A Place of Sense

Natural places have a role to play in our neighborhoods.  The best urban sites share space with nature so well that you can not tell when the bricks stop and the trees begin.  Whether it is a chestnut tree in a courtyard or an old street lined with elms, nature has to be present or our cityscape is unsatisfactory.

The beautiful streets of Lockerbie Square did not happen by accident

Michigan Street in Irvington with sidewalk and tree canopy

The ability to incorporate natural spaces into our neighborhood is often limited by our choices in infrastructure.  We refuse to plant trees along streets because it is considered dangerous for drivers (even though its much safer for pedestrians).  Once we convince ourselves that trees are a good idea we find that the power company “tops” them to keep the power lines free of limbs.

Using alleyways or underground wiring can solve part of the problem.  But even then our arborist friends are thwarted, sometimes because steam pipes rot tree roots (even wonder why we have so few trees downtown?) or the city starts poisoning vegetation to save on costs (checked out Robert D. Orr Plaza lately?).

A small street near Pleasant Run Creek has kept its natural appeal

Integrating nature into our neighborhoods doesn’t happen by accident.  It has to be an explicit strategy that is aggressively pursued and maintained.  It must have support from everyone in a community, from the family next door all the way to the deputy mayor.  Otherwise, we end up in a desert of concrete and asphalt.

Using natural elements in our city improves our quality of life.  But some places deserve the right to remain natural. Sometimes the beauty of an area overwhelms us and we realize that we can’t improve it.  The Kyle Oak in Irvington is just such a place.  The Kyle family loved their Bur Oak so much, that they abandoned and bulldozed their home rather than put the tree at risk.

Meet the oldest resident of Irvington

The tree limbs span time and space

People need access to nature to stay healthy

While the Kyle Oak is a unique example of nature in our neighborhoods, there are opportunities all around us that we should be taking advantage of.  Pocket parks reclaimed from shuttered houses, community gardens, tree-lined avenues and shopping streets, or wildflower meadows instead of lawns.  Let’s get serious about inviting nature to live with us.

A wrinkled carcass reminds us that trees grow old and pass like all things in nature

Recently the question has been raised how to fix an ugly building, mostly in regards to the Di Rimini (and here and here and especially here).  It is a hard question to answer without first discussing what “ugly” means. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there are obvious problems with treating a building purely as sculpture and ignoring its contribution to the urban environment beyond aesthetics.

Ugly

Buildings can be ugly in many ways.  Some turn their back on the street, showing a blank concrete or sheetmetal wall.  Some use such cheap materials that their facades disintegrate within a decade.  Some are unconscionable mixtures of architectural styles that blend into an incoherent bloody mess.  Some are multiple offenders.

Fortunately, designers have many ways to improve a building’s appearance and functionality without wiping the slate clean.  An industrial building in my neighborhood serves a good first example.  The structure was built right in the heart of the historic district and presented a brutal precast concrete face to the neighborhood.

Ugly

Adaptive reuse by a local firm in 2008-2009 resulted in a new appearance and some good activity within the space. By using a modern scheme of awnings and accentuating the windows, the designers drew out the positive aspects of the building.  It’s not a perfect fix, but it shows that the space is cared for and that the owners care about its place in the neighborhood.

The renovated building now hosts a design factory, an architecture firm, and technology firms

The updates were simple but effective

Another example of an ugly building is the site at the corner of Virginia and Washington.  One of the most important street corners of Ralston’s original plan for Indianapolis, it has been host to some of the best and the worst buildings in Indy history.  The fun part about this one is that the votes for best and worst flip around depending on who you ask.

The original building was a ornate flatiron style building called the Indiana Trust building.  (See Vance-Block building history).  This was demolished in 1959 to make way for a modern building for Merchants Bank. It lost the urban density, street-level retail, and historic urban texture of the previous building.  The new structure also introduced a drive-thru and a facade meant to be appreciated at 40mph.

