Madison County: An Indiana Jewel

    When people say there is nothing to do in Madison County, simply put, they are wrong! Perhaps they are misinformed. Or maybe they just haven’t scratched the surface. In Anderson and Madison County, there are endless gems the whole community can be proud of, and it is certainly a place where people would want to visit.

With all the construction and renovation going on, one can easily tell that things are happening in Anderson. The most obvious is the downtown renovation, which started in March 2002 and has revealed stunning results so far.

Fortune Management of Kokomo has worked some definite magic into the downtown of Anderson, giving the area a major facelift. Old buildings have been removed, and remnants were salvaged to create new and different buildings, and parking areas increased.

 “The city of Anderson had to face what many communities across the country have faced: a decaying downtown,” explained Ralph Day, executive director of the Anderson/Madison County Visitors and Convention Bureau. “Most people would have thought the ability to recapture the downtown was an impossible goal. But this positive vision has resulted in many great accomplishments toward rebuilding the downtown. With the completion of each project, the city has moved, step by step, closer to realizing the dream of seeing downtown Anderson revitalized for the community and for visitors.”

Some of the downtown projects revitalized include the Paramount Theatre, Anderson Fine Arts Center and Big 4 Railroad Depot.

“Certainly the maintaining of existing buildings by their owners, such as the Union Building, need to be held up as well,” Day continued. “These business owners have had to be patient with the downtown construction. However, the benefits in the long term far outweigh the inconvenience to both them and their customers.”

Each part of the downtown renovation deserves recognition, Day added. “The Paramount is a jewel not only for Anderson but also for the state of Indiana,” he said. The Big Four Depot has been beautifully restored and is home to Lou Ann Young’s Ballet.”

He added that the Big Four Depot is available for meeting space, “and trains still go by so you have that nostalgic feeling,” he said.

With the Big Four as the south anchor to downtown, you need a north anchor. That is found in the Anderson Fine Arts Center, located in the historic Carnegie building. 

In between, the Town Center Plaza is a centerpiece for the new downtown, with its fountain and three ballet dancers poised around it. Ken Ryden designed the fountain and its three beauties. The town center also has a children’s play area, grass and picnic tables (see story on downtown renovations).

Outside the downtown area, other things are happening, such as the large, new visitors center at Mounds Park. This spacious building houses a nature center as well.

Hoosier Park is enjoying success due to its simulcast. ”It is a great place to go for an enjoyable evening during the live racing season,” Day noted.

The Military Museum has added a conference facility, which may be able to seat 400-500 people.

There will be many events in 2004 to attract people to Madison County, such as the Anderson Cruise-In, to be held July 16-17. The Andersontown Powwow and Indian Market will be Sept. 10-12 at Athletic Park.

Around Madison County, consider visiting these highlights:

In Pendleton, there’s the historic downtown, with its many antique and craft shops. And there’s The Giant, an environmentally friendly home built in the woods by Vic Woods, open by appointment.

In Chesterfield, there’s the Spiritualist Camp, where people can go to explore ideas such as psychic ability.

In Alexandria, there’s the Gaither Family Resource Center, with an average attendance of 7,000 per month.

In Elwood, it’s all about glass. There’s the House of Glass, featuring Saint Claire glass, and there’s the 33^rd Annual Elwood Glass Festival in July.

Downtown Looking Up

Downtown Anderson has had a facelift – to the tune of $4 million. And that’s just the buildings. There are other projects, such as the Hudson House Apartments, that cost additional dollars. The Hudson House, where Hudson Printing used to be housed, cost about $2.5 million. The building now houses apartments.

Fortune Management of Lawrenceburg Inc. started the project in March 2002, with the blessing of many businesses in the town.

“When a town comes to us, we have to create a partnership with the city and the banks,” said Brandon Pitcher, president of Fortune. “We come on invitation only. The industry, government and people work together.”

The company bought 15 downtown properties, and now it’s hard to remember what some of the old downtown areas looked like.

A town center creates an eye-catching centerpiece for downtown.

“The concept for that came one Saturday in a meeting with the mayor,” Pitcher said. He said that Scott Pitcher, also of Fortune Management, drew the idea on a napkin.

“They said it couldn’t be done,” Pitcher said of the town plaza. “Our philosophy is, ‘Don’t tell us what you can’t do. Tell us what you want and we’ll do it.’”

The old Plaza Printers building is now a parking lot. Another home is coming down to create more parking. Other buildings were taken down and moved so that their fronts faced a new direction.

“We reuse stuff,” Pitcher said. “We feel like that’s more environmentally friendly.”

In the old Ryden building, a place called Camerata is opening. This is a music conservatory owned by Debbie Archer. Music lessons will be offered, and there will also be a coffee shop and café, which will be open for lunch and dinner. There are special machines brought in from Europe to make espressos. So you can see this isn’t just a simple music conservatory; parents taking their children to their lessons can sit by warm fireplaces and listen on headphones to the lessons. There will be a recording studio upstairs. There will be a stage downstairs.

The project is one that had a specific purpose: to make downtown vibrant again.

“We want to create a city where people want to live and work in,” Pitcher explained. “You can’t encourage people to work and live in a city that’s dead. This is an art first and a business second.”