up downtown april 2015

Up Downtown / Indianapolis 04.15 On The Web At: www.updowntown.net

Up Downtown

April 2015

Sun sets on an era for Up Downtown... See Story On

Page 19

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Planning is well underway for the Stutz Artists Association’s largest art event, set to take place 24th & 25th April at the historic Stutz Building on the north edge of downtown.

More than 70 artists will open their studios and present their work to visitors during the 2015 edition of the annual two-day event. The Stutz Open House, which began in 1993, attracts more than 6,000 people every year to the 400,000 square-foot former car factory.

Organisers are planning for new, creative and entertaining opportunities to engage families, art lovers and visitors simply looking for a weekend event to enjoy in downtown Indianapolis. The Stutz Artists Open House not only allows guests an opportunity to see the work of 70+ local artists in one place at one time, it’s an opportunity see where and how the work is created.

Artwork ranges from paintings, drawings and photography, to sculpture, jewelry and furniture. In addition to being a great place to buy one-of-a-kind gifts with artwork prices from $12 to $10,000 the event offers a rare chance to see vintage cars in the historic Stutz car factory.

Visitors will also enjoy special activities such as painting with Wine and Canvas demonstrations, acoustic music and food vendors.

Families bringing children are encouraged to attend Saturday, between 2 and 7 p.m., when they will enjoy family-friendly musical guests, hands-on art activities, youth art scavenger hunts, free ice cream and more. New this year on Saturday will be demonstrations by Stutz artists.

WHAT: Stutz Artists Open House

WHEN: Friday, 24th April , 5.30 to 10.30 p.m. & Saturday, 25th April, 2 to 7 p.m.

WHERE: Stutz Business Centre, 212 W. 10thSt., downtown (enter Bearcat Alley from 10th or 11th St..) Free parking in specially marked lots.

TICKETS: $12 advance sale at select Old National Bank locations and the Stutz Business Office (1060 N. Capitol Ave C200.); $15 at Eventbrite and at the gate; children 12 and under free. Tickets are valid for both days.

MORE INFO: www.stutzartists.com or 503.6420.

Proceeds from the event support the Stutz Residency Programme, a scholarship that provides free studio space and utilities for emerging local artists for one year. It is one of the largest grants to individual artists in the state.

Stutz Open House Set 24th-25th April

We Will Miss You,

Larry!

Just as we were going to press, word reached us that Larry Schultz, manager of first O’Malia’s and now Marsh at Lockerbie Marketplace downtown for 29 years has been transferred to run the firm’s store at Zionsville. Larry has been a part of downtown life for many years, has worked with the community and made the store an intergral part of the fabric of downtown Indianapolis. We wish him all the best in his new assignment, but will miss seeing him at Lockerbie!


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Food For Thought

Ah, food. For those who have known me for awhile they know I at one time weighed 316 pounds, wore size 64 (yeah, really) pants and joked with friends that Louisville Tent & Awning made them custom for me.

Times have changed. These days I wear a size 38 jean, weigh under 220 (still big enough to bug my MD but not grossly “fat” as I hate the word “obese”) but I am working on it. I guess that’s my way to say I love to eat so sadly this is my final restaurant column as readers know I have sold the newspaper and a new staff takes up the forks and spoons (Yes, spoons — the now sadly missing utensil in too many restaurants, but one I still eat with despite being “all grown up”!).

So what to do for this final column? I plan to answer a question I have been asked all too often through the years by Up Downtown’s readers: What are or were the very best or favourite spots you ever eat/ate at in our area — open or closed — downtown or not. If you wanna know, do read on. Here are a few that come quickly to mind in a variety of cities and towns, both open and historic...

—Norman’s at Union Station. Norman’s was in Indianapolis’ downtown when I had the first meal I ever ate as a resident at the time I moved here almost 25 years back. Developer Bob Borns had turned a vacant station into a (sadly) short-lived festival marketplace and Norman’s was in the Grande Hall right by the Louisiana Street entrance on the right. More later about what was on the left. Anyway, Norman’s had a lot of good eats, but I especially adored their Sunday brunches. You could find the fatter Ted there most Sundays, including one on which a sterno keeping some crepes (Theirs were delish!) warm got knocked over, setting the tablecloth below on fire and causing us to have to evacuate midway through. I don’t recall if we paid or the half brunch we consumed was a freebie, but I do recall we were back the next week.

I was sad to lose this one for while the current banquet hall in the space is fine, I miss Norman’s despite it being gone well over 15 (or maybe 20) years now!

Oh, and what was on the left side? Key West Shrimp House. It still exists in the original location of Madison, Indiana, but in Indy they had a branch on South Madison Avenue (building still stands near Aldi down there) and later moved with all their neat fish tanks to Union Station. They sadly did not make it there and closed, leaving us with another culinary gap as Indy just doesn’t have what this reviewer has ever felt is good fish, but more on that in a few lines.