The "Zipper Building" was a famous Modernist landmark

The quest for modernism claimed another victim in 1959, but the result was a structure that some hoped would be even more timeless in its beauty.  The debate over the new building was a reflection over a more universal debate:  what is the role of historic preservation in our cities?

The new owners changed the facade of the zipper building in 2007.  I will recuse myself for professional reasons and not offer an opinion on this one, but I am interested in what people think.  Was the loss of a modernist building just another missed opportunity to preserve our heritage, or does the new facade and street level commercial space fix an ugly building that was never meant to be there?

The new Broadbent building recalls the historic buildings once on site

The newer design allows for a more active streetscape

Most importantly, do these examples give us any ideas on how to deal with our current stock of ugly buildings?  Should we enthusiastically preserve ugly buildings as part of our urban history or should we focus on converting them into buildings that fit downtown?

Many urban neighborhoods have a need for infill construction, where homes that were lost to deterioration or other reasons must be replaced.  Here in Irvington we have a unique case where a gas explosion in 2004 eliminated three houses instantly and blew out windows in a one-block radius. (images from kipar-one here)

One house disappeared and the two adjacent were condemned

In an explosion this bad, we are lucky that nobody died.  It’s actually a fun conversation topic to ask people in the neighborhood, I’ve heard several variants from “slept right through it” to “the coldest nights of my life, took a week to replace the windows.”

Just this summer, the last destroyed house was replaced.  The first one, at the corner plot, did not leave anyone thrilled.  The second one was a solid infill project.  And happily, fate saved the best for last – a two story traditional American home that is perfect for the neighborhood.

The new corner duplex uses traditional materials but does not address the street as well

A new home that matches the original in massing and style

The new blue house is a great addition to the street

All homes featured were built after the approval of the historic district status, but I think the quality is improving because developers are now aware that poor designs are much less likely to be approved.  I believe that historic development requirements can have a good impact on neighborhood development, and I’m glad that it remains an option here in Indiana.

During the Spirit and Place Festival this year, Health by Design sponsored a presentation by the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) at the Indiana State Museum. UrbanIndy wrote an entry about the event, pointing out how the event fostered participation and collaboration.

Placemaking (@wikipedia) is about building plazas, city squares, and all kinds of pedestrian infrastructure that supports active streetlife. Placemaking is a great way for people to get involved in their community, because placemaking requires no special skills. Everyone knows what kind of spaces they enjoy, and there are no technical challenges such as fire safety or structural safety concerns that require specialized knowledge.

I don’t want to minimize the difficulty of good design, because landscape architects, civil engineers, traffic engineers, and architects must be involved for a successful project. But in general, the public can and should be active in setting goals and design objectives.

I decided to apply what I learned from PPS to my own experiences with my neighborhood. PPS strongly advocates for public involvement in placemaking, encouraging residents to communicate what they know about their places. It is up to the public to speak up about what works, what doesn’t work, and what they want their places to be like.

During the presentation, Ethan Kent (working for the Great Cities Initiative) asked all the participants to think about their local places. In particular, they ask people to use the power of ten to organize their ideas. So for my evaluation of Irvington (see earlier posts), I have come up with 10 ideas each category: 10 places that work, 10 places that fail, and the 10 best opportunities for change.

10 Irvington Places that Work:
These places are the reasons that people enjoy living in the neighborhood. They succeed on a basic level and inspire the residents to use the public space as a shared resource, building a community.

Pennsy Trail
This rail-to-trail linear park is brand new, but is a great addition to the area. (See earlier posts for more information)

South Audubon Circle
This park in the middle of a traffic circle is one of the neighborhood’s most loved places. (See earlier traffic circle post for more information)

Washington St. Commercial Corridor
This stretch of East Washington Street is a functional and exciting commercial area, with a theater, local coffeeshop and Starbucks, library, old lodge building, several restaurants, and locally owned shops.

