Indianapolis, Indiana
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On one of its last runs, Iowa Pacific's 'Hoosier State' sits at Indianapolis Union Station after arriving from Chicago.
An Indiana Rail Road local heads north along the former Indianapolis Union Railway on the east side of Indianapolis. This line was referred to as the “Belt Running Track” in Conrail timetables. We’re looking west towards downtown Indianapolis on the former B&O, which comes in from Cincinnati. The jointed rail in the weeds at the right is the former PRR main line from Columbus, Ohio, which by this date of 04MAR90 was long gone as a thru-route. I don’t know what Conrail was doing with this portion of the line in 1990.
The white mass in the background is the inflatable roof of the Hoosier Dome, now demolished. The PRR signal in the distance is facing away from us and controlled traffic heading east. On the PRR, this signal was near a location called Pine.
Finally, if memory serves, not visible in the concrete bridge abutments were the words “Belt Crossing” in tile letters. Another location called Belt Crossing was further south where the NYC Cincinnati Line crossed the Belt near the Citizens Gas & Coke Utility plant.
From my recent first visit of Indy Zoo after 20 yrs.
[Shot on a cloudy but bright day with the longest telephoto lens that I own -- a $25 vintage Minolta MD Rokkor 200mm f4 lens adapted on my APS-C A6500, and giving me a 300mm equivalent lens to reach this bird]
A Street View capture of the theater in August of 2018. This is currently in the process of being demolished as of January, 2023. I hope someone was able to salvage some of those limestone details!
"The Ritz Theatre at 3430 N. Illinois Street was constructed in 1926-1927 by Oscar Markum and Son, owners of four other Indianapolis theaters. It was designed by Indianapolis architect George V. Bedell, who began his career in the 1880s as a decorative spindle and trim maker. The Ritz is brick and decorated with limestone carvings. When it first opened it had streetfront stores on either side of the central entrance and a separate smoking room with piped-in sound for the smokers.
According to cinematreasures.org, the Ritz opened on February 22, 1927 with seating for 1,400. Just on the cusp of talking movies, the theater was equipped with a two-manual Geneva organ. After years of success as a neighborhood movie theater, it became known as the Northside Theatre in August of 1958 and had a short-lived stint as a burlesque site in the 1960s before complaints led the managers and strippers to court. In June 1970 the theater was remodeled. All of the seats were removed to make way for a rock concert venue called Middle Earth. The popular hang-out featured some big names such as Richie Havens, Frank Zappa, and Savoy Brown. The name was changed back to the Ritz Theatre in January 1972, but the concerts were unsuccessful and the Ritz closed in late 1972."
For more information on this theater:
historicindianapolis.com/indianapolis-then-and-now-ritz-t...
For more information on this theater:
historicindianapolis.com/indianapolis-then-and-now-ritz-t...