—Louisville’s Lynn’s Paradise Cafe. I keep hearing rumours that this bastion of poor decorating taste and great food taste is gonna reopen, be sold and on and on though so far it’s not happened, much to my chagrin. Lynn’s always had THE best of the best Hot Browns (photo at upper right), which were invented in Louisville (If you don’t know what one is Google it LOL.) at the Brown Hotel. Even the Brown’s was 3rd or 4th place to Lynn’s. Their Kentucky Bourbon Ball milkshake (yes it really did have liquor in it so more than one and you’d need a designated driver) was to die for. And they did some great egg dishes at Lynn’s, too. They had a great tacky giftshop, always were out the door busy and it was all because of the food, as well as the fun, quirky and wonderful owner/hostess. Lynn’s is spoken of still in reverent tones at our house.

—Gerst Haus, Nashville (They have a branch in Evansville, too.). This is the Tennessee Nashville and to recommend a German place in a town which has the likes of Loveless (country southern great eats) and Satsuma Tea Room (south, south, southern cooking with a lot of the legislators from the nearby capitol in daily) means I really DO love Gerst Haus. The place even survived a move when the old location was grabbed up for the Tennessee Titans stadium in 1998. I first ate here in the 1970’s when my sister was at Vanderbilt and came to love the schnitzels (that’s one “a la Holstein” with egg on top and red cabbage below at left), the German atmosphere and strudels. In fact I have never had a bad meal here, unless you consider a whole lotta great German food and a lotta cholesterol bad. Damn there’s my doctor reading again! You can research the place at www.gersthaus.com and if you have travels to Nashville or Evansville (though I much prefer the original) go!

—Le Tour, downtown Indianapolis. The place atop the old Indiana National Bank (now Regions) Tower was known in its later years as The Teller’s Cage. I used to dine here when I’d visit from Louisville (which was home) and when I moved downtown in 1990 would alternate between it and the also now defunct King Cole which was at Meridian & Washington streets.

Le Tour was one of the few “fine dining” restaurants (along with King Cole) back in the day and back then Indianapolis had very few. Saturday nights were often long, long waits for tables as it was one of the few places with a high floor view and certainly the town’s first. Remember it predated the Hyatt’s Eagle’s Nest, which I always think has better views than service or food and the AUL (One America) Building’s Skyline Club — A spot with just so so food and service I feel, plus only open to the public at lunch during Devour Downtown days as it’s a members-only club. They do allow the public for dinner. Anyway, Le Tour beat them all with the view, plus the food as I recall was also quite good though French and pricy. In its final days as The Teller’s Cage it was still decent though lost a lot of the lustre of early times. The final meal I recall was a lunch buffet with OK service but lousy food, which I suppose accounted for the final closure. These days the spot is offices though I still look skyward some days and recall a lot of fun meals with friend Keith Runyon and others in days gone by!

—Magic Moments. This eatery was at 1 North Penn in downtown Indy and had a great view of the Circle from tall windows. The place had a neat bar looking south and nice dining room. The main “draw” to many was tableside magic with amateur magicians performing on a rotating basis for diners. The problem here was that to


some of us the food lacked much to be memorable and the magicians made having a business meal here difficult because of their constant interruptions. It was one of those “cutsey” places, as my dad termed them, and while it was OK once in awhile, there were not enough folks able to find its location in the sky to keep things in business, so it ultimately closed. Like LeTour’s space, it’s now offices, which is sad as the view was nice.

—Lafayette, Indiana had a wonderful place for many, many years called Morris Bryant (There’s a wonderful photo on motelpostcards.com if you wish to check it out.). It was not only one of the first smorgasboards anywhere (Jello Salad was a staple.) but they had an awesome seafood buffet on Fridays. It was originally the dining room of a motel on the old U.S. 52 route to Chicago and dad would take us kids on every trip during the 60s and 70s at least once.

When I moved to Indy in 1990 I was thrilled to find it still alive and well, but a few years later it was sadly killed by a double whammy: First they had a fire which destroyed parts of the still-standing (but by then mostly vacant) motel and damaged the restaurant. But before they could rebuild a tornado swept through and levelled what was still standing.

The owners, who do have another restaurant in Lafayette, decided with that many “natural disaster” cards stacked against them (and declining U.S. 52 traffic) it was not worth reopening, so Morris Bryant faded into culinary memory.

—Chesapeake Seafood House in Springfield, Illinois. I know this sounds pretty silly, but the best seafood in the Midwest (and amongst the best I have had anywhere, including Maine) comes from a building which was originally a family home (circa 1857) on the east side of this Illinois city at 3045 East Clear Lake Avenue. Chesapeake’s is a traditional restaurant and a throw-back to the 50s and 60s with dark dining rooms, sometimes-surly but always attentive staff and overall is a fun place to go for a meal. We have had dinner here at least four different times over the years and never, ever left disappointed.

—Iaria’s Indianapolis (www.iariasrestaurant.com). This “halfway between downtown and Fountain Square” restaurant (317 South College Ave.) belongs in both the open and “gone and remembered” categories. The reason is they are open, alive and delicious now, but they almost died as for awhile they were shut. This former bowling alley eatery which dates to the 1930s was the place before we had a Buca or much else in the Italian field in Indy. Besides Iaria’s, only Milano Inn (which this reviewer has never liked, but that’s an opinion) was serving Italian fare near downtown so when we came to town and asked where to go, we were sent to Iaria’s.