Michigan/New York Bike Lanes
The bike lanes make commuting on two wheels to downtown possible. (See earlier post) The intersection with Pleasant Run Trail and Ellenberger park makes for an interesting crossroads.

Historic Houses
Some of the best historic homes in Indianapolis can be found in the neighborhood. They are scattered throughout, rewarding exploration of the area. (See earlier post) Many of the homes create a sense of history and community, turning the narrow streets and sidewalks into comfortable neighborhood places.

Street Festivals
Twice a year, Irvington closes down a few blocks of E Wash St and has a party in the street. Thousands of people, local merchants, funnel cakes, kids, dogs, and a fish fry replace the internal combustion engines. (See Halloween post for more photos)

Ellenberger Park
This place is at the nexus of pleasant run creek park and the bike lanes heading downtown.

It has a great blend of functions and greenery, making it a cherished place within the community. Ellenberger park is a great example of something unexpected that fits in. Just like Central Park in NYC, a good stretch of green can make a great place when supported by the community.

Audubon Court Apartments
Recently renovated and opened to residents, this old apartment building has a unique style and wonderful street presence along Washington Street. The front porches and interesting features make this a place rather than just an address.

Bona Thompson Library
This structure from the old Butler University campus hosts many events and serves as a communal place nestled in the quiet residential streets. It is where the residents learn about local history, hold forums for discussion, vote, and keep treasures.

Irvington Branch Library
This building represents the city’s commitment to the area. The library is one of the best and most useful buildings in the area, and it creates a place on its grounds that is used for all sorts of local gatherings and outdoor meetings. It’s also a good location to sit and watch people walking through the neighborhood.

10 Irvington Places that Fail:
This section features a list of places that fail to provide for the interconnected needs of humanity. Some of them were designed for specific clients and serve their owners well, but a key element is missing. Public spaces must responsibly accommodate many different users. These spaces have been designed, but the designers failed to put the buildings in the context of the neighborhood.

Old Pennsylvania Railroad Commercial Area
The loss of railroad commuters made businesses move to E Wash St during the early 20th century. Some of the old buildings are still here, but there was no effort to preserve the original storefront area and newer buildings make it look like a suburban development. (See earlier post)

Indy East Motel
In its final years of operation, this motel became a state-sponsored halfway home of sexual offenders, instigating a powerful reaction from local residents. The neighborhood fought a long battle to close this motel, knowing that a closed business would be more welcome than a haven for crime. The empty property is the legacy of a property owner who cared more for money than the welfare of his community. (see story on Indy.com)

Commercial Corridor east of Arlington
Just another photo showing the banal, repressive, and dangerous streetscape found in most communities in the US. Complete Streets anyone?

Dilapidated Apartment Buildings
When rents are low, the apartment buildings suffer from disinvestment and the residents are forced to live in substandard housing. There are several apartment buildings along E Wash St that have neglected the opportunity to create spaces, in contrast to the Audubon Court mentioned above.

Parking Lot for Plasma Center
This one place inspires more hostile feelings amongst residents than anywhere else in the area besides the old Indy East Motel. The original buildings were demolished (aside from one blighted corner building). The new building does not address the street, but the parking lot instead. Combined with the suburb-style pharmacy across the street, it feels out of place. I have no problem with the business, but the space it created is just plain weird.

Washington Street as Urban Highway
Too many lanes, no accommodation of bicyclists, and no reason for being oversize. This road is way overdesigned for traffic. Seriously, how would any area ever accommodate street life with a high speed highway splitting it in two? The accelerating cars speeding down Wash St prevent any street conversations or even talking on the phone while enjoying a snack at Starbucks.

How many East-West highways are necessary on the East-side of Indy? We have I-70, Michigan/NY (1-way streets), E Wash St (US-40), and Brookville/English. WTF? Further east of Irvington they even added lanes to US40, now with 7 lanes of traffic and no median, crosswalks, or consistent signal spacings. The photo below was taken at 5PM, I don’t see why we needed this expansion in any case. If you ever needed evidence of no intelligent life on the planet, this would be it.

