It’s been a beautiful couple of days in Indy! [You did know that every day is 77 and sunny in Indianapolis, right?]
Thought so.
Yesterday I was at Buggs Temple, on the north end of the Canal. The Temple patio/deck area offers a great vantage point of the Canal and downtown skyline. It was a cookout type event, so I can’t speak much to the inside food offerings, but I’ve read good things. And the stairs lead right down to the Canal level, perfect for a walk or bicycle venture, or perhaps a gondola ride. The latter of these options comes highly recommended by yours truly.
Our gondolier admittingly wasn’t fluent in Italian, as he left the country when he was very young. But he did do some nice renditions of Italian songs. [Not that I know what he was saying, or even that it was Italian, but he was friendly and he sounded good!]
As I mentioned here, Indianapolis has a tremendous potential in the Central Canal as a destination. The southern end is much more developed right now than the northern, which is surrounded by Clarian Health’s campus, as well as IUPUI buildings, but little (if any?) retail/entertainment/restaurant space other than Buggs.
The IBJ did a story on a proposed floating stage for this end of the Canal in the May 26, 2008 issue. The full story is password locked in the archives (that stinks!) but here’s what snippet I could grab from the IBJ search results:
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Central Canal may get floating stage
Indianapolis Business Journal (IN) – May 26, 2008 – 1044 words
A floating stage for concerts and a submarine memorial are in the works for Indianapolis’ Central Canal, adding to the downtown waterway’s growing base of attractions. Efforts to develop a one-acre site at the heart of the canal, meanwhile, remain stalled.
Chuck Mack, a co-owner of Buggs Temple at 337 W. 11th St., has submitted conceptual plans to the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposing a floating, expandable stage that could be anchored in the basin…
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Here’s to hoping development of the northern end continues and Buggs thrives — it’s a great spot.
2 comments
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July 2, 2008 at 1:32 am
Renee
You make me miss Indy more and more everyday. I miss you too.
July 2, 2008 at 8:42 am
Brandt Carter
The Creation Cafe is a great addition to Bugg’s Temple. The lower patio belongs to them and has very affordable offerings. We have enjoyed dining there for business lunches and now they are open for dinner. When dining at dusk, the view becomes more amazing as you gaze out over the canal and see the State Capitol in the background. A moon overhead makes the evening more magical. We have dined at the Tavern at the Temple quite often. We usually sit in the bar and perch on the seats that view the downtown skyline. Again, their steak and the chef’s salad creation-of-the-week are just right! Often we have had dessert sample offered to us …. and they delight! This site is a great addition to Indianapolis and worth the trip downtown.