There you will find the town’s best chicken marsala, chicken piccata and they make a blue cheese (dare we use the old term: Roquefort) salad dressing to die for in-house. So what’s the story? The place was run by the Iaria family, directed by an aunt of the

present owners. Sadly, she passed away abruptly and took most of the wonderful recipes to the grave with her. After a months’-long closure, during which everyone had written the eatery’s obituary, they reopened under relatives of the original Iarias. And after a few rough months fine-tuning recipes and what came out of the kitchen they regained their stride. Go in now (They still have a quirky schedule so check the website for hours.) and you will never figure out that anything’s changed or anyone different is in the kitchen, meaning this is a story of a family restaurant which survived and has done so in grand style. I have more choices now, but Iaria’s is still a fave for me!

And there are many many others I could and should mention...

Some of those open and delicious include Indy’s Santorini (best Greek anywhere and do not miss Taki’s potatoes); Louisville’s Kingfish for the rolled oysters and the Towboat Sandwiches; MCL Cafeterias which they say old people like, which I suppose means this is an old reviewer (Try the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar salad in the summer!); Columbus, Indiana’s Zaharako’s Ice Cream Parlour (They have food too. And a lot of folks swear by the GOM Sandwich which is their version of a Sloppy Joe.); Shapiro’s Deli (Since 1905 and the best corned beef, bagels and pastrami in the Midwest though we find it a bit pricy of late.); Fogo de Chao (the Brazilian steakhouse with the town’s best rare lamb chops and while part of a chain unique and delicious); Jeffersonville, Indiana’s Ann’s By The River (Plate Lunches! Remember Plate Lunches? They got ‘em and more all for great prices. And do not miss the fried chicken!); The Beef House in Covington, Indiana (Great steaks, a tiny but fun salad bar and ah, the fresh yeast rolls and homemade strawberry jam which you can buy to take home, too.).

Plus there’s Ralph’s Great Divide (quirky decor and hilarious I Love Lucy names for sandwiches but the town’s best pea salad and pickled beets, not to mention a mini candy bar in every basket.); Marco’s on the north side of Indy (Do not miss Tuesday “cheap meat night” for great steak and more.); English Ivy’s (Fun service, cute staff and good food. Do not miss the Weekender breakfast with one of the only offerings of steak & eggs in town!) and Metro (Where Chet bakes his own fabulous breads and they have mini burgers of all types and styles to go with the great drinks at their antique bar!)

Among the closed but not forgotten was the town’s best deli called Sam’s Subway on North Meridian Street; the Canal’s Creation Cafe (Best tomato soup we have ever touched and a damn good Cuban Sandwich, plus birthday cake gelato); Weiss’ Deli (Sadly barely remembered by me as they shut shortly after I moved here though they were known for ham sandwiches); and Laughner’s Cafeterias (Which I always liked better than MCL, but hey sometimes you win and sometimes you lose and in this case even 2nd best is great!).

I am 100% sure I left out at least a half dozen places — both here and gone now —but it’s past time for me to be gone now, so I will say thanks to everyone who has commented (mostly positively) about the reviews I have written since 1991. Before that I did restaurants for TV and radio in Louisville so I have been a critic and critical of food since sometime in the late 1970s. That’s a lot of meals and a lot of calories. Now I’ll be moving my fork and spoon to Portland in Maine, where a lot of lobsters and scallops and a fair share of other food awaits. Portland, after Chicago, has been named the country’s 2nd “most foodie” city and that means I shall have plenty to sink my teeth into. I hope you continue to patronise downtown and area restaurants and will look me up if you ever get to Portland (again, the one in Maine) where at present I have some plans for an Up Downtown Portland and some plans to put my feet up and retire. I’m not sure which will win the day, but whatever happens I don’t plan to quit eating or talking and writing about it. Thanks for letting me share your tables and don’t forget to tip your servers!

For Our Final Column, Here Are Our Bests Of Today & Y e s t e r d a y , Downtown & Elsewhere.


B y B i l l E l l i o t tU p D o w n T o w n C r i t i c

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Phone: 317/632.8840 e-mail: [email protected]

Up Down Town was published the last week of every month at 110 E. Washington St., Suite 1402, Indianapolis, 46204. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and fairness, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors. Liability is limited to the cost of said ad. Ads not cancelled by published deadlines will be billed at agreed-upon price. Ads may be edited or rejected for content at the discretion of the publisher. All items appearing in Up Down Town, as well as the name, logos and design are copyright 2015 by BBS, A division of High Speed Delivery Fork Ltd. & Ted Fleischaker and may not be reproduced in any form without prior written

approval. Stay tuned for info on the paper’s new owners in May’s edition.

South African-Canadian director Neill Blomkamp burst onto the American movie scene with the sci-fi apartheid allegory District 9 in 2009. He followed that up with a tale of the consequences of global economic inequality, Elysium, four years later. Both films are hard-hitting pieces of social analysis, employing elements of satire. Blomkamp’s third feature-length film, Chappie, has little of the geopolitical and social insight of his first two films, relying more on digital pyrotechnics and humour.