Excess Greenscaping, Parking Lots, and Low-Profile Buildings
The low price of real-estate during the second half of the 20th century invited sprawling architecture and parking lots in place of the historic and more energy efficient multiple story buildings located on the street front. It also meant that the local roads stopped feeling like contained places that comfort and support pedestrian life.

Asphalt Road Conditions
Another problem with the streets-as-places model in the neighborhood is the patchwork asphalt roads. On one hand it does slow traffic, but on the other hand it makes it appear that the neighborhood does not care for its own infrastructure. The city-dictated maintenance schedule is to blame, so locals have to live with a public eyesore on their doorstep for many years.

Sidewalks with Utility Poles
Why does this happen in the US?

Bell Telephone Building
The destruction of this beautiful building’s facade went beyond a mere loss of historic character. The loss of windows meant that the street lost its status as a watched and cared for place.

10 Best Opportunities for Change in Irvington:
This section is a compilation of my ideas for the neighborhood. They are not official, and I have never submitted them for consideration in any capacity. But the whole point of the exercise is brainstorming, so I hope they get people thinking about ways to improve Irvington, or even inspire people to think about their own local places.

The United States deserves better places, and starting locally is the best way to make that happen. Look around you and start thinking about placemaking and the opportunity we have to recreate our public spaces.

Washington Street Corridor Streetscape
This is a project that will be completed within 2 years. Placemaking is the main purpose, so it should be a great project for the neighborhood.

Extension of Pennsy Trail in Each Direction
Another planned project, but with unknown completion time. This one is important because it will add another reason to be in Irvington and also link many of the favorite places together.

Convert Bonna Street into Linear Market
Currently, Bonna Street is a narrow, non-continuous street paved with a combination of bricks, asphalt, and concrete. The adjoining green space is the future location of the Pennsy Trail extending to Ritter, but is being used as nothing more than a parking area right now.

I propose restoring the brick pavers, extending the Pennsy Trail, and using the street for temporary markets and festivals. This would encourage commercial activity to return to this area, adding additional storefronts to the Historic Irvington area.

New Plaza outside Irvington Branch Library
While the Irvington Branch Library is great as it currently stands, the front sidewalk area is not wide enough to support the impromptu community meetings. In fact, there is no outdoor plaza anywhere on E Wash St corridor that would help groups meet and greet. I have seen lots of activities like bike-rides, rain-barrel workshops, political rallies, and similar events in Irvington. Providing an open location, freely available to anyone that would accommodate 20-50 people would add a key place for the community.

Connecting all Schools Together with Bike/Walk Lanes
The many public, private, and charter schools within the neighborhood can be converted into special places by reducing the need for parking lots and drop-off areas.

Harvested Rainwater Sprinkler Park
Community swimming pools are expensive. They also require a lot of built infrastructure. And then there is the concern that pools may be a waste of potable water. In response to these concerns, I propose adding a Sprinkler Park at Brown’s Corner Park.

The concept is to make it an educational center that explains where recreational water comes from and how the pumps receive power. If no sun is shining and no rain has been falling, then the sprinkler park would not run. This would teach users that water and power are renewable resources, and it’s not just a matter of flipping a switch or turning a faucet.

Because the sprinkler park would have no standing water, it would not require lifeguards or attendants of any kind. The sprinklers would only operate during certain hours, and be freely available. No chain-link fences required.

Greenscaping and Bio-retention area for Irvington Square Mall
This parking lot has *way* too much paving and parking spaces. I have never seen the lots filled, which creates the impression of failed businesses. In reality, it’s just too much parking capacity. I propose adding some green elements that tie into the trail. Adding some storefronts along E Wash St would be a great idea too, but I don’t know if the property owners want to add even more square footage to this sprawling commercial area.

