Pogue's Run Tour

This tour was developed in partnership with Reconnecting to Our Waterways and the Pogue’s Run Waterway committee. The tour was developed to showcase points of interest along the waterway showcasing arts and culture; historic places, nature and recreation,

Pogue's Run Tour

Indianapolis, Indiana 46222, United States

Created By: Reconnecting to Our Waterways

Tour Information

Intro

Pogue's Run is an urban creek that starts near the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Lennington Drive on the east side of Indianapolis, Indiana, and empties into the White River south of the Kentucky Avenue bridge over that river. At the stream's intersection with New York Street just east of downtown Indianapolis it enters a double-box culvert conduit through which it flows underneath downtown Indianapolis. It is named for George Pogue, who, along with John Wesley McCormick, were among the first settlers in what would become the city of Indianapolis.

History

Prior to the arrival of Pogue and McCormick, Native Americans and wildlife would often follow Pogue's Run as a pathway. George Pogue (c.1763–1821) was a blacksmith from Connersville, Indiana. In 1819, he blazed a trail that corresponds with the present-day Brookville Road. On March 2, 1819, he built a cabin for his family of seven where Michigan Street currently crosses Pogue's Run. However, there is some disagreement among historians about these events; Jacob Piatt Dunn wrote in his 1910 work Greater Indianapolis, that Pogue actually arrived on March 2, 1820, and moved into a cabin that had been built in 1819 by a Ute Perkins, who had left before Pogue arrived. Perkins reportedly had left the area because of his loneliness, later settling in Rush County, Indiana. The creek became known as Pogue's Run after Pogue disappeared in April 1821; it had been called Perkin's Run (after Ute Perkins) prior to Pogue's disappearance.

When Indianapolis was laid out, only Pogue's Run running diagonally across the southeast portion of the "Mile Square" disturbed the orderliness of the grid pattern. Alexander Ralston had to make compromises due to the stream's location within the congressional donation lands given for the future Indianapolis. Before the state government could be moved to Indianapolis from Corydon, fifty dollars was spent to rid swampy Pogue's Run of the mosquitoes that made it a "source of pestilence".

Today

Indy Parks established the Pogue's Run Trail alongside the creek bed on the section northeast of downtown. New sections of trail are being planned for construction to connect the Pogue's Run Trail to downtown. As of August 2020, approximately two miles (3.2 km) of disjoint sections of the planned 5.3-mile (8.5 km) trail have been completed. The trail will run from the Monon Trail at 10th Street along the creek to the Pogues Run Art and Nature Park a few blocks west of Emerson Avenue.


Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

Pogue's Run is an urban creek that starts near the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Lennington Drive on the east side of Indianapolis, Indiana, and empties into the White River south of the Kentucky Avenue bridge over that river. A... Read more
Established in 2018 this art gallery offers both First Friday and private art showings. Artists studio spaces are also available for rent. For more infomation visit https://lostdoggallery.com/
The 4-acre neighborhood park is one of Indianapolis’s oldest and is set in one of its most venerable communities.  The area we now know as Marion County was originally inhabited by the Delaware tribe of the Miami Nation.  The United Sta... Read more
This mural designed by artist Brent Aldrich and painted by Lilly employees in 2013 depicts the area along the waterway throughout the decades. The artist traveled only a few blocks from his Englewood home to design a colorful mural on the R... Read more
Painted in 2019 by Brandon Miller who developed the concept to make the current concrete bridge look like an open metal bridge.
StreamLines: Tamed Water Category: Outdoor Sculpture; Temporary Collection: Butler University; Reconnecting to our Waterways Medium type: Mixed Media; Steel Date: 2015 In 2015, the urban artist Mary Miss designed the project City as L... Read more
With over 20 beers Rad Brewing relaunched the previous Flat12 Bierworks in 2019. Rad Brewing Co.'s mission is to support and promote alternative ways of getting active with a portion of the profits going to youth athletics. Rad Brewery beer... Read more
Indianapolis natives Chris and Mollie Eley opened a butcher shop and specialty food market in the Fall Creek Place neighborhood in 2007. Based on the relationships with farmers and the recipes that Chris developed behind the butcher counter... Read more
Established in 2002 by lifelong gardener Terry Spotts, Spotts Garden Service works to create earth-friendly gardens that reflect the people who live and play in them. Terry, the founder and owner, grew up in a family that owned and operated... Read more
King Dough was born from being part of owners Adam and Alicia Sweet’s successful family of restaurants in their home state of Arkansas. They craved having a space that was a bit more theirs and started King Dough initially by putting a cl... Read more
Urban Temple Category: Outdoor Sculpture Collection: Cottage Home Neighborhood Association Location: 507 Dorman St, Indianapolis, IN, 46202 Medium type: Metal; Stone/Marble; Wood Date created: 1992 Urban Temple was a community-design... Read more
Installed in 2015 the Dorman St Rest Stop features 5 art installments by Eric Nordgulen with help from the IUPUI Herron School of Art and Arsenal Tech students. These art installations include work from local students from Arsenal Tech whi... Read more
Built in 1892 this Dutch revival house has a grand turret. Frederick Ruskaup hired Vonnegut & Bohn to design his Queen Anne/German Renaissance Revival home at 711 Dorman. In the late 1880s, Ruskaup also had fellow German Americans Vonne... Read more
What is now Cottage Home neighborhood had been platted less than a decade when Ruskaup purchased a lot at 715 Dorman Street. In 1875 he constructed a two-story brick grocery store with second-floor living quarters for his family. Were it no... Read more
The Cottage Home Neighborhood Association spent years raising funds to build a shelter in their community space.  The community space and shelter is open to the public, but can be rented out for private events. https://cottagehome.info/eve... Read more
Opened in the fall of 2020, the Paramount Cottage Home school building began its life in 1905 as a painting facility and repair shop for Indianapolis trolley cars. Succeeding occupants included Mayflower Moving, followed by St. Clair Press,... Read more
The Dorman Street Saloon has a long and fabled history in Cottage Home Neighborhood on the near eastside. Variously known as Anacker’s Tavern, the 9th Street Tavern, The Mahogany Bar (shortened to “The Hog,” a nickname still used tod... Read more
Roberts School Flats boasts an impressive and relatively unknown past. Built in 1936, it was funded with grant money from the post-Depression era Public Works Administration’s New Deal and generous donations from its namesake, local phila... Read more
This charming little house was built by a decorative plaster craftsman in 1886. Englishman William Prosser (b. 1834) immigrated to America with his three young children, Jennie, Percy J., and William, Jr., in 1870. William’s wife died abo... Read more
Constructed in 1918, The Circle City Industrial Complex (CCIC) was the original home to the Schwitzer Corporation, a major auto industry force during the post-World War I era. The Schwitzer Corporation's founder, Louis Schwitzer was an auto... Read more
Fletcher Park was platted as a park space by the Fletcher Family in the 1860s, when they were developing their farmland into residential neighborhoods and is one of Indianapolis' oldest continuously used park spaces. By 1870, the City had a... Read more
Sundial-Flatland Category: Outdoor Sculpture Collection: Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Inc. and The Arts Council of Indianapolis Location: Fletcher Park, Indianapolis Medium type: Steel, Plexiglas Date created: 2013 Artist Andrew Severns ... Read more
Opened in 2020, this arthouse cinema focuses on small-budget, big-idea-driven, endlessly-fun-to-talk-about movies. The Kan-Kan houses three theaters for a total of 225 seats, as well as a fourth “micro-theatre.” Each theater has stadium... Read more
Indianapolis Public Library Branch No. 6, also known as Spades Park Library, is a historic Carnegie library located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was built in 1911–1912, and is a two-story, "L"-shaped, Italian Renaissance style mason... Read more
Grid Currents Category: Outdoor Sculpture  Collection: Reconnecting to our Waterways Location: 1800 Nowland Avenue, Indianapolis, IN, 46201 Medium type: Metal Date created: 2016 Through a partnership with Williams Creek Management fu... Read more
Stone Lantern (Spades Park Rest Stop) Category: Outdoor Sculpture Collection: Reconnecting to our Waterways Location: 1800 Nowland Avenue, Indianapolis, IN, 46201 Medium type: Steel; Stone/Marble Date created: 2016 Reconnecting to Our ... Read more
Watermark (Spades Park Rest Stop) Category: Outdoor Sculpture Collection: Reconnecting to our Waterways Location: 1800 Nowland Avenue, Indianapolis, IN, 46201 Medium type: Glass; Mixed Media; Steel Date created: 2016 Reconnecting to O... Read more
This 31-acre neighborhood park is one of the Windsor Park neighborhood’s most picturesque features.  Spades Park was named after Michael H. Spades, who made his fortune in real estate.  In 1898 he donated six acres of land straddling Po... Read more
Chinquapin Oak Park Category: Mosaic/Wall Relief Collection: Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Location: 2319 Nowland Ave, Indianapolis, IN, 46201 Medium type: Ceramic; Concrete Date created: 2016 In 2016, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful’s IPL... Read more
When you’re out for a stroll in Spades Park, listen carefully for the sounds of wildlife.  Spades Park is a designated Bird Sanctuary.  The park is maintained by the Indy Parks Land Stewardship Team to provide an optimal habitat for bot... Read more
The Nowland Avenue Bridge was designed and built in 1903 by nationally renowned engineer Daniel B. Luten, based in Indianapolis.  It’s the oldest remaining Luten bridge in Indianapolis and an early example of the patented Luten Arch.   ... Read more
School Founded in 2010, Paramount School Brookside was the first of three Paramount schools. The Paramount Schools use an integrated research-based curriculum to maximize each child’s potential against measurable standards. Every student ... Read more
Paramount School Brookside Rest Stop Reconnecting to Our Waterways (ROW) Pogue’s Run: A Reason to Pause Under the direction of Eric Nordgulen from the Herron School of Art + Design, five local artists have come together to highlight th... Read more
Brookside Park is one of Indianapolis’s oldest parks.  In 1863 the United States government built an Arsenal on 75 acres just east of the city.  The sudden influx of workers at the Arsenal, coupled with the expansion of streetcar servic... Read more
Kessler’s plan called for a community center at Brookside Park, but he passed away in 1923 before completing the plans.  The city commissioned architectural firm Harrison & Turnock to design the building in 1927 and the next year, Br... Read more
Established in 1992, the Brookside Disc Golf Course is one of the most challenging courses in the Indianapolis area. More length than most of the other area courses, with old growth trees, creeks, walking paths, and roads that require accur... Read more
At this point the Park can be accessed by going around either side of the fenced gate. The main entrance is at 2300 Dequincy St. which is located on the east side of the park. Along the hustle and bustle of I-70, on the Eastside of town, re... Read more

 

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