The film treads familiar ground: mankind’s desire to use technology to replicate humans artificially. From Dr. Frankenstein’s experiments stitching together second-hand body parts to a slew of contemporary novels and films dealing with artificial intelligence, it appears humans are not content to share the planet with billions of our own kind. We want to create new forms of life and new forms of consciousness.

In Chappie, a South African technology company develops a tactical unit of police robots to cope with spiralling crime rates in Johannesburg. While the robots result in a reduction of crime on the streets of the city, a minor battle is going on within Tetravaal for supremacy: weapons guys versus artificial intelligence engineers. Nerdy Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is the AI geek while pumped-up Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman) is the weapons nut.

Wilson asks Tetravaal CEO, Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver), to support his efforts to create robots that can think and learn like humans. Moore just wants to create the biggest, baddest killing machine he can.

However, as long as cheaply-made-and-operated police robots are keeping the streets of Johannesburg clean, Bradley is not inclined to spend huge amounts of research money on new hardware or software.

Wilson decides to take matters into his own hands by salvaging a damaged robot destined for the crusher. Moore goes off to seek his revenge with MOOSE, his monster robot.

As he does in his earlier films, Blomkamp takes the audience on a trip deep into the heart of darkness — in this case into Johannesburg’s seamier underbelly.

Ninja (played by the eponymous South African rapper) and his sidekicks, Yolandi (South African singer Yolandi Visser) and Amerika (Jose Pablo Cantillo), are drug runners who have fallen foul on a deal with local gangster Hippo (Brandon Auret). Hippo is an aptly named piece of visual unpleasantness who requires subtitles to interpret his mangled version of English (which is as grotesque as his appearance). Hippo demands that Ninja’s gang of three come up with 20 million rand in a week or he will kill them. With no way to raise the money, the group of misfits has to think of an alternative way to placate Hippo.

They hit on the idea of kidnapping the brains behind the police robots and forcing him to retrofit a unit to serve their criminal needs. Since the opening of Chappie goes to great lengths to discuss how Tetravaal’s security is impenetrable, it is quite astounding how easily the three are able to hijack Wilson’s vehicle.

Despite the threat to his personal safety, Wilson finds himself in a position where he is able test out his artificial intelligence experiment on the piece of actual hardware in his trunk.

Wilson’s experiment works and before you can say, “downloading artificial consciousness,” Chappie is born. Unfortunately, the robot is very much a babe-in-arms. While he is capable of learning quickly, he needs to be nurtured. Wilson and Yolandi are happy to spend time playing with Chappie, introducing the robot to rubber chickens and children’s stories. But Ninja needs a piece of bank-heisting, police-dodging machinery right now.

Wilson wants to teach Chappie about art and poetry; Ninja and Amerika want to teach him how to steal cars. They have to do so using a little subterfuge, telling Chappie that they are reclaiming cars that have been stolen from “daddy.” Then they progress to robbing armoured vehicles, claiming they need the money to pay for a new body for Chappie (his battery only has five more days of life left).

Watching Chappie transform into a criminal is the most engaging and entertaining part of the movie. Using the voice and movements of Blomkamp’s long-time collaborator, actor Sharlto Copley, Chappie becomes an endearing but slightly creepy character. While subjecting the innocent and impressionable to a life of crime and violence is disturbing to see on film, it has become a reality in many parts of the world today.

Unfortunately, instead of focusing on the playful character of Chappie, the film veers from allegory into cartoonishness. The film builds to a conclusion of gang violence, gore, and special effects that takes the sting out of an enlightening tale of the dangers of technology in the wrong hands.

What made District 9 so appealing is the transformation of Sharlto Copley’s sneering, nerdy bureaucrat into an empathetic and compassionate alien hybrid. Reduced to just Copley’s voice and action, the character of Chappie lacks the screen presence that Copley offers as an actor. In a film of thoroughly unpleasant characters, Chappie cannot salvage the film alone.

South African rappers Ninja and Yolandi Visser (essentially playing themselves) manage to create reasonably believable characters that are torn between lawlessness and family values. Giving such large roles to novice actors might account for part of the film’s lack of cohesion. But to be honest, the two musicians are far more interesting than Jackman’s and Weaver’s characters. Both Hollywood A-listers are under-utilised with Jackman’s performance feeling a little wooden and Weaver’s just a little over the top.

Blomkamp’s films are interesting visually and ideologically but Chappie really needed a much stronger script and more subtly defined characters. The dialog switches between the comic and the ridiculous. And the action, towards the end of the film, jumps from unpleasantly gory to fairytale sweet.

That’s a shame because Chappie could have been a welcome addition to Blomkamp’s fine work hitherto. As it stands, it can be seen as a slight blip in his development as a filmmaker._________

Before signing off this on this month’s review, I want to take a moment to say that I have enjoyed working with Ted and Up Downtown for close to 23 years. During that time we have become close friends, and I wish Ted and Ivan all the best as they start a new chapter of their lives on the east coast. Thanks, Ted!

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As the 25th anniversary of Ryan White’s death approaches, the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) will honour his legacy with the release of a new IHS Press book, The Quiet Hero: A Life of Ryan White, and a book launch event featuring his mother, Jeanne White-Ginder, and good friend and champion Olympic diver Greg Louganis, shown with him at right.