Brick Paving along Historic Streets
Brick street paving is a great way to restore historic authenticity to neighborhoods. It also slows down traffic significantly and forces through-traffic to other areas. Pavers also turn impermeable surfaces into permeable ones, reducing stormwater quantity and recharging aquifers. Irvington has more brick streets than any other neighborhood in Indianapolis, but we can always improve the situation by adding more.

My favorite neighborhood with brick streets (aside from Irvington) is German Village in Columbus, Ohio. (see photo) Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh, PA is another great example. (see photo)

Transit Center and Landbanking
Indianapolis is moving towards a regional transit system. It may be 20 years off, but Irvington should start planning for a neighborhood transit center now. It is likely that the B&O lines will be used to run a rail system or a streetcar along E Wash St will be used. (See MPO RTS Study Map here) Either way, the neighborhood should begin thinking about how to accommodate mass transit and for a regional transit system.

In the meantime, a local transit center can be established near the main commercial corridor. Some people think they are just expensive bus stops, but they are much more than that. They are not a waste of money, they are a visible commitment to public transit in the city. Such buildings would be the best possible marketing tool for IndyGo – a stable and sure place for passengers to gather with clearly posted schedules. One great recent example is the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit (see Arch Tracker page).

The neighborhood must be ready to propose a viable solution that will fit into the larger transit system plan. That will guarantee the neighborhood an important position on the transit line and allow Irvington to help develop the solution.

24hr Communal Television Plaza for Public Viewing
This is probably my most radical proposal. Instead of prohibiting gatherings and preventing loiterers, I would try to encourage it. Set up a plaza for free public use, one with a large television (or several televisions). Instead of people watching 5 hours of television at home every day (Nielsen average for US viewers), people could watch their shows or sports events in a communal setting. This has been very successful for large events like the Olympics or World Cup Soccer, so why not apply the lesson to public spaces year-round?

Public safety is often a concern in these places, but statistics prove that these places are safer than less traveled ones. People are generally civil and obey regulations when other people are around. The spaces that need additional regulations and monitoring are the places that nobody visits. We must not be afraid to let people come together freely, because that is the essence of community.

Halloween in Irvington is celebrated with a flourish. The old town’s namesake, Washington Irving, is honored in several ways along with other traditional authors of the American Romantic period that Irvington embodies. Poems by Poe, stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and ghost stories from the neighborhood’s past all play a big role in the Halloween Festival.

My favorite part is the Saturday Festival, during which time they close E Wash St and let the crowds overtake it. It’s a wonderful reminder that streets can be a great communal place.

This year was one of the best because of the great weather and the calendar – the Saturday of the festival was the 31st this year! I enjoyed the event and definitely found some interesting things. We bought some art, had some of the fish fry, and ended up with a giant paella cookset.

In general, it was great fun and the costumes we saw were amazing. We didn’t stay for the whole event, but I would have loved to have seen the kids and the pets parading down main street.

Several live bands were playing

Death ponders a new form of transit

St. George and the Dragon

Witch, of the canine variety

My favorite costumes (pregnant cheerleader, Bender, and mad scientist)

The North Irvington Gardens Historic District (wikipedia) is the part of the Indianapolis Eastside that is directly north of where I live. It is another great Indianapolis neighborhood, and is full of people. Technically, it is on the national register of historic places, but is not a locally registered historic district. This can sometimes be an important distinction, but it depends on what your own feelings on the matter are.

The only local blogger I could find was this website: Irvington Terrace blog. It isn’t what I would call particularly active, but if you are a resident of the area maybe you can hint to the author you would like to see more, or maybe you know of another website/blog and can post a link in the comments section.

