View of the Indiana Central Canal
| Description: |
Construction on the Indiana Central Canal began in 1836. The original plans were for a canal that would be 296 miles long, connecting the Wabash and Erie Canal with the Ohio River, in the hopes that Indianapolis would become an important stop for waterway traffic. The first section of the canal, stretching from Indianapolis to Broad Ripple opened in the summer of 1839 and regular boat excursions were introduced, allowing the general public to travel the canal. This venture soon proved to be unprofitable and was discontinued. However, Fairview Park, an area of land along the east side of the canal, south of 50th Street, proved to be a popular excursion point for boating parties, even before the land was purchased by the Citizens Street Railway Company in 1889. The company developed the land as an amusement park that operated from 1890 until the early 1920s. Today this land is the home of Butler University. |
|---|---|
| Source: |
http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BldgsGrnds/id/366 |
| Collection: |
Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection |
| Rights: | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/ |
| Copyright: |
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted |
| Geography: |
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 39.843219, -86.172038 39.843219 -86.172038 |
| Subjects: |
Canals Trees Parks Amusement parks Butler University--History Indianapolis (Ind.)--History Indiana Central Canal Fairview Park |
Further information on this record can be found at its source.
This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Indiana State Library.