The event will take place Wednesday 1st April at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Centre, located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.

In 1985, the eyes of the world turned to Indiana, as the 13-year-old Kokomo student attempted to join his fellow classmates at Western Middle School in Russiaville. However, his wish to return to school was met with near hysteria by many school officials and parents — as White had been diagnosed with AIDS after receiving contaminated blood-based products used to treat his hemophilia.

The Quiet Hero: A Life of Ryan White, written by Nelson Price with readers of all ages in mind, explores the courage White and his mother, Jeanne, displayed in their battle to have him join his classmates. Price, who covered White’s controversy as a reporter and columnist for The Indianapolis News, goes behind the scenes and brings to light stories and individuals who might have been lost in the media spotlight that followed Ryan until he passed away on 8th April 1990.

The 1 April book launch event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. with a reception and book signing with author Price. The evening will also include a panel discussion, which will feature Price, White-Ginder, Louganis and IHS President and CEO John A. Herbst, and be followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Admission to the book launch event is free, but space is limited for the programme portion of the evening. To reserve a seat, contact Kimberly Rohl at [email protected] or 317/233.5658. For more information on IHS books and

Ryan White Anniversary To Be Marked At Indiana History Centre


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FAREWELL! Up Downtown Founder Sells; New Owners Take Helm In May!

By TED FLEISCHAKER(For One Final Time)Up Downtown Publisher

Ah what to say? The headline I am sure says it pretty much all anyway: it’s my goodbye as this is the final edition of Up Downtown I will be publishing. To some it’s good luck to me for surviving the community (and the community surviving me) for 22 years. And for others it’s “good riddance...please do not let the door hit you on your way out!”

In any case, it’s been quite a ride...since the January 1993 Up Downtown hit a very few streets in the middle of a blizzard (before a good batch of you current readers were even born) thru this final “Ted Edition” Up Downtown has been read, trashed, trusted, mis-trusted, hated, loved and sworn at by folks in the Mile Square and well beyond.

As the paper has been sold and the May edition (and all going forward) will be published by a new duo of D.J. Doran (shown with me in the photo) and Joe Morales (the publishers and owners of the very popular and glossy travel magazine Gaycation) this is my last time to rant, rave and inform along the way. It’s also the final Up Downtown with British spellings and styles and I am 100% sure will be the last with a lot of what some call my “quirks” and others comment on in far less printable ways.Regardless of your feelings, I want to thank the community for the “ride”. It’s been a wild, crazy and, above all, fun 22 years for me. And while he doesn’t own the paper it’s been an interesting time for my partner of 22 of those years, Ivan Howard. He’s had to live and breathe Up Downtown with me, often whether or not he wanted to. He’s taught me about karma and kept a lot of the things I might have said in the paper off the pages. And he’s cheered me on, enjoyed a lot of great (and a few not-so-great) meals we reviewed and held my hands and dried my tears during some interesting times.

I also want to thank the readers for supporting us, including those all across the parts of town (roughly IUPUI to Woodruff Place and Fountain Square to 16th Street) we call our circulation area. We get big welcomes when we show up at events and we also constantly find folks who “didn’t know” there ever was a downtown newspaper and still others who have been longtime readers.

I also want to thank my advertisters, without whom we really, truly never could have made it happen. A special shout out to Danny O’Malia who took a chance on “the new paper” the first month and not only did a few ads when he and his dad owned the Lockerbie market, but who made sure his manager Larry Schultz found a spot in the store for a rack we still to this day share with Urban Times.

The O’Malias have several close competitors for strong, long supporters. Billie (then Scott) of Simon got us in Circle Centre when it opened in 1995; Joe Kominski who opened Rock Bottom on Washington Street took a chance on us with ads which have never left from the day the restaurant opened (a tradition alive thanks to boss Tony Hiatt over there to this day!); the city said “yes” when we asked to be in the newsbox programme; The crew at Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. (these days Downtown Indy) shuttered their old Downtown Lowdown and instead let us publish their news and there’s more I am sure I have managed to forget.

There are so many other strong supporters I am sure someone will feel left out, but Michael Wright at Edward Jones, Chuck, John, Steve & Brock and crew at English Ivy’s, Tim & Dean at Downtown Olly’s, Mass. Ave.’s Silver in the City, Mass. Ave. Toys, Metro, Joe Everhart Realty, Travis Sealls (Pita Pit, Punch Burger & Labour District Cafe owner); Nancy & crew at the now-defunct Cozy; Joe Pearson and his building at 501 Madison Avenue are all supporters — as are the folks at Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand and Old National Bank.

But many supporters are not sponsors, but writers and readers. A special thanks to long-term reporter “Standard Reviewer” Bill Elliott who used to reside in Riley Towers but now is in Bloomington. He’s written for Up Downtown for over two decades. And Denny Solso who (Or is that whom? I never remember!) has been proofing Up Downtownfor at least the past half-dozen years.

There are also the people you never see but without whom we could not reach you.

Not only partner Ivan who keeps the website up and purring but Nick, Lee, Thomas and Christian who deliver the papers to a news stand or rack so they can reach you, our readers.

