From Drainage Ditch to Tourist Attraction: The Story of Indianapolis' Downtown Canal

Indianapolis, IN

The Indianapolis Downtown Canal, much like the city itself, has been in a state of identity crisis since its inception. The Downtown, or Central, Canal began with the Mammoth Internal Improvements Act under Governor Noah Noble in the mid-1830s. The canal as envisioned, however, was never to be fully realized. Originally meant to connect Indiana to flows of commerce and trade as part of an interstate canal system, this site instead became one of Hoosier embarrassment on the national stage, bankrupting the state financially and politically. This paper will briefly review the condition of the canal over the following century and a half; discuss the overhaul of the canal during a period of intense downtown redevelopment throughout the 1980s and 1990s, enhanced by interviews with project leaders; analyze its present functions as a site of commerce and recreation utilizing a variety of questionnaires targeting Indianapolis residents, canal pedestrians, and business owners along the canal site; and assess the benefits of the Downtown Canal as a tourist attraction. The overarching goal of this paper is to determine whether public/private partnerships can produce useful results to revitalize a downtown in a downturn.