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INDIANAPOLIS

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Originally appearing in Volume V14, Page 428 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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INDIANAPOLIS , the See also:

capital and largest See also:city of See also:Indiana, U.S.A., situated on the W. See also:fork of the See also:White See also:river, in See also:Marion See also:county, of which it is the county-seat, and at almost the exact See also:geographical centre of the See also:state. It is 824 M. W. of New See also:York by See also:rail, and 183 m. S.E. of See also:Chicago, and is about 710 ft. above See also:sea-level, and about 138 ft. above See also:Lake See also:Erie. Its See also:area is 30.77 sq. m., of which 29.95 sq. m. is See also:land. Pop. (188o) 75,074; (1890) 105,436; (1900) 169,164, of whom 17,122 were See also:foreign-See also:born (8362 being by See also:birth See also:German, 3765 Irish, and 1154 See also:English) and 15,931 were negroes; (1910 See also:census) 233,650. Indianapolis is near the centre of See also:population of the See also:United States. From 1847, when the first railway entered the city, Indianapolis has steadily grown in importance as a railway centre. It is served by the Chicago, Indianapolis & See also:Louisville, the See also:Cincinnati, See also:Hamilton & See also:Dayton, the See also:Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St See also:Louis (New York Central See also:System), the Lake Erie & Western (New York Central System), the See also:Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis (See also:Pennsylvania System) and the Vandalia (Pennsylvania System) See also:railways. At the See also:Union Station more than 15o trains enter and depart daily, carrying more than 30,000 passengers. Outside the city there is a " See also:belt See also:line," 152 M. See also:long, connecting the several railways and carrying more than 1,000,000 See also:freight cars annually; and an extensive electric See also:street railway system, with more than 150 M. of track and with interurban connexions, serves every See also:part of the city and its suburbs.

The city has a large See also:

traction terminal station, and is the See also:principal centre for the interurban electric lines of Indiana, which handle freight as well as passengers; in 1908 twenty-five interurban electric lines entered the city and operated about 400 cars every 24 See also:hours. Physically Indianapolis is one of the most attractive inland cities in See also:America. It is built on a level See also:plain surrounded by See also:low, gently sloping and beautifully wooded hills. Four principal avenues radiate from points near a central circle to the four corners of the city. The other streets run at right angles to one another. Streets and avenues are 90 ft. wide, except See also:Washington Street, which has a width of 120 ft. An excellent system of parks—8 within the city with an aggregate area of 1311 acres, and 3 with an aggregate area of 310 acres just outside the city limits—adds to the beauty of the city, among the most attractive being the See also:Riverside, the St Clair, the University, the Military, the See also:Fair View, ,the See also:Garfield and the Brookside. The city is lighted by See also:gas and See also:electricity,—it was one of the first cities in the United States to adopt electric See also:lighting,—and has a See also:good See also:water-See also:supply system, owned by a private See also:corporation, with a 42 See also:acre See also:filter plant of 18,000,000 gallons per diem capacity and an additional supply of water pumped from deep See also:wells outside the city. The public buildings and business blocks are built mostly of Indiana See also:building See also:stone. The state capitol stands in a square 8 acres in extent, and has a central See also:tower and See also:dome 240 ft. high. It covers 2 acres of ground and cost $2,000,000. The Marion county See also:court-See also:house cost $1,750,000.

Other noteworthy buildings are the Federal building (containing See also:

post-See also:office, See also:custom-house and Federal court-rooms; erected at a cost of $3,000,000); Tomlinson See also:Hall, capable of seating 3000 persons, given to the city by See also:Daniel Tomlinson; the Propylaeum, a See also:club-house for See also:women; the Commercial club; Das Deutsche Hans, belonging to a German social club; the Maennerchor club-house; the Union railway station; the traction terminal building; the city hall, and the public library. Near the city is the important United States See also:army. post, Fort See also:Benjamin See also:Harrison, named in See also:honour of See also:President Benjamin Harrison, whose See also:home was in Indianapolis. In or near the city are the Central Indiana See also:Hospital for the Insane, the Indiana Institution for the See also:Education of the See also:Blind, the Indiana Institution for the Education of the See also:Deaf, the Indiana Girls' School (included withthe Women's See also:prison until 1899, and under the same management as the prison from 1899 to 1903, when it became a See also:separate institution,—it was removed to Clermont, ro m. from Indianapolis, in 1907), and a Women's prison (opened in 1873, the first in the United States), which is under See also:female management. The public library, founded in 1871, contains more than 100,000 volumes. There are ten other See also:libraries, the most important of which are the state See also:law library (about 40,000 volumes) and the state library (about 46,000 volumes). The city is an educational centre of considerable importance. The university of Indianapolis (1896) is a loose association of three really See also:independent institutions—the Indiana Law School (1894), the Indiana Dental See also:College (1879), and See also:Butler University (chartered in 1849 and opened in 1855 as the See also:North-western See also:Christian University, and named Butler University in 1877 in honour of See also:Ovid Butler, a benefactor). Other educational institutions are the Indianapolis College of Law (1897), the Indiana Medical College (the School of See also:Medicine of Purdue University, formed in 1905 by the consolidation of the Medical College of Indiana, the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Fort See also:Wayne College of Medicine), the State College of Physicians and Surgeons (the medical school of Indiana University), the Indiana Veterinary College (1892), the I1dianapolis Normal School, the Indiana See also:Kindergarten and See also:Primary Normal Training School (private), and the See also:Winona Technical See also:Institute. The last named was opened in 1904, and is controlled by the Winona Lake corporation, having See also:official connexion with several See also:national See also:trade unions. It has departments of See also:pharmacy, See also:chemistry, See also:electrical wiring, See also:lithography, house-See also:painting, See also:printing, See also:carpentry, moulding, See also:tile-setting, bricklaying, machinery and applied See also:science. The See also:art association of Indianapolis was founded in 1883; and under its auspices is conducted an art school (1902) in accordance with the See also:bequest of See also:John Herron (1817-1895), the school and museum of the association being housed in the John Herron Art Institute, dedicated in 1906. The city has several See also:fine monuments, among which are statues of See also:Oliver P.

