Today, for the Doorscursion, I am introducing you to another small town, this one in the Midwest. Carmel, Indiana, located in Hamilton County, just north of Indianapolis, is a paradise for the young and old. In 2012, Carmel was selected as the Best Place to Live in America by CNN Money Magazine and has maintained that status for years. Until 1874, the town was called Bethlehem. In 1924, one of the first automatic traffic lights was installed at the intersection of Main Street and Rangeline Road. The signal that was installed was the invention of Leslie Haines and is currently located in the old train depot on the Monon Trail in Carmel. Today, Carmel has become the unofficial roundabout capital of the world, due to the installation of over eighty roundabouts and the demolition of seventy-eight sets of traffic signals! So, let’s take a look at Carmel! The old storefronts………..
mixed with the new storefronts……
Carmel Arts and Design District promotes small businesses and local artisans. Walking down Main Street there are fifteen bronze life-like sculptures, part of the “Man on the Street Series,” created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr, starting in the 1980’s. He is considered the Norman Rockwell of American Sculpture. These sculptures look so real and are placed in front of store fronts that depict their actions. Here in front of the newspaper stand……..sits…….
and in front of the grocery shops………
Love is all around……..
Walking past the storefronts in Old Town you come to a crosswalk, where there is the sculpture of a policeman. Look both ways here, because the Monon Trail crosses this section of Main Street and is always busy with bikers, joggers, skate boarders, men and women walking dogs, families with prams; you get the picture….. What exactly is the Monon Trail? The Monon Railroad was a popular railroad line connecting the cities of Chicago and Indianapolis, with stops at major settlements along its route. The railroad tracks were taken out and is now the Monon Walking Trail………one of the longest in Indiana.
The Monon Trail, completed in 2003, measures 10.4 miles from 10th Street, where it connects to 96th Street, to the 5.3 mile Monon Greenway in Carmel. Used more than 1.2 million times yearly, this makes the Monon Trail one of the busiest in the nation. The inviting part of the Monon Trail in Carmel, is the restaurants, coffee shoppes, shopping and the Saturday Farmers Market to be found right along the trail. One can bike, jog or walk and stop along the route for a cuppa, lunch or shopping, and then return to the trail. Also, along the trail you pass lovely, turn of the century neighborhoods, sprinkled with pastel cottages and “arts and crafts” style homes. For the newbies, there are townhouses built within a few yards of the Monon Trail!
The artwork on the buildings…….
The Monon Trail…….in Carmel…..
A very popular restaurant along the trail………I got up early to get this photo without a lot of people in the waiting line to get in and there were still two people ahead of me!
In 2007, a 24.5 million dollar water park and mega fitness center was opened in the 55 million dollar Carmel Central Park. You guessed it, it is situated right along the Monon Trail! The outdoor water park consists of two water slides, a drop slide, a lazy river, a kiddie pool, a large zero-depth activity pool and a lap pool. The state-of-the-art fitness center consists of an indoor lap pool, a recreation pool with it’s own water slides, snack bar, gymnasium, 1/8 mile indoor running track and the Kids Zone Childcare Center. The building is connected by an elevated walkway over the Monon Trail to a banquet center that can be rented out.
The Carmel City Center is a million square foot mixed- use-development, located in the heart of Carmel. The Monon Greenway runs directly through this project. Here is the location for the Center For Performing Arts, which includes a 1600 seat concert hall named the “Palladium” and the 500 -seat theater named the “Tarkington.” The large park located next to the City Center is the location for the Carmel Farmers Market. On Saturday mornings, you may park your car in the covered parking garage located just 150 feet from the Market. Founded in 1998, the Market is a growers and producers-only market with over sixty vendors. There are fresh meats, cheeses, jams and salsas, coffee, eggs, honey and prepared foods (like the Walking Waffle) There are cooking demonstrations, children’s activities and live music, all in one place. All workers are volunteers and there is even is a bike parking lot, manned by local youth organizations, so you can park your bike and go!
And now for the houses, many along the Monon Trail!
I hope you have enjoyed some of the doors of Carmel and the introduction to this great little city and all the fun you can have here ! See you next week in another spot!
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ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes 
What a great overview of Carmel! It was wonderful to walk with you through Carmel and to see so much more than just their beautiful doors. The sculptures are amazing … thanks Cady, I loved your post and photo’s!
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Sorry for so much “Other Stuff” in this week’s Doorscursion, but I wanted to show the big picture! Cady
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Not a problem … I loved the “other stuff” 😁.
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This looks a delightful community.
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What a scenic spot
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This is great, love the sculptures and the art. I can see why folks would want to live there. Great post
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Carmel is the place, if you want a good job, lots of things to do, plenty of nice restaurants and very, very, very good schools! It is also a mecca for the “Arts” folks and the physically active! Many of the older (and original homes) have been kept in pristine shape and there are plenty of the newer pocket neighborhoods going up on the edges of the Monon Trail! Cady
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I love this town! The buildings, the houses, the sculptures – they are all just wonderful to look at. I really like the old depot and the spectacular corner door on the “new storefront.”
I smiled when I saw the navy guy and the woman kissing. It reminded me of a statue in the old Milwaukee Road terminal (now hotel) in Minneapolis. https://nofacilities.com/2017/09/18/trains-coffee-and-motherboards/#jp-carousel-11690
Carmel is a place I think I would like to visit. Thanks for sharing.
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That piece is just iconic! I had photos of all the sculpture pieces, but thought I was pushing it as it was! Ha ha! Cady
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No, I liked them.
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No wonder Carmel was voted such a great place to live. It’s gorgeous, I like everything about it, from the Man in the Street sculptures to how the new buildings are made to look old and full of character.
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It is a fabulous place, but really expanding, now that everyone wants to live there! If you want physical fitness and good health, this is the place to be! Cady
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What a lovely town! The sculptures are great fun and there are so many pretty houses 🙂 I’m surprised to read it has so many roundabouts – we’ve always seen relatively few on our visits to the US compared with here in the UK. Carmel must be an exception?!
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A few years ago many small towns decided to do away with their stoplights. Our town did that too, mainly at the entrances to the bigger state roads. It took a while for the “Old Folks” to get the hang of it! Saves traffic from building up though! Cady
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Smile, indeed these are not people who travel much outside their town, they are well established
and looks like they’re loving it there too much! The statues on the road are cute!
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No, I’d say we tend to stay put. My husband and I got the traveling bug and moving bug when we were in the military and never looked back! Cady
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It looks like the sort of place I could be happy in.
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Those sculptures really do look real and the entire place looks like a delightful spot to spend some days, especially that trail.
janet
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Janet, this trail is always very full! Not packed, but just right! The spots along the Trail, like the coffee shops, restaurants and cafés do a big business all year round too! It is a big draw to the area and why people want to live there! Cady
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What a lovely place. I’m mesmerized by the real life sculptures. Especially the man on the bench. What beautiful photos and a gorgeous little place.
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Oh what an amazing town. Love the street art, the plants and the sculptures. They are all gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this to us!
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That Monon trail looks amazing.
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I think there is a typo. It’s the Palladium, not Palladian. Thanks!
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Thanks Mike for the correction! I fixed it! Cady
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