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Ah, Indy... the city everyone forgets except for a certain Sunday in May, during which the '''Indianapolis''' 500-Mile Race occurs. This is virtually the ''only'' time it will be mentioned in fiction, despite the fact that it is the second-most populous state capital in the US (behind Phoenix) and the second largest city in the Midwest behind [[The Windy City|Chicago]] (though other cities in the region have bigger metro areas). And the Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn't technically ''in'' Indianapolis, it's in the suburb of [[wikipedia:Speedway, Indiana|Speedway]].
Also known as the "Circle City" and the "Crossroads of America" (from its central location in the US Interstate Highway system), Indianapolis was founded in 1826 to serve as the capital of the newly recognized
Urban decay took over in the years after [[World War II]], as the economy gradually shifted from manufacturing to warehousing and logistics;
Indianapolis is also a center of amateur athletics, styling itself as the "Amateur Sports Capital of the World" ever since the 1987 Pan American Games. As a result, most of the significant U.S. amateur sports federations (including the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its High School equivalent) are headquartered in Indianapolis. The city retains all of the facilities necessary to hold an Olympics in miniature - the annual 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, while one of the largest foot races in the U.S with over 35,000 participants, is just one of four full and five half marathons run in Indianapolis every year. Even such peripheral sports as marching band, drum & bugle corps, and soap box derby were enticed into relocating to Indianapolis, along with their national associations and associated championships.
Indianapolis' relatively low population density and relatively large geographical area (one-tenth the population of New York over a much larger area) makes for a very green and leafy city, and one can still find rural features like cornfields and horse farms within city limits. (There aren't many other major metropolitan areas that actually have horse farms within four miles of downtown.) The downtown area along the Canal hosts several museums and is quite attractive to pedestrians, with lovely walkways and rentable paddle-boats. Indy also stays close to its agricultural roots by hosting the annual Indiana State Fair, a huge 21 day agricultural and industrial expedition - this fair is a Big Deal, being not only the biggest show of the year for 4-H and a gathering place for Future Farmers of America but also host to several [[Country Music]] luminaries including [[Carrie Underwood]] and Rascal Flatts. It also has the standard Midway attractions, including deliciously fatty fried things and fun if fairly ordinary rides. The State Fairgrounds and the newly expanded Indiana Convention Center are also home to numerous conventions, trade shows and exhibitions taking advantage of Indy's central location and position at the hub of the interstate highway system. (Incidentally, Indy is also a hub of train transport, as though few ''people'' take trains any more, cargo travels just fine. This makes Indianapolis one of a very few places where the sentence "We got stuck behind a train" - i.e. got stuck at a railroad crossing while an obscenely long freight train rumbled past - is a legitimate excuse for being late to school.)▼
▲Indianapolis' relatively low population density and relatively large geographical area (one-tenth the population of New York over a much larger area) makes for a very green and leafy city, and one can still find rural features like cornfields and horse farms within city limits. (There aren't many other major metropolitan areas that actually have horse farms within four miles of downtown.) The downtown area along the Canal hosts several museums and is quite attractive to pedestrians, with lovely walkways and rentable paddle-boats. Indy also stays close to its agricultural roots by hosting the annual Indiana State Fair, a huge 21
Oh, and if anyone from Indy says "Raceday" without qualifiers they are invariably referring to the last Sunday in May and the Indianapolis 500. Indianapolis Motor Speedway (AKA "The Brickyard") may hold other races, but there is only one '''Raceday''', thanks in part to the annual influx of nearly half a million spectators and the partying that results, in part because it's the culmination of a month-long festival and in part because the race has more than a century of history. Think of it as a Hoosier Mardi Gras—with automotive fuel. Though automobile manufacturing has gradually vanished from Indy since the days of Stutz and Duesenburg auto racing is still a vital part of the local economy. Do ''not'', under pain of rioting, take any side whatsoever in the [[Flame Bait|CART vs IRL]] debate. You will lose{{spoiler|, just as CART finally did}}. ▼
The State Fairgrounds and the newly expanded Indiana Convention Center are also home to numerous conventions, trade shows and exhibitions taking advantage of Indy's central location and position at the hub of the interstate highway system. Incidentally, Indy is also a hub of train transport, as though few ''people'' take trains any more, cargo travels just fine. This makes Indianapolis one of a very few places where the sentence "We got stuck behind a train" - i.e. got stuck at a railroad crossing while an obscenely long freight train rumbled past - is a legitimate excuse for being late to school.
▲Oh, and if anyone from Indy says "Raceday" without qualifiers, they are invariably referring to the last Sunday in May and the Indianapolis 500. Indianapolis Motor Speedway (AKA "The Brickyard") may hold other races, but there is only one '''Raceday''', thanks in part to the annual influx of nearly half a million spectators and the partying that results, in part because it's the culmination of a month-long festival and in part because the race has more than a century of history. Think of it as a Hoosier Mardi Gras—with automotive fuel. Though automobile manufacturing has gradually vanished from Indy since the days of Stutz and Duesenburg auto racing is still a vital part of the local economy. Do ''not'', under pain of rioting, take any side whatsoever in the [[Flame Bait|CART vs. IRL]] debate. You will lose. {{spoiler|
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** An Indianapolis that [[California Doubling|looks eerily similar to Los Angeles]], but still...
* The NBC comedy series ''[[Men Behaving Badly]]'' (not the original British version, obviously) is set here.
* The [[Norman Lear]] 1970s sitcom ''[[One Day
* The Bartlet campaign spent one episode of ''[[The West Wing]]'' in Indianapolis... ironically, the late date of the Indiana primaries means that in real life hardly anyone ever bothers to campaign in Indianapolis.
* Indianapolis is one of the cities destroyed in the nuclear attack that occurs at the beginning of the television series ''[[Jericho]]''.
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* The episode "Phantom Traveller" of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' has its final scene take place at Indianapolis International Airport. Though it looks nothing like the Indy Airport which has a rather lot of glass and white rather than the very blue airport seen in the episode.
* ''[[Parks and Recreation]]'' doesn't show us much of Indianapolis, but since the characters work in municipal government in small-town Indiana, "Indianapolis" is often mentioned with connotations of both "the Big City" and "the Powerful State Government," with all that implies. "Indianapolis" shows up most obviously when two representatives of the State Auditor's office, Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt, appear; they end up liking Pawnee so much they become its City Manager and Deputy Manager, respectively.
* The [[HGTV]] home remodeling show ''[[Good Bones]]'' revolves around a mother-daughter pair who rebuild houses in the Indianapolis area.
== Music ==
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* ''[[Everyday Heroes]]'' is explicitly set in Indianapolis. Mr. Mighty works for a Triple-A level minor league superhero team ("one step away from the major leagues"), a [[Shout-Out]] to the Indianapolis Indians baseball team.
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* An episode of ''[[The Flintstones]]'' sees Fred and Barney drive to
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* Famous author and Indianapolis native [[Kurt Vonnegut]] was equally famous for dissing his hometown, dismissing Indianapolis as "
* Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck's first job in America was in Indianapolis, back in 1973 when the town was still a little on the sleepy side. He says he wanted to work there because they have an automobile race, and Monte Carlo has an automobile race, so it must be posh and glamorous like Monte Carlo, right? He's always careful not to dis Indy, he just says it isn't what he expected.
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