BY NICOLE THOMAS

Marion County is the most populous county in Indiana and the birthplace of several well-known figures, including author Kurt Vonnegut, television host David Letterman, and actor Brendan Fraser. Unlike many Midwestern cities built on a grid, Indianapolis has diagonal streets that spread out from Monument Circle. When the city was planned in 1821, designers drew inspiration from Washington, D.C., and created a circular center with avenues radiating outward. Streets like Massachusetts Avenue and Virginia Avenue still cut diagonally through downtown today.

‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’

Six miles west of downtown Indianapolis is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the world’s largest-capacity sports venue with nearly 260,000 permanent seats. When it opened in 1909, the track was made of crushed stone and tar, but it quickly wore down during races. The surface was then replaced with more than 3 million bricks, earning the track its nickname, “The Brickyard.” The first Indianapolis 500 in 1911
saw cars averaging 74 mph. Today, the Memorial Day weekend tradition is one of the world’s most recognized races with speeds exceeding
230 mph.

Nature in Circle City

Eagle Creek Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the United States, covering more than 3,900 acres on the northwest side of Indianapolis. It is one of the most visited attractions in Indiana, with more than 1 million visitors each year. Established in 1962, the park’s reservoir was designed to manage flooding, supply drinking water, and offer recreational activities. Now, visitors can sail, kayak, and fish across Eagle Creek Park’s more than 1,400 acres of water. The park also features miles of hiking and biking trails, a nature center, and bird-watching areas.

Imagination unleashed

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is the largest children’s museum in the world, welcoming more than 1 million visitors each year. Founded in 1925, the museum features interactive exhibits on science, history, art, and culture. Its permanent experiences include the “Dinosphere,” an immersive exhibit with fossils and life-size dinosaur replicas, and “Beyond Spaceship Earth,” a full-scale replica of the International Space Station. The museum also houses Fireworks of Glass, a four-story blown-glass sculpture by artist Dale Chihuly, created in 2006.

County facts

FOUNDED: 1822

NAMED FOR: Francis Marion, a brigadier general in the American Revolutionary War

POPULATION: 977,203

COUNTY SEAT: Indianapolis

INDIANA COUNTY NUMBER: 49