What's coming next to Riverside Park?
Second only to Eagle Creek as Indy’s largest public park, Riverside Park is in the early stages of a huge, multi-phase revitalization effort. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, it makes perfect sense that we’d look to this area to play a continued role in Indianapolis’s future. theCityMoms were invited to tour the grounds and chat with representatives from various project phases. We are so excited about the changes already underway and what’s to come - trust us, you will be too!
Digital rendering of the future Promenade at Riverside Park.
First, a little history.
Riverside Park was originally a 943-acre green space with features including Indy’s first zoological garden, the second-of-its-kind soap box derby hill, an electric streetcar terminus, the Riverside Nursery, and the Riverside State Fish Hatchery (complete with alligators, can you imagine?!). The park declined following World War II as buildings fell into disrepair, and later the construction of Interstate 65 and Larue Carter Memorial Hospital claimed portions of the park’s land. This created a division between the east and west segments.
Interested in more local history? Check out some of Riverside Park’s early neighbors like Riverside Amusement Park or The Iron Skillet Restaurant.
If you’re familiar with the area from a soccer game or recent visit to the Aquatics Center, you may think this 90-acre section just south of 30th Street (known to Indy Parks as Riverside Park “proper”) is all that remains. In reality, Riverside Park is still made up of 862 acres spanning from 18th Street north to 38th Street and from Riverside Drive west to Cold Spring Road. You may even miss it if you’re just driving by, but that will change as Indy Parks plans to transform this community space into a desirable destination.
The Indianapolis Colts, Indianapolis Parks Foundation, and Indy Parks partnered to construct a fitness park near the current Riverside Aquatics Center. (Image Credit: Leah Suttner Photography)
Since early 2017, Indy Parks has worked to identify ways to enhance and reinvigorate Riverside Park and developed the Riverside Regional Park Master Plan. The theme seems to be reconnecting: the east and west sections of the park, the various amenities into one unified space, people to the White River, and Indianapolis residents within a shared community resource.
Revitalization efforts are already underway with last summer’s inaugural concert and theater season at Taggart Memorial Amphitheatre, restored to honor Mayor Thomas Taggart, who was known for promoting parks and green spaces in Indianapolis, including establishing Riverside Park in 1903.
Construction is also slated to begin this year to develop Riverside Promenade, a pedestrian walkway intended to celebrate Indy’s varied cultural heritage by highlighting people and events significant to our city, including acknowledgment of a history of racism.
Indy Parks hosted an open house in March to share design plans and receive feedback.
Looking ahead, the master plan lays a framework to complete over $100 million in improvements to Riverside Park over the next 20 years.
Broken into five-year phases to allow time for fundraising, design, and construction, big things are on the horizon:
re-use of the marina to allow for paddle boat, canoe, and kayak rentals
addition of a beginner-level mountain biking course and championship cyclocross venue
expansion of the existing skatepark to double its size
a new aquatics center complete with indoor and outdoor lane swimming
construction of a pedestrian bridge over the White River and water access points throughout the park
establishment of an urban farm
art installations throughout the park
plenty of green space, athletic fields, and play spaces
Love Indy Parks history? Learn more about Tarkington Park, located at 40th and Meridian Streets.
Perhaps the most exciting thing coming for local families (and happening soon, during the first phase) is the addition of an adventure play and nature experience, dubbed Riverside Adventure Park. Formerly the Riverside Golf Course, the roughly 200-acre section north of 30th Street will be divided into five themed zones: river, racing, winter, wetland education, and central nature.
There is a lot we look forward to seeing, including a large outdoor pavilion and event space, an RC track, a four-acre dog park, a skating ribbon for use during both warm and cold months (ah-mazing, right?), a self-guided zipline and treetop canopy walk, a nature center and playground, an archery range, and various opportunities to get up close and personal with native plants and wildlife. There is seriously something for everyone!
Image courtesy of Indy Parks and Recreation.
Riverside Park is long overdue for a makeover and we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s to come! Revitalization plans will both honor Indianapolis's heritage and strive to make it an even greater place for tourists and locals alike to get outside and enjoy our city’s natural resources.
