium and a string of impressive museums. In addition, the nation’s 12th largest city recently underwent a major facelift as it welcomed Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. More than $3 billion in development
Second only to Washington, D.C., in the number of war memorials, India- napolis celebrates its historic legacy with the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Monu- ment and the columned Indiana War Memorial. Made of local limestone, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was built as a tribute to Civil War soldiers and has come to symbolize both the city and state. Adorned with statues and flanked by fountains, it stands just 15 feet shorter
The Cultural Trail conveys pedestrians and cyclists to the city’s hot spots.
Flanked by public art, the trail connects six of
than the Statue of Liberty. “One side represents war, and the other side peace, with cannons and soldiers fighting, and people coming home to their families on the other side,” explains monument guide Kyle Trueblood. A Civil War museum sits at the monument’s base, while 330 heart-pumping steps lead up to a glass- enclosed observation deck, also reached by an elevator. A few blocks north, the War Memorial houses a chronological museum of U.S. conflicts from the Revolutionary War through Iraq and Afghanistan. A colossal stars and stripes hangs in the 110-foot- the city’s cultural districts and leads to many of the most-visited attractions.
With 100 acres of woodlands, wetlands, gardens and grounds, Indianapolis’ Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park is one of the country’s foremost comtemporary sculpture parks.
drops, sped along at 130 miles per hour. Sleek, ground-hugging racecars, on the other hand, thunder down the track at nearly twice that speed, averaging 220 miles per hour. “At g-forces over three times your body weight,” says Fisher, “it’s like the initial takeoff of a regional jet—only sideways.” To many, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 are the iconic signatures of this Midwestern metropolis. But with Rembrandt and Renoir paintings in the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the world’s largest
included Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts; the shining blue-glass JW Marriott, the nation’s largest; and a $275 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. The city likewise planted more than 2,000 trees, beautifying the Indianapo- lis Cultural Trail, an 8-mile biking and pedestrian path along downtown’s Cen- tral Canal dotted with pedal boats, kay- aks and Venetian-style gondolas. Flanked by public art, the urban trail connects six of the city’s cultural districts and leads to many of the most-visited attractions.
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