Poetry landmarks in central Indiana

Note: All addresses are for Indianapolis, unless otherwise stated.

If you know of a landmark, send its location to jl.kato@sbcglobal.net and place "Poetry landmark" in the title field. The landmark must be a poetry display or a marker that refers to a poet or his/her accomplishment.

Last updated 9/3/15. New listing in the visual art section.


Cemetery

Crown Hill Cemetery, 700 W. 38th St.: Grave sites of James Whitcomb Riley, Etheridge Knight, Meredith Nicholson, and Sarah T. Bolton. Maps available at main office. (317) 925-3800


Museums and Homes

Indiana Humanities, 1500 N. Delaware St., was the home of Meredith Nicholson. Info: (317) 638-1500 or http://indianahumanities.org/about-us/meredith-nicholson-house/

James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home and Visitor Center, 528 Lockerbie St., Indianapolis, (317) 631-5885. Info:  http://www.rileykids.org/about/riley-museum-home/?referrer=https://www.google.com/#.VZ_i4vlVhBc

James Whitcomb Riley Boyhood Home and Museum, 250 W. Main St., Greenfield, (317) 462-8539. Info: http://www.jwrileyhome.org/


Public Poetry

Cottage Home Neighborhhood features "Cottage Home," by Thomas Alan Orr, in a display at a pocket park on the 700 block of Dorman Street (south of St.Clair St.).

Indianapolis Cultural Trail features seven bus stops designed by architect Donna Sink, with poetry from local residents. The bus stops and their poems are:

• Virginia Avenue near Woodlawn Avenue (outside of Naisa Pan Asian Restaurant): "The Painters," by Richard Pflum
• Virginia Avenue near McCarty Street (outside of Chilly Water Brewing Co.): "Invisible Moments," by Karen Kovacik
• Virginia Avenue near Lexington Avenue (just outside of the Mozzo Apartments): "The Bowl of Possible Peas," by John Sherman
• Washington Street near the Indiana State Museum and Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art: "Settlement," by Micah Ling
• Washington Street, west of Illinois Street and the Indianapolis Artsgarden: "Circle, Circle," by Mitchell L.H. Douglas
• Massachusetts Avenue at Walnut and Park streets: "Art With a Heart," by Vienna Wagner
• Massachusetts Avenue, east of College Avenue: "Our Street in Endless Circles," by Jenny Brown

     Info: http://indyculturaltrail.org/ictart/moving-forward/

• Poet's Place, on Alabama Street, between Vermont and New York streets, in front of Fresco Italian Sandwich Shoppe, was designated in honor of Jim Shackleford, the Cultural Trail's unofficial poet. "City Generation," by Elizabeth Weber, is displayed here.

     Info: http://indyculturaltrail.org/ictart/poets-place/

Indianapolis International Airport, 7800 Col. H. Weir Cook Memorial Drive, features stained-glass window art by Martin Donlin, which has words and lines of poems from five Indiana writers. (317) 487-9584.

     Along Concourse A are:

• Night, with poem "Echoes," by Ruthelen Burns
• Midnight Flight, with poem by Joyce Brinkman
• Back in Indiana, with poem by Norbert Krapf

     In Concourse B is:

• Indiana Flight, with poem by Joseph Heithaus

     Note: No information on Jeannie Deeter Smith's poem. No information on Mari Evans poem.

     Photos: http://martindonlin.com/portfolio/new-indianapolis-airport-indiana-usa/

Indianapolis-Marion County Central Library, 40 E. St. Clair St., features Arlon
 Bayliss' artwork using dichronic
 glass.
 
Light,
 Words,
 Life,
 located
 in
 the
 upper
 parking
 garage
 elevator
 lobby,
 features
 a 
poet
 written
 by
 Joyce 
Brinkman.

 (317) 275-4100.

Terre Haute: Max Erhmann at the Crossroads, by Bill Wolfe, at the intersection of Seventh Street and Wabash Avenue, Terre Haute. Visitors can pose and sit on a bench with Max. Also, excerpts from his most famous poem, "Desiderata," appear on plaques embedded in the plaza. Photos and info:  http://wabashvalleyartspaces.com/maxview1.html

Word Hunger was a project of Brick Street Poetry to encourage a discussion of food production. Poems and artwork were placed on barns and agricultural buildings throughout the state, Sponsored by Indiana Humanities.

• Putnam County (near Crawfordsville): Joseph Heithaus' poem "What Grows Here" appears on a barn on West County Road Road 125 South. Painted by Ken Torr. http://www.bannergraphic.com/story/1674013.htm
• Hamilton County Fairgrounds. Ruthelen Burns' poem.
• Other site descriptions to come. (See note at bottom.)

Visual Art (no poetry displayed)


NEW LISTING! A mural of Mari Evans is being put up on the north wall of 448 Massachusetts Avenue, near the intersection with Michigan and New Jersey streets.

Indiana State Capitol

• A plaque with Sarah T. Bolton's likeness appears in the rotunda of the Indiana State Capitol, 200 W. Washington St.

Indianapolis Museum of Art:

• A Portrait of James Whitcomb Riley, an oil painting by John S. Sargent, appears in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Road.

NEW LISTING! Lockerbie Lofts

• A mural of James Whitcomb Riley appears on an east-facing wall on Michigan Street, just west of College Avenue.

Penn and Palate (closed on July 31, 2016)

• A photograph of former Indiana Poet Laureate Karen Kovacik is situated above a booth by the main entrance of Penn and Palate, a restaurant at 28 E. 16th St.

Namesakes (places and institutions named for poets)

Indianapolis Public Schools

• Ralph Waldo Emerson, No. 58, 321 N. Linwood Ave.
• Stephen Foster, No. 17, 653 Somerset Ave.
• Robert Lee Frost, No. 106, 5301 Roxbury Road
• Francis Scott Key, No. 103, 3920 Baker Drive
• Joyce Kilmer Academy, No. 69, 3421 N. Keystone Ave.
• Meredith Nicholson, No. 96, 3651 N. Kiel Ave.
• James Whitcomb Riley, No. 43, 150 W. 40th St.

James Whitcomb Riley Highway (part of Ind. 25) in Carroll County, north of Delphi.

The Riley Festival is an annual community celebration on the first weekend of October in honor of James Whitcomb Riley's birthplace, Greenfield. Info: http://www.rileyfestival.com/

Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, 705 Riley Hospital Drive. The Riley Children's Foundation is the fund-raising arm of the hospital. Both are named for James Whitcomb Riley.

Sarah T. Bolton Park, 1300 Churchman Ave., Beech Grove, is a 32-acre municipal park named for the 19th-century poet. Bolton's home was on the land, originally named Beech Bank. the land was purchased from the Bolton Estate in 1930. The park reflects the life and beauty that Bolton often spoke of in her poetry. Info: http://www.beechgrove.com/sarah-t-bolton-park.html

Griggsby Station, a gastropub at 101 W. Main St., Greenfield, is named for the James Whitcomb Riley poem.

Notes: Needs verification

Is there a plaque honoring Etheridge Knight in the building at Barton Tower, 555 Massachusetts Ave., 18J? Does anyone have a photo?

Can anyone confirm Word Hunger murals at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds and on a barn on Michigan Road about 7 or 9 miles north of I-465 in Boone County?