INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. capital of the State, county-seat of Marion County, the largest city in the State and the 22d in the United States; situated on the west fork of White River. It is 60 miles from the centre of population of the United States. It is the centre for 16 radiating railroads, which connect it with Chi cago, 184 miles northwest, Cleveland, 283 miles northeast, Saint Louis, 240 miles southwest, Louisville, 110 miles south, Cincinnati, 111 miles southeast, Columbus, 181 miles east, New York, 819 miles east, and other termini in Ohio. Michigan. Illinois and Indiana. Its area is 39.45 square miles.
The site was selected in 1820 as the location of the capital by a legislative commission and its name was adopted by the legislature in ses sion at Corydon, 6 Jan. 1821. The first plat included a square mile, which was laid out with broad rectangular streets and avenues radiating from a central circle. The character of the plan was undoubtedly influenced by l'Enfant, the designer of the city of Washington, D. C., for one of the surveyors who made the town plat had aided in the work at the national capi tal. While the additions to the city have not been developed upon the same broad lines, most of them have been treated liberally and the city is noted for its wide streets, well paved and beautifully shaded. The city is very level, nearly all of its area being 700 to 800 ft. above sea-level. There are 550.6 miles of platted streets, of which 255 miles are paved, 133 miles with asphalt, 80 miles with brick, 23 miles with wooden blocks and 12 miles with macadam. The chief business streets are Washington street, which is a section of the old National road projected and partly completed to run from Baltimore to Saint Louis; Market, Mary land and Georgia streets, all running east and west; Meridian, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Illinois streets, running north and south, and Massachusetts, Indiana, Virginia and Kentucky avenues, which are diagonals, radiating from the circular Monument Place. This central circle contains the State's monument to its soldiers and sailors, perhaps the most success ful of the innumerable monuments erected by towns, cities, societies and states in conunemo ration of the nation's defenders, and gener ally regarded as one of the greatest in the world from an artistic point of view. The finest resi dence streets are Delaware, Meridian, Wash ington Boulevard, Maple Road and Pennsyl vania. Several other residence districts are particularly well designed and cared for, such as Woodruff Place — a residence park, with esplanades, fountains, statues, etc.,— which has a town government of its own, though com pletely surrounded by the city; Morton Place, Meridian Heights and Irvington, Public Service.— The first water supply and the first sewer system were constructed in 1870 to 1875 and but little else was done in the way of comprehensive public improvements until after the adoption. of the present efficient charter in 1891. Prior to that year the city government had been by mayor and council. Public-spirited citizens who recognized the im possibility of securing comprehensive public improvements, through the Commercial Club agitated the adoption. of the new charter, which separated the legislative And• admin istrative functions of the city govern ment, making the mayor and his appointees fully responsible for the latter. The first Board of Public Works devised a broad system of improvement, including sewerage, paving and street cleaning, which was supplemented in 1895 by a Park Commission. Under these two boards the progress in the establishment of municipal public works adding to the beauty and convenience of the city has been rapid. As a step preliminary to the era of improvement which began in 1890 a paving exposition was held for the purpose of educating the people of the city regarding paving materials and methods. It was the first ever held in America and attracted attention throughout the country. Official delegations were sent to it from about 500 cities. Prior to 1890 less than two miles of pavements had been . laid. The amounts expended after the adoption of the new charter in 1891 to the year 1902, inclusive, were as follows: for pavements of asphalt, $2,726,668.01 ;
brick, $1,011,214.39; wooden block, $969,652.82; macadam, $154,522.91; gravel, $757,112.50; for alley improvements, $46,655.26; for cement walks, $879,61021; for brick walks, $65,995.41,; , making a total for paving of $6,611,431.51. The amounts expended up until 1 Jan. 1916, were as follows: for 133.13 miles of asphalt pavements, $5,217,493; for 80 miles of brick pavements, $2,550,409; for 23 miles of wood block pave ments, $1,385,409; for 16.76 miles of bituminous concrete pavements, $583,039; for 8.58 miles of macadam pavements, $321,803; for 139 miles of gravel roadway, $1,593,311 ;. for 467 miles of cement sidewalks, $2,267,990, and for 25 miles of brick sidewalks, $65,995, making a total of The city 'has 377.78 miles of gewers which were constructed at a cost of $6,003, 446.15. The grand total of expenditures for permanently improved highways, walks and sewers up until 1 Jan. 1916 was in excess of $M000,0®. The waterworks owned by the Indianapolis Water Company have been de veloped with the city. The system of direct pressure is used and a system of filter beds to purify the water taken from White River is operated in conjunction with the sys tem of pumping from driven wells. The com pany maintains four pumping stations with a daily capacity of 110,000,000 gallons. The daily average pumpage for 1916 was 23,000,000 gallons. For fire service the company in creases its pressure from 100 to 110 , pounds. The company maintains 3,400 fire hydrants for , the city at an annual rental of $45 each, or at a total cost of $153,000 a year. Electric lights are in general use, the household. rates being cents per kilowatt hour. Open. flame arcs of 500 candle power are used almost exclusively for street lighting, although the city maintains. 700 gas lights of the boulevard type at an annual cost of $15 each. The total appropriation for street lighting for 1916 was $160,000 for which the city was rendered lighting service under contract as follows: 2,800 arcs at $41.98 a year each; 2,100 undergro nd-wired pedestal boule vard incandescents at $27.71 a year each; 100 overhead incandescents at 417.83 a year each and 700 gas boulevard lights, maintained by the city, at a cost of $15 a year each. The police department contains 435 men and is main tained at a cost of $511,771.47 a year. The police court, city clerk, detective and police departments are housed in a handsome build ing and the city and county maintain a work house where prisoners are sentenced for short terms, Four police substations are maintained. The fire department contains 360 men and costs for maintenance $478,407.68 a year. Thirty stations are maintained in addition to the new central fire station. The department has 76 pieces of apparatus as follows: 13 horse-drawn steamers; four combination motor pumps; eight motor hose wagons; 23 horse-drawn hose wagons; three horse-drawn chemical wagons; two motor squad wagons; five motor chiefs"' cars; one tractor aerial truck; one tractor water tower; four motor service trucks; eight horse drawn service trucks and two motor telegram repair wagons. The Indianapolis Salvage Corps, financed by insurance companies, main tains two motor salvage squads that are oper ated in conjunction with the fire department. There are 75 miles of underground conduits used by the telephone, telegraph and electric light companies and 170 miles of street car lines owned by the Indianapolis Street Railway Company and operated under lease by the Indianapolis Traction and Terminal Company. The city is the most prominent interurban centre in the world. It has six interurban sys tems, made up of 13 lines, which in 1914 car ried 7,912,763 passengers to and from the city, an average of 19,213 a day, 712 passenger cars being handled each day in the largest and most pretentious interurban station in the United States. Freight cars to the number of 23,500 are handled out of this station, owned by the Indianapolis Traction and Terminal Company, each year.