They are the ones carrying papers in snow and sleet and rain and filling boxes or dropping them in stores and bars and doing the real “heavy lifting” for us so they all deserve a huge thank you and gift cards for new trusses. These papers can get really heavy, specially at special occasions.

I am 100% certain I am leaving out a lot of folks from this final “Ted edition” but there are two who are not reading as they have passed on I want to thank before I say my final farewell. Those would be my parents.

My mom, Rosa Lee, who died in 1993, is responsible for giving this newspaper’s

company its name. When I began the planning and was searching for a corporate name she looked at me and said “Call it Word Publications...because as a kid and still today you always have to have the last word on everything!” She was shocked I took the suggestion and it seems after almost a quarter century to have stuck. I do still like the last word, so it’s only right that I thank her in this, MY last commentary.

And my dad, Arthur, who when Heartland, a downtown-based paper I’d been with just a few months folded and left me “stranded” jobless and with nine months left on a year’s Riley Towers lease in Indy, said “What made them fail?” I gave him my views on it and he said “Well, I’ll loan you some cash. You start your own paper and don’t make the same mistakes!”

Dad owned a chain of furntiure stores in Louisville, had a business degree from Indiana University and taught me business from age 14 as a furniture salesman on weekends. He got his loan back in 90 days and also stayed with us after he retired. Dad did my books, sent out my dun letters to no payers and kept us on track.

It’s thanks to that we have never had a single issue that has not been “in the black” and it’s why I have a newspaper to sell to Joe & D.J. today. Dads are very special people and

Please Continue On The Next Page

Up Downtown 04.15 On The Web At: www.updowntown.net

I am glad mine stuck around until 2008 to see us grow and to hold my hand and spank my butt when needed. It’s somewhat ironic his last act on earth was to vote in the November 2008 presidential election for Obama. He died the very next day.

I also want to mention optician Jim Sullivan, without whom there would be no Up Downtown. Jim is a dear friend and loved downtown with shops on Pennsylvania and Delaware streets until he finally got run out of town by the Fieldhouse. My company began with a gay newspaper called The Word, and Jim, always religious but still open-minded, one day when I was by said “I’d love to advertise with you and support you because you’re my customer, but my church is pretty anti-gay. Why don’t you do an everybody’s paper for downtown and I’ll sign on as the first advertiser.” The rest, as they say is history.

I am proud of what we have done, given and had. And we’ve had some fun times, done a lot of work and given and received our fair share of you-know-what. But for now I am going to use my last word to say thank you. Thanks to the community and region. Thanks to all the people near and far. And, above all, thanks to D.J. and Joe who will, I am 100% certain, do a great job following after me to continue our traditions, make new ones of their own and expand and expound upon what we have started.

In closing, to those fearful of changes and growth, I am reminded of an editorial by the publisher of The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin in that newspaper’s final issue in the 1980s. In it, he talked about the choice he had to make to sell or close — and he chose the latter — but in that editorial to justify the afternoon paper’s end he said, “remember that once dinosaurs roamed the earth, but dinosaurs don’t live here anymore.”

In our case, the choice has been made to change, to continue, to grow and for new (and younger) minds to take over while this dinosaur retires.

So that’s my story till now. Happy reading Up Downtown for many, many years to come!

Farewell... Continued From The Previous Page

Now Open Sundays!


Hackin’ The NetBy Ted Fleischaker / Up Down Town Publisher

We got a problem. The problem is not all the devices we have, but using them in such a way that they enhance our lives, not detract from them. This was brought to mind a few times lately, but none quite so dramatically as when walking on a downtown street on a 65 degree Spring Saturday four people approached. They were walking two-by-two and were obviously together. Sadly, not a single one of them was speaking nor even enjoying the sunshine or each others’ company: instead they were all peering oblivious into their phones, apparently texting or messaging.

It got me to thinking of the old expression about the medium and the message. Or to quote Wikipedia: “ ‘The medium is the message’ is a phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived. The phrase was introduced in his most widely known book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964. McLuhan proposes that a medium itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of study. He said that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role not only by the content delivered over the medium, but also by the characteristics of the medium itself...”

Complicated, but in the years since 1964 we have so changed the meaning that these days the message is often lost on the medium — especially as we expect delivery of the first Apple Watches by month’s end and most folks are sadly so busy texting, messaging and (to use the kids latest expression) “blowing up someone’s phone” for attention that they forget what’s surrounding them.

Before I get too far I will admit that I am guilty. I never fail to check my stocks over lunch and I text friends. If I don’t get a reply in what I feel is a “correct” amount of time I text again until one recently accused me of blowin’ up his phone. Then there are the 100+ e-mails a day which land in my box as a newspaper publisher... and I could go on.

But what to do about it? First, we recently had the National Day of Unplugging. I was pleasantly shocked that a few of my fiercest critics tried unplugging — some a few hours and some for the full 24 — and without exception they said it was easier than they thought, and one even said he “enjoyed” the experience as he’d forgotten what a few hours was like with no phone, tweets or instant messengers interfering with real life.

