Portal:Indianapolis

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The Indianapolis Portal

Indianapolis is the capital city of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. The 2000 Census counted the city's population at 781,870. It is Indiana's most populous city and is the 13th largest city in the U.S., the third largest city in the Midwest, and the second most populous Capital in the U.S., behind Phoenix, Arizona. Indianapolis has hosted numerous sporting events including; the 1987 Pan American Games, both Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the United States Grand Prix (2000-2007), and is perhaps most famous for the annual Indianapolis 500. The labels of The Amateur Sports Capital of the World, and The Racing Capital of the World, have both been applied to the city.

The Indianapolis metropolitan area is among the fastest growing in the Midwest and the United States, with growth centered in the surrounding counties of Hamilton, Hendricks, and Johnson. Hamilton and Hendricks Counties are currently the fastest growing counties in Indiana. Currently, the Combined Statistical Area stands at 1,984,644, making it the 23rd largest in the U.S.

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Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy's speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. was given by New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy on April 4, 1968. Kennedy was campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination and had spoken at the University of Notre Dame and Ball State University earlier that day. Before boarding a plane to fly to Indianapolis for one last campaign speech in a predominantly black neighborhood of the city he learned that Martin Luther King had been shot, leading Kennedy press secretary Frank Mankiewicz to suggest that he ask the audience to pray for the King family and ask them to follow King's policy of non-violence. They did not learn that King was dead until they landed in Indianapolis.

Despite rioting in other major American cities, Indianapolis was calm the night after Kennedy's remarks, which is believed to have been in part because of the speech. The speech itself has been listed as one of the greatest in American history, ranked 17th on American Rhetoric's Top 100 speeches in the 20th century. Former US Congressman and media host Joe Scarborough said that it was Kennedy's greatest speech, and was what prompted him into entering into public service.

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Photo credit: Nick81aku
NCAA Hall of Champions located in the White River State Park.
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Did you know...

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Sports

Ric Flair
WrestleMania VIII was the eighth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on April 5, 1992 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. This was the last WrestleMania to be held in a stadium until WrestleMania X-Seven. Reba McEntire sang a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the show.

There were two main events. In the first, Randy Savage won the WWF Title from Ric Flair. This stemmed from the kayfabe reason that Flair was suggesting that Flair had a past with Savage's wife, Miss Elizabeth. In the second main event, Hulk Hogan defeated Sid Justice by disqualification.

This was the only WrestleMania to feature Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan as commentators for every match. It would also be the final WrestleMania to feature Gorilla Monsoon as a commentator. Starting with Wrestlemania IX, Jim Ross would be the featured play-by-play man for most subsequent Wrestlemanias.

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Categories

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Sister cities

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On this day in Indianapolis history...

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Selected attraction

Eiteljorg Museum sign.
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art, located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, houses an extensive collection of Native American artifacts as well as Western American paintings and sculptures collected by buinessman and philanthropist Harrison Eiteljorg (1903-1997). The museum also houses one of the finest collections of Native contemporary art in the World. The museum is currently part of Indianapolis' White River State Park which also houses the Indiana State Museum, the Indianapolis Zoo, the White River Gardens, NCAA Hall of Champions, Victory Field and Military Park.
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Selected biography

James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley October 7, 1849 - July 22, 1916) was an American writer and poet. Known as the "Hoosier Poet" and the "Children's Poets," he started his career in 1875 writing newspaper verse in Indiana dialect for the Indianapolis Journal. His verse tended to be humorous or sentimental, and of the approximately one-thousand poems that Riley published, over half are in dialect. Claiming that “simple sentiments that come from the heart” were the secret of his success, Riley satisfied the public with down-to-earth verse that was "heart high."

Although Riley was a bestselling author in the early 1900s and earned a steady income from royalties, he also traveled and gave public readings of his poetry. His favorite authors were Robert Burns and Charles Dickens, and Riley himself befriended bestselling Indiana authors such as Booth Tarkington, George Ade and Meredith Nicholson. Many of his works were illustrated by the popular illustrator Howard Chandler Christy.

As a lasting tribute, the citizens of Greenfield, Indiana hold a festival every year in Riley's honor. Taking place the first weekend of October, the Riley Festival traditionally commences with a flower parade in which local elementary school children place flowers around the statue of Riley on the county courthouse lawn, while the Greenfield-Central High School band plays lively music in honor of the poet.

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Quotes

  • “Every race I run in is in preparation for the Indianapolis 500. Indy is the most important thing in my life. It is what I live for.” -- former IRL driver Al Unser
  • “What's that? Uh -- Playoffs? Don't talk about -- playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game!” -- former Colts coach Jim E. Mora
  • “The jazz scene - or the lack of it - has no correlation to my move back to Indianapolis. I wanted Indianapolis to be my home, and it is my home.” -- Jazz Musician J. J. Johnson
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Indianapolis lists

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Sister portals/WikiProjects

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Things you can do