IUPUI

Tradition : Hangouts

Ball Gardens

Traditional—and sometimes long-lost—gathering places for students, faculty, guests and staff at IUPUI.

One of IUPUI's long-lost treasures, Ball Gardens provided an oasis of beauty in the Michigan Street campus on the north side of Ball Residence Hall. The gardens, conceived in 1929 by Massachusetts landscape artists the Olmsted Brothers, began life as the Nurses Sunken Garden and Convalescent Park and was designed as a "bridge" between the nurses' residence and Rotary Convalescent Hospital, now the Rotary Building.
» More history and information

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Broad Ripple

Tell an IUPUI student that it's time for a quick trip to "Wellington", and you're likely to get a blank stare. But tell that same student that it's time for a 15-minute road trip to Broad Ripple, and they're raring to go.

One of the city's most unique and memorable neighborhoods, Broad Ripple has become one of Indianapolis' chief cultural options, all in a village-style setting. It features galleries for all forms of art, hosts the annual Broad Ripple Art Fair, is the home of the Indianapolis Art Center, the new ARTSPARK, and it hosts the annual Broad Ripple Music Fest.

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Campus Center

The Campus Center is IUPUI's newest favorite hangout. Student organizations, retail shops, Campus Card Services, and many food vendors all call the Campus Center home. For more about the Campus Center, see http://campuscenter.iupui.edu/.

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The Canal Walk

The Canal runs through White River State Park and is a popular place to jog, walk, roller skate, bike, or just hang out. The canal begins at 10th Street, and continues south to the Indiana Government Center. It then turns west, past the museum district, and eventually empties via waterfall into the White River. The River Walk, which runs along the White River, in front of the Apartments on the River Walk on campus, connects to the Canal Walk.

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Circle Centre Mall

Few American colleges and universities offer such nearby dynamic shopping options as Circle Centre to its students. More than 100 shops, dining options and entertainment choices make up one of the world's great downtown malls. Anchor stores include Nordstrom and Parisian, surrounded by: accessory shops; cards, books and gift stores; fashion shops for men, women and children; health and beauty shops; home furnishing stores; music and entertainment; food options that range from fine dining to fast food to specialty snacks; and plenty more.

Circle Centre is the crown jewel of a downtown shopping and entertainment area - located less than 10 minutes from the campus - that features enough choices to fill anyone's calendar with theater performances, sporting events, museum trips, interactive attractions and more.

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College Inn

One of the early "hot spots" for students on the campus that one day became IUPUI was the College Inn Cafeteria. The multi-story brick College Inn was located just east of today's Dentistry Building, and offered a popular menu with a gathering place for students before, after or between classes. The cafeteria was managed by Bea Jordan.

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The Corner

Students living in IUPUI's Apartments on the River Walk have their own place to socialize in The Corner, located in the northwest corner of Orvis House.

The Corner is a coffee shop that features a relaxed atmosphere that lends itself to student gatherings both large and small. It also serves as an events site for meetings such as the International Coffee Hours, held each Friday and featuring presentations about other nations and cultures, complete with food native to the featured country.

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Dust Bowl

For basketball lovers suffering from "Hoosier Hysteria," one of Indianapolis’s most historic resources was "The Dust Bowl," a home-away-from-home for some of Indiana’s greatest basketball players in their formative years.

Hoops legends from Oscar Robertson to George McGinnis to ex-Harlem Globetrotter Hallie Bryant honed their basketball skills in rugged head-to-head competition on a playground court near Lockefield Gardens on the north edge of the Michigan Street campus.

The court was part of Lockefield Gardens, the Indianapolis housing project that opened in 1938. By 1946, Lockefield resident James "Bruiser" Gaines—an Indianapolis native —launched an exciting chapter of Hoosier Hysteria with the first Dust Bowl basketball tournament. It featured a four-team field and a top prize of $3; second prize was a chocolate cake. A quarter-century later, the Dust Bowl itself had been paved and the tournament had grown to a 16-team field. Some of Indiana’s best basketball figures (Robertson, Bryant and Oscar’s brother Bailey), competed, cementing the tournament’s place in Hoosier folklore.

Many of the Lockefield buildings—now converted to apartments—remain, though the court is long gone. But the memories remain, and the legends live on.

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Informal Learning Spaces

To foster a learning environment in the heart of campus, IUPUI has created "informal learning spaces" in the Education/Social Work Building and the new Campus Center to offer students a series of alcoves that are relaxed, aesthetically pleasing and technologically equipped to provide them with study spaces to serve them before, between and after classes. The spaces, usually in heavy demand, are conducive to both individual study or small group activities, as well as student-teacher conferences.

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Lockefield Commons

Lockefield Commons is a popular destination for IUPUI students with a variety of tastes and time to make the short trek to the intersections of Indiana Avenue, University Boulevard and 10th Street.

Among the tenants in Lockefield Commons are Qdoba, Au Bon Pain, Nothing But Noodles, Pizza Express and Subway. Other tenants in stand-alone buildings include Donato's Pizza, Papa John's and Taco Bell.

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Mass Ave.

One of Indy's cultural "hot spots" is Massachusetts Avenue, known affectionately as "Mass Ave." to downtown residents and the hippest of Indy visitors.

One of the most intimate sections of the city, Mass Ave. features restaurants, clubs, galleries, theaters, shops and stores that have a small-town feel in the heart of a major Midwestern city. Mass Ave. runs southwest to northeast, unlike most of Indianapolis city streets, which follow traditional north-south orientations, a distinction that makes the area all the more unique.

Mass Ave. has quickly become a point of destination for Hoosiers of all ages, from IUPUI's own college-age students to downtown residents in their 50s, 60s, and even older.

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Wood Memorial Plaza

In the heart of any urban area, green spaces are popular gathering spots, and the IUPUI campus is no exception. One of the university's most attractive sites, Wood Memorial Plaza has become a point of destination for students between classes, faculty and staff on a break, and visitors intrigued by IUPUI's oasis of beauty.

The plaza is dominated by its dramatic black pyramid-shaped water fountain, surrounded by brick walkways, granite benches, flower beds and trees. From different angles, it offers guests dynamic views of the downtown Indianapolis skyline, Eskenazi Hall (home of the Herron School of Art & Design), Military Park, White River State Park, Inlow Hall, the ICTC Building and University Library.
» More history and information

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University Courtyard

Whether it's hosting a campus festival or outdoor movie night, a flag football game or a student information fair, University Courtyard has taken its place at the heart of campus life.

The Courtyard's proximity to University College, Cavanaugh Hall and the Business/SPEA building makes it the most centrally located venue on campus, and a traditional meeting place for students between classes. University Courtyard features tables and chairs for students on break, its open grassy areas make it one of IUPUI's most prominent green spaces, and two small groupings of trees enhance the peaceful setting.

Across Michigan Street is University Conference Center and Hotel, including University Place Gardens. University Courtyard also features the Von Schlegell sculptures to add an element of culture.