I found my 24 hours easy and really enjoyable. I caught up with a reader who’d called and whose message I’d sat aside. We had a nice hour’s chat and she was most complimentary about these pages. And I went to Chinese lunch with Steven and his sister and made a grocery run. I also actually got in my chair and took an hour’s nap and woke up feeling good. But my point here is not that I did this or that, but that I was unplugged 24 hours and the world did not stop revolving nor did anyone panic about not getting an immediate text or IM back.

So what to do when Apple’s latest investion puts the world and more on our wrists? Well, I wanna go try one out so look for me at the Apple store, but I’m not planning to buy the latest creation from the House of Jobs because I can’t see any real reason for me to do so. I have a drawer full of watches which I rarely if ever wear. I have an iPhone, iPad and two Macs so anything I need or want online can be at my fingertips or at least in my jeans pocket in short order.

But more than that, a comment by a friend who is counting the minutes until he can buy his watch caught my attention. As readers know, the health functions are one of the watch’s biggest selling points and this wag was overheard telling a friend who said he did not need or want one “but how will you reply when I send you a record of heartbeat at 2.30 a.m.?” His answer (and mine) would be identical: “If you bother me at 2.30 a.m. with such nonsense I won’t be your friend when I wake up in the morning!”

So will you be buying one of the “magical” watches? I do not plan to, even though they can and will (with some help from an app) let you own your own (for those old enough to remember) Dick Tracy two-way wrist radio. I am reminded of my late mother who, when as a kid I discovered the joy of owning a watch and some days wore two at once because I could not decide which of mine to wear, would pull her sleeve up and like a back alley salesman would say in a loud stage whisper “Psst! Wanna buy a watch?”But back to my initial comment: Have we any peace and will we ever learn to boss our

electronics instead of the other way round? My reply is only if we WANT that to happen. I will admit that I use the net as an assist in many things. For example, a friend posted on Facebook about the sad demise of newsstands. I used to spend countless hours at Indy News or Louisville’s Readmore and Liberty News or Downtown Dayton’s Wilkie’s. All had row upon row of newspapers from all across the region and world. All are now part of history. These days you can’t even get a Chicago Tribune in Indianapolis because the Trib quit circulating here a half-dozen or more years ago. The Sydney Morning Herald is nowhere to be found and the Louisville Courier-Journal has half their old circulation area. If I want an out-of-town paper I have to either wait until the mail shows up with one I paid a lot of postage for or get an assist from

the net and www.pressreader.com

With that I can subscribe ($29.95 a month) and read any or all of thousands of world and U.S. newspapers. Literally from The Washington Post and my lamented Chicago Tribune to the UK’s Western Mail and that Sydney Morning Herald. Best of all, thanks to the immediacy of the net they all show up when they are published in their local time zone so (like The Glasgow Evening Times promises) you will get today’s news in today’s paper. The net did not change what I read; just the media sending my message.

Same with radio. Indianapolis, for one, has no 24/7 classical FM. There are some ways with HD radio to get a classical music show all the time, but not by just tuning in. Thanks to the net and a TuneIn Radio app on my pad and phone (online, too, at www.tunein.com) I can choose from hundreds of classical stations ranging from Swiss Radio 2 to Toronto’s Stereo 96 and the UK’s wonderful Classic FM. If I want a morning upbeat show in the afternoon there are choices from Australia and if I want relaxing music with lunch, there are British stations where the time means they are well into the evening. Again, the same radio I used to get static-filled on a tuner or by having a friend record it and mail it on cassette from London or Melbourne is live right now thanks to the net.

There are a million other examples. I still use an encyclopaedia but now it’s a few clicks not a painstaking trip to the library. Cookbooks are all but off my list as websites from Food Network to www.uktv.co.uk/goodfood keep us very well fed. TV has gone “on demand” and it would be hard to imagine husband Ivan without his daily Netflix or Hulu fix, which means fewer visits to the theatre and has anyone even seen a video store lately?

So how did we get here from the Apple Watch and the Day of Unplugging? Simply because like everything there is a good side and a bad side to the net and all that technology. That means we need to manage it and not let it manage us. There’s nothing wrong with leaving the phone at home (not on vibrate or silent but home) when you go out for a date or dinner with friends. And unplugging from some tech for a day every now and then will not cause the world to stop. You can read that book you have been wanting to read (yes, on your Kindle, iPad or as a talking book downloaded from iTunes) while not answering 1000 texts. And you can relax and listen to a radio show or watch a movie without tweeting incessently or sending 35 IMs or texts to all your friends at the same time.

So my conclusion is just what I stated: Manage your electronics and do not let them manage you. Get an Apple Watch if you want one, but keep in mind your messages and all the other disturbing temptations of the net will be even closer than now when they might just remain in a purse or pocket.

And remember to respect friends who might not want their phone (or watch) blown up or their evening constantly interrupted. What was that old expression about a place for everything and everything in its place? I need to Google that!


Show Us Your Family Treasures

PRESERVATION WEEK ROAD SHOWSaturday, April 25 | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Wonder what Grandma’s antique is worth? Want to make sure you’re storing it properly? We’ve assembled the best appraisers and conservators in the state, so you can learn about the value of historic objects in your family collections and how to best care for and preserve them.

