History