Two important businesses in this area are the Community East hospital branch and the Historic Steer-In restaurant. Only one of the two serves beer, so you can guess which one you are getting photos of…

Built in the 1950′s, the Steer-In used modern design to stand out

The covered drive-in design still looks great

This is about as authentic a place as you can find

Steer-In has a limited but very good bottle beer selection

I am particularly fond of the stuffed pizza

The neighborhood of Irvington was hit by a powerful thunderstorm on Tuesday, August 4, 2009. Thankfully, this storm carried no tornadoes with it, but the high wind speeds were quite damaging. Downed trees, lost power, and a whole lot of rain kept the neighborhood on edge for most of the day. The Indianapolis airport clocked wind speeds of 67 MPH around mid-day, which is only a 5 year mean recurrence interval but definitely not your average thunderstorm.

No power in my house – but it could have been much worse

This piece of wood impaled itself into our lawn

When I arrived home after work on Tuesday, the neighborhood looked like a war zone. Severals streets were closed down and several crews were working to cut up trees. Our house on the north side of the neighborhood had lost power (and would be without for 3 days). I found three large branches on the roof, but the gutters seemed to be the only damaged parts of the house. There was some mad shuffling to get refrigerated goods into our neighbors’ homes, but other than that it was just a quiet few days reading by candlelight until power was restored.

This poor tree was all but ready to fall over

The next day I explored a little more of the neighborhood. Our neighbors to the east lost their garage. Near South Aububon circle the Victorian Gothic house lost their porch (but could have lost much more). The circle itself lost a huge tree that crushed a car. On the east intersection an enormous forked tree split all the way to the ground.

A large tree on the circle causing mayhem in the streets

Bad luck

The heavy winds split the tree trunk

If you enlarge you can see where the tree bounced off of the tower…

… and landed on top of the porch

The city definitely helped restore the streets and clear debris, I was quite pleased with their reaction. There is still plenty of debris resting on the sidewalks waiting to be picked up, so hopefully this will happen before the leaves drop from the branches and start rotting.

Traffic Roundabouts are becoming a hot topic of infrastructure in the US (see Infrastructurist post, PPS post). Naturally, you would expect Indianapolis, a.k.a. Circle City, a.k.a. Crossroads of America, to be a leader in the circular traffic systems. The symbolic and actual city center is a shared space traffic circle – even the flag (see above) is based on Indy’s transportation system.

The monument at the city’s center is a shared space (mostly) traffic circle

Traffic can enter from all directions and there are no lane markings but everyone manages well

Indianapolis used a grid layout for the street system (which worked well early in its history), but ended ceding too much ROW to cars and parking for the downtown to remain viable for pedestrians. Later on, Indy unfortunately embraced the raised superhighway with cloverleaf ramp layout. These tactics elevated the rights of drivers (many of whom don’t even live or work in the city) over every other citizen and local land-owner. Much of the effort of modern urban planning is attempting to roll back these developments and try to incorporate strategies which allow traffic to flow freely but also protects pedestrians.

Luckily, clever minds in the suburb to the north (Carmel) of the city have decided to take advantage of the modern traffic circle (now known as a roundabout). There are now so many circles in the planning/construction phases that some residents think the traffic planning department is crazy. They have simple roundabouts, regulated circles, dogbone double roundabout highway overpasses, etc. It makes driving a motorcycle a lot more fun, or more exciting if the sweepers haven’t been through recently (I lived in Carmel for two years and enjoyed the developments).

This is a dogbone overpass

Wacky, but effective

Traffic now flows through this area much more quickly

Unfortunately, too much signage and lane markings lends a cluttered feeling and causes visual overload for drivers

Carmel also hosts some interesting information on their home page. A link to Kansas State Center for Transportation Research and Training Roundabout page, a link to a flash demonstration showing how to negotiate a roundabout (this should be required viewing for anyone living in Carmel who can’t figure out the difference between the yield sign and the stop sign (I know they are the same color, but honestly!)). Finally, a brochure produced in Carmel discussing the reasons for building them and tips for safe driving. Carmel’s Roundabouts seem to be good policy. They are still a bit too auto-oriented for my tastes. But they are a great experiment and I hope the Carmel-ites are well served by them.