• Free one-on-one sessions by appointment

• Several free short programs throughout the day

• Free admission includes parking and same-day admission to the Indiana Experience

EU G EN E A N D M A RI LY N G LI C K I N D I A N A H ISTO RY C EN T ER 450 WEST OH IO ST REE T, I N DIANAPOLIS , I N 46202

INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

AppraisersDonna Einhorn, Einhorn & Brown ValuationsJ. Scott Keller, J. Scott Keller Personal Property AppraisersSusie McHugh, SSM Art ConsultingBen Solomon, Solomon Jones AntiquesSharon Smith Theobald, ASA, Appraisal Associates InternationalHarvey Warrner, IronBrigade RelicsDan Ripley and Andrea Hastings, Antique Helper

ConservatorsElizabeth Hague, conservator, Indiana State ArchivesKathleen Kiefer, Material Conservation LLCKathy Lechuga, book conservator, IHSSusan Rogers, senior conservator, IHS Rebecca Shindel, paper conservator, Indiana State LibraryLinda Witkowski, senior conservator of paintings, Indianapolis Museum of Art

in partnership with the Indiana State Library and Indiana State Archives

For details, visit www.indianahistory.org.

Presented by


MAKE DOWNTOWN INDY YOUR SPRING FLINGENJOY SPECTACULAR SPORTS, FRESH DINING, FUN FESTIVALS AND MORE.

Food Truck Fridays on Georgia StreetEnjoy authentic local food on Georgia Street every

Friday from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Spring has sprung in Downtown Indy. From hot happenings like these to parking and transportation information, visit the official web site of Downtown Indy: DowntownIndy.org

Final Four Fan Fest Presented by Capital One®Meet college stars & play games at this family friendly

event April 3-6 at Indiana Convention Center.

Get Away Without Leaving DowntownStep off the beaten path for chic and unique nights

out on Mass Ave and in Fountain Square.

The Indians are Back at the PlateCome to Victory Field for great baseball all spring

and summer long starting April 9.


What a run we’ve had since 1993! Here are just a few photos showing the changing face of downtown we’ve covered... The last of Union Station’s Festival Marketplace; us at the Grand Opening for Circle Centre (September 1995) as well as a lot of its construction and what they tore down to build it; an early-day directory featuring some stores long-gone and sadly missed; the old Ober Building (a garage now stands there on the west side of Pennsylvania just south of Market Street); and the old Koweba Building, lost to the Anthem Data Centre on Virginia Avenue. There’s always more to come and always change and Up Downtown is thrilled to be here to witness and report it all!


Other Points of Interest:1.) Drugstore / Chemist : CVS (2 locations)2.) BARcelona Tapas3.) 110 East Washington Condos / Adobo Grill4.) 501 On Madison Apartment Flats5.) 1 North Penn / Square Donuts6.) Punch Burger7.) JW Marriott Hotel8.) Cosmopolitan On The Canal9.) Carson Pirie Scott & Co.10.) Hoosier Park / Indiana Grand Winner’s Circle 11.) Stars Cafe12.) English Ivy's13.) Fogo De Chao Brazilian Steak House14.) Federal Express15.) Mass Ave. Toys, SubZero & Arts A Poppin’16.) All Star Tire & Auto17.) O'Malia Food Market & Fusek's Hardware18.) Soupremacy19.) TJ Maxx & The Block Apartments

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Historic Fountain Square

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Canal North Basin

I-74, Exit 109 Shelbyville

www.IndianaGrand.com | 877-FUN-4-INDMust be 21 or older to enter casino. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-9-WITH-IT.

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Only 20 minutes from Indy - I-74, Exit 109 Shelbyville | www.IndianaGrand.com | 877-FUN-4-INDMust be 18 or older to race wager and enter OTB. Must be 21 or older to enter casino. See Club Centaur for details. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-9-WITH-IT.

Saturday, April 18 | 8PM & 9:30PM

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Saturday, May 9 | 8PM & 9:30PM

GARY US BONDS “The Little Girl” • “Quarter to Three”

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Limit One (1) coupon per person, per check per promotional period. See Club Centaur for details. Management reserves all rights. Must be 21 or older to redeem. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-9-WITH-IT.

Please redeem with your Center Cut server. Valid only in April 2015.

with entrée purchase

Please redeem at Club Centaur. Valid only in April 2015.

Good for Free Slot Play!

$10 CASINO CASH

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One (1) coupon per person, per promotional period. Not combined with any other slot play offer. Must be a Club Centaur member. Membership is FREE! Free play is available on slot machines while playing and

expires two (2) days after redemption. Coupons have no cash value. Valid only at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. See Club Centaur for details. Must be 21 or older. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-9-WITH-IT.

Live Thoroughbred &

Quarter Horse Racing

Returns April 21!

Please redeem at Club Centaur. Valid only in April 2015.

$2 Free Race Wager

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One (1) coupon per person, per promotional period. Not to be combined with any other race wager offer. See Club Centaur for details. Must be 21 or older. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-9-WITH-IT.

Opening Weekend Fireworks Saturday, April 25!

FREE Appetizer

HOT NEW SLOTS with MILLIONS UP FOR GRABS!

up downtown april 2015

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