See also:

Morton, See also:George See also:Rogers See also:Clark, See also:William See also:Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, See also:Thomas A. See also:Hendricks and See also:Major-See also:General Henry W. Lawton. The Soldiers' and Sailors' See also:Monument, erected by the state, stands in the circle in the centre of the city, rises to a height of 284.5 ft. above the street level, and is surmounted by a statue of Victory 38 ft. high. On the See also:east and See also:west faces of the See also:base are two See also:great stone See also:groups of See also:Peace and See also:War respectively. The monument was erected after designs by See also:Bruno See also:Schmidt of See also:Berlin, with fountains at the base said to be among the largest in the See also:world, their capacity being 20,000 gallons per See also:minute. The city's central geographical position, its extensive railway connexions, and its proximity to important See also:coal-See also:fields have combined to make it one of the principal See also:industrial centres of the See also:Middle West. The value of its " factory " products was 17.6% of the state's See also:total in 1900 and 20'9% of the total in 1905. The increase in the value of the " factory " product between 1900 and 1905 was from $59,322,234 to $82,227,950, or 38.6%. Indianapolis is the principal five stock centre of the See also:Ohio Valley, and has extensive stock-yards covering more than ran acres. Slaughtering and See also:meat-packing is the most important See also:industry, the value of the product amounting to $24,458,810 in 1905; this industry See also:dates from about 1835. Among other important manufactures are foundry and See also:machine See also:shop products ($6,944,392 m 1905); See also:flour and grist-See also:mill See also:pro-ducts ($4,428,664); cars and shop construction and See also:repairs by See also:steam railways ($2,502,789); saws; waggons and carriages ($2,049,207); printing and See also:publishing (See also:book and See also:job, $1,572,688; and See also:newspapers and See also:periodicals, $2,715,666); See also:starch; See also:cotton and woollen goods; See also:furniture ($2,528,238); canned goods ($1,693,818); See also:lumber and See also:timber ($1,556,466); structural See also:iron See also:work ($1,541,732); See also:beer ($1,300,764); and planing-mill products, See also:sash, doors and blinds ($1,111,264).

Indianapolis is governed under a See also:

form of See also:government adopted originally in a See also:special See also:charter of 1891 and in 1905 incorporated in the new state municipal See also:code, which was based upon it, It provides for a See also:mayor elected every four years, a single legislative chamber, a See also:common See also:council, and various administrative departments—of public safety, public See also:health, &c. The guiding principle of the charter, which is generally accepted as a See also:model of its See also:kind, is that of the See also:complete separation of See also:powers and the See also:absolute placing of responsibility. On the See also:admission of Indiana as a state, See also:Congress gave to it four sections of public land as a site on which to establish a state capital. This was located in 182o in almost the exact geographical centre of the state, where a small See also:settlement had recently been made, and the See also:town of Indianapolis was laid out in the following See also:year. It was then in the midst of dense forests and was wholly unconnected by roads with other parts of the state. Upon its final See also:acceptance as the capital, there was some activity in land See also:speculation, but Indianapolis had only 600 inhabitants and a single street when the seat of government was removed thither in 1824. The legislature met here for the first See also:time in 1825. Some impetus was given to the city's growth by the completion of the National Road, and later by the opening of railways, but until after the See also:Civil War its See also:advancement was slow. It was incorporated as a town in 1832, its population then being 1000. The first state capitol was completed in 1836. Indianapolis suffered severely from the business panic of 1837, and ten years later, when it received its first city charter, it had only about 6000 inhabitants; in the same year a See also:free public school system was inaugurated.

End of Article: INDIANAPOLIS

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