Circle City

The funnyman shills for Old Milwaukee beer on a Terre Haute railroad track. Why not?

Age: 55  Gig: Director and CEO of the Indianapolis Museum of Art  Good showing: Under his leadership, the IMA organized the U.S. Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennale, opened a sculpture park, acquired the Miller House, and added a formidable Design Arts collection

A: Shoveling one’s walk is barely even a “courtesy thing” these days, judging from the number of people in The Hoosierist’s own neighborhood who never lay a gloved finger on the drifts in their front yards. But if you think the law doesn’t care, you’re wrong. “Businesses and homeowners are responsible for clearing sidewalks of snow and ice to allow for safe pedestrian travel,” says Kate Johnson at Indy’s lively Department of Code Enforcement.

A: There are downtown city streets with free parking? If that’s what you’re implying, then The Hoosierist begs you to enlighten him. According to Marc Lotter, communications director for Mayor Greg Ballard, pretty much every bit of curbside asphalt in the Mile Square requires coinage for parking. And it’s not just to wring every last cent of revenue from motorists. Well, it’s not all about that. It’s also to keep commuters from monopolizing spaces from dawn to dusk, to the detriment of nearby businesses needing easy access for customers. “It encourages turnover and discourages long-term parking during the business day,” Lotter says.

Age: 72  Gig: Arts patron, travel columnist, and interim CEO of The Center for the Performing Arts  Checking in: The retired exec of the Gene B. Glick Co. recently gave $100,000 to IndyFringe  On his calendar: Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Nov. 5 at the Palladium

"Zach is the model of a modern LGBT candidate," says one political observer. "He has done it all on his own. He didn't wait for the party boss to tell him it was okay."

If you’ve recently spotted a few tiny green cars zipping around the Circle, then you’ve noticed IPL’s latest effort to promote the electric automobile. Earlier this year, IPL purchased three Think cars (manufactured in northern Indiana) and started parking them outside its headquarters in order to publicize IPL’s Time of Use program, which allows participants to charge electric cars at night for discounted rates. The company even takes people for rides on occasion.

The American Planning Association has confirmed something that we at IM have known for years—nearly 35 years, in fact.

Walking around the Circle, you may have noticed the faint etchings of names in the bricks. In the late 1970’s, Commission for Downtown began a revitalization project that included re-bricking Monument Circle and allowed citizens to have their names engraved there in return for a small donation. These are the stories of the individuals, families, and companies whose names can be found engraved along the most famous streets in the city.

A: Return with us now to that bygone year of 1950, when Harry Truman was president, a loaf of bread cost a nickel (or whatever), and every member of the male gender sported a Johnny Unitas–style crewcut. It was then that soon-to-be cafeteria magnates Charles O. McGaughey and George Laughner (of the famous Laughner clan that ran the late, great Laughner’s Cafeteria chain) got together to found the very first MCL. The Hoosierist supposes you can figure out the rest.