White River State Park

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White River State Park
"Designation"	State Park
"Location"	Indiana USA
"Nearest City"	Indianapolis, Indiana
"Area"	250 acres
"Date of Establishment"	1979
"Governing Body"	[http://www.in.gov/whiteriver/about/admin.html White River State Park (Development Commission)]

White River State Park covers 250 acres (1 km²) in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, just west of the downtown area at 801 W. Washington Street. It is also one of six designated cultural districts in Indianapolis. Among the attractions located in or near the park are the Indiana State Museum and IMAX Theater, Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art, NCAA Headquarters and NCAA Hall of Champions, the Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial, Victory Field as home of the Indianapolis Indians Baseball, and [http://www.inwhiteriver.com/lawn The Lawn @ White River State Park] as Indianapolis's World-Class outdoor concert venue.

It is considered America’s only urban cultural state park and the state of Indiana's only urban cultural state park. Fact|date=May 2007

Restoration on this area began in the late 1980s, based around the Indiana Central Canal. The Canal was originally engineered in the 1830s as a way to ship goods through the state of Indiana, but the project went bankrupt and the Indianapolis section of the Canal was the only section that was ever dug. Although the Canal was never used for what it was built for, recent restoration and development have changed the area and it is currently functioning as a cultural center within the city of Indianapolis. The focal point of the park, Indiana Tower, was never constructed.

Key dates

The following listing shows key points of interest and founding dates surrounding White River State Park and Central Canal Cultural District:
* [http://www.in.gov/whiteriver/about/pumphouse.html Historic Pumphouse] ::1870 - Opens as the original water pumping station for the city of Indianapolis.::1969 - Pumping Station closed.::1980 - Accepted for inclusion on the National Register for Historic Places.::1981 - Renovations complete and reopens as the Park's headquarters and Visitors' Center.
* [http://www.in.gov/whiteriver/about/map.html White River State Park Visitors' Center (Dr. Frank P. Lloyd Sr. Visitors Center)] ::2003 - Opens.

*Indianapolis Zoo::1988 - Park’s first attraction established.

*White River Gardens::1999 - Opens.

*Historic Washington Street Pedestrian Bridge & [http://www.in.gov/whiteriver/about/sculpture.html Art Sculptures in the Park] ::1916 - Opens as part of the National Road.::1994 - Historic National Road U.S. 40 previously linking the U.S. from East to West start renovations.::1999 - Art Sculptures in the Park begins.

*NCAA Headquarters & NCAA Hall of Champions Museum::1999–2000 - Relocated to Indianapolis from Kansas City.

*National Federation of State High School Associations Headquarters (NFHS)::1999–2000 - Relocated to Indianapolis from Kansas City.

*Indiana State Museum::2002 - Opens.
* [http://www.imax.com/indy The IMAX 3D Theatre @ White River State Park] ::1996 - Opens as Indiana's only IMAX theatre.::1996-Present - Operates as the largest IMAX in Indiana.
* [http://www.ipalco.com/ABOUTIPALCO/Community/Memorial_2.html Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial] ::1999 - Opens and dedication.

*Military Park::1822 - Indianapolis's 1st documented 4th of July Celebration.::1852 - First Indiana State Fair.::1861 - Civil War encampment until 1865.::Present day - Home to many charity events, festivals, outdoor concerts, etc.::Trivia - The land known as Military Park is one of only three pieces of property that is forbidden by the Indiana Constitution to be sold – the other two are Monument Circle and half of the State Capitol building.

*Indiana Historical Society::1830 - Founded.::1999 - Opened in the park.

*State Capitol Building & Government Complex & Cafeteria::Not one of the Park's attractions, but a neighbor to White River State Park and open to the public.

*Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art::1989 - Opened as the park’s second attraction.::2005 - Opens expanded gallery space, state-of-the-art education facility, performance/special event areas, and indoor/outdoor dining restaurant - doubling the Museum's size.

*Victory Field Baseball Park::1996 - Opens as home of the Indianapolis Indians playing games from April to September.::2005 - Triple-A affiliate of MLB Pittsburgh Pirates.
* [http://www.inwhiteriver.com/lawn The Lawn @ White River State Park] ::2004 - Opens Inaugural Summer Concert Season as Indianapolis's world-class Outdoor Concert Venue.::2006 - Named one of the top 100 outdoor concert venues in the world by Pollstar magazine.::2007 - Doubles concert attendance to over 50,000 spectators at 11 shows.::2008 - 8 shows listed to date with a few more on the way.

External links

* [http://www.in.gov/whiteriver/ Official State Park page]
*White River State Park is located at coord|39|46|00|N|86|10|11|W|display=inline,title