Satellite image of Clay Terrace north circle

The outdoor shopping area of Clay Terrace has two roundabouts and one pedestrian plaza

The distinctive pavement makes excessive signage unnecessary

The angle of entry and yielding requirements keeps traffic flowing at a slower pace

Pedestrian crossings and median breaks are provided

Here in Irvington, we have three circles of our own (traffic circles – not roundabouts; but I could be mistaken as I have not a great mind for traffic engineering semantics). The two main ones are located on Audubon Road, they were built to link the two sides of the town that grew up across the old National Road. All circles function as traffic control devices, but are not so oppressively auto-oriented.

Satellite image with locations of three traffic circles in Irvington

The North Audubon Circle now is the site for a Methodist church (built 1928). It is the largest of the three circles. Several streets branch off, and it acts as a collector for the arterial of E. Washington Street / US 40 / Historic National Road.

North Audubon Circle

The South Irving Circle is a pocket park with a bust of Washington Irving. The south circle has been recently renovated and hosts outdoor concerts, local gatherings, and plenty of teenagers looking for a place to hang out.

South Irving Circle

Restoring the old brick pavers would really make this area special

The final circle in Irvington is on North Campbell Street, and looks like more of a private development early in the neighborhood history. The central house sitting on it is pretty outstanding, sitting high and proud in the middle of the street. The house is magnificent, but I’m sure it is somewhat similar to living in a goldfish bowl. It’s a fun location, and one of the more interesting bits of character that I have found roaming the streets near my house.

Side yard/front yard/back yard… or radial yard?

So there are the three traffic circles in Irvington. Each is different, one hosting a church, one hosting a park, and the other is privately owned. It is easy to contrast the varieties seen in Irvington vs. the modern ones in Carmel or downtown Indy. The experiment with traffic circles has been going on for quite some time in Indianapolis, and I hope the form continues to evolve. One thing for sure is that traffic circles have a great opportunity to act as a transitional element or landmark feature, and modern roundabouts save time, money, and gasoline all day long. I hope that we start taking advantage of it, too.

Just wanted to formally announce a few items of note. First off, the Pennsy Trail has been paved and is now only awaiting a trailhead (I think) before it would be ready for opening. When I stopped by to take some photos there were already a few travelers using it, so the populace is ready for sure.

Next up, the Audubon Court renovations are complete and the majority of units have already been rented. The finished results are excellent based on what I’ve seen so far. IDO has written up an article on the renovation.

A new transit option is available for the Eastside. The Near Eastside Orbiter (NEO) travels an hourly route between the 10th street corridor, downtown, E.Washington Street, and Irvington. I hope it works out, but I honestly have no idea how it will be received. At the very least it is a good experiment. From the website link:

The Near Eastside Orbiter (NEO) is a circular shuttle which provides transportation for residents of the near eastside community. The shuttle fills the gaps of current Indygo service as a way for individuals to have access to not only the downtown loop, but to also connect them to jobs, shopping and recreational in the neighborhood.

This weekend is the Celebrate Irvington festival, taking place in the neighborhood. It’s going to be an interesting event as this year will be combined with the unveiling of a new marketing campaign and coinciding with the Irvington Art Walk.

Unfortunately, I will be out of town this weekend bumming around NYC (woohoo!) so it’s up to everyone else to make this event great and show support for all the businesses and artists in the neighborhood. But I thought it would be fun to show some photos and pieces from last year’s event, where we hosted an artist and the photography club in the icehouse main space.

The flyer

Artwork perched safely on the steel walls and the easels

It’s a great venue for *Large* art items

UPDATE:
New email from IDO says there will be additional events to sweeten the deal. Audubon Court will be open for viewing, and IDO representatives will be on-hand to discuss the new Irvington logo and the streetscape project breaking ground next year.