Aerial view of Indianapolis. Photo courtesy Factory Arts District

By BIANCA BOVA

Indianapolis is just three hours southeast of Chicago, (four if you take the Amtrak Cardinal), making it an ideal destination for a weekend roadtrip. If you’re an avid museum-goer and haven’t made it down to Indy, plan your visit without further delay. Indiana’s state capitol is rich with museums both institutional and obscure, and nearly all of them merit a visit. 

Newfields

Newfields is the 152-acre compound that encompasses the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Fairbanks Park, The Garden, the historic Lilly House, and the Elder Greenhouse. The museum is an encyclopedic institution that houses a permanent collection of over 54,000 works spanning over 5,000 years of art and human history. Its contemporary collection is as strong as its collection of historical works and antiquities, and the grounds surrounding the museum campus are exceptionally beautiful. 

Read Bianca's CGN feature about her recent visit to Newfields.

The Eiteljorg Museum in downtown Indianapolis, front exterior. File image courtesy of the Eiteljorg Museum 

Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art

The Eiteljorg Museum was founded in 1989 with the mission to inspire an appreciation and understanding of the art, history, and cultures of the Indigenous peoples of North America and of the American West. The museum collects, conserves, and exhibits both contemporary and historical art and cultural objects. It is the only museum of its kind in the Midwest, and one of only two museums east of the Mississippi that explore both Native America and the American West, and as such is not to be missed. 

Courtesy of the Indiana State Museum 

Indiana State Museum

Officially the Indiana State Museum is the anchor institution in a network of 12 sites of cultural and historical significance across the state. In practice, it feels more like a fever dream. Unfolding across three floors, it crosses the frenetic visual dynamics of a children's museum with the spirit of a small town historical society. The result includes more rotunda galleries lit with disco lights and taxidermy raccoons than any one museum frankly ought to have. As a Hoosier all I can say is that it does capture some element of absurdity endemic to life in Indiana with great accuracy. 

Courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

Fresh off their grand reopening after a seventeen-month-long, $60.5 million dollar renovation (its first in forty years), the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum has never been more worth a visit. While it now contains all the bells and whistles associated with contemporary American museums (new media displays, interactive elements, a kids section, etc.), the real star is the exhibition design. From the invisible mounting of the banked automobile displays in the main galleries to the historic life-size dioramas in Gasoline Alley, it's a rare example of flawless execution. For fans of the old IMS, note that it still retains its charm. The top floor gallery highlights deep archival content including a suite of Leroy Neiman paintings, Miss Speedway sashes, and Indy 500-themed pachinko machines. 

Courtesy of Long-Sharp Gallery 

Long-Sharp Gallery at the Conrad Hotel

While strictly speaking not a museum, Long-Sharp is the only bluechip art dealership with an outpost in downtown Indianapolis. Operating out of a well-appointed gallery located in the residential wing of the Conrad Hotel, it’s worth a visit to see their exhibitions and whatever secondary market inventory is on hand. The trick, though, is to exit through the hotel lobby and sweet talk a bellman into letting you upstairs to view the hotel’s art collection. Then, if you can bear to part with the money, spend the night in one of their famed Collection Suites and enjoy a Warhol, Dali, or Picasso instead of the traditional milquetoast hotel art you could expect down the street at, say, the Holiday Inn. 

Courtesy of Factory Arts District 

Factory Arts District

Once the home of legendary automotive engineering and manufacturing giant Schwitzer, the sixteen acre industrial complex on Mass Avenue on Indianapolis’ near eastside known as the Factory Arts District is a sprawling complex that contains galleries, artist studios, car collections, restaurants, event spaces, and vintage shops. Visit on the first Friday of each month for an open house event that features an exhibition opening in the central gallery, refreshments, open studios, pop-up vendors, and a DJ. 

Courtesy TSLM

The Teeny Statue of Liberty Museum

Unlikely though it may seem, Indianapolis is home to a private museum that contains a permanent collection of over 450 pieces, all of which immortalize Lady Liberty in some fashion. For over 33 years, owner Tim Harmon has collected everything from Avon bottles, toothbrush holders, and lawn sprinklers, to cigarette lighters, pencil sharpeners, and condoms, all featuring the Statue of Liberty. Formerly located on Tenth Avenue, the museum has recently relocated to the aforementioned Factory Arts District. Admission is 50¢, though bringing an object to donate to the collection yields you a lifetime membership, gratis–a bargain whether you’re a fan of New York, Americana, or just obsessiveness. 

Courtesy AFCA Antique Fan Museum 

Antique Fan Collectors Association Museum

Though you’ll have to travel to neighboring Zionsville, Indiana to visit the official Antique Fan Collectors Association Museum, I think you’ll agree it's well worth the out-of-town carfare charge to pay a visit to one of the more niche institutions in the Midwest. The promise that it contains an "overwhelming number of examples of antique fans from every era,” is one on which it overdelivers. Over 2,000 examples dating as far as the 1880s, amassed with the assistance of over 750 Antique Fan Collectors Association members, are on view, exhibited warehouse-style on shelving units. It’s not a wholly uninteresting place to pass an afternoon. 

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Restaurants 

It’s not a proper trip to Indianapolis without dinner at the legendary St. Elmo’s, with their world famous, sinus-clearing shrimp cocktail. If you’re looking to escape downtown, head to Broadripple for an exceptional, rustic meal at Root & Bone. For mornings when the complimentary continental breakfast doesn’t cut it, stop by Good Morning Mama’s for authentic Hoosier cuisine, with a side of kitsch. 

Hotels

If you can, by all means stay at the Conrad. If you can’t, Le Méridien will do. If you or your traveling companion happen to be railway foamers (or, like myself, just have mixed luck with hotwire.com) you might stay at the Union Station Hotel, where if desired you can opt for a room inside a vintage train car. If you prefer something more boutique, the Hotel Broad Ripple has a great deal of charm.  

Support for this article’s research was furnished by a Travel Grant for Visual Arts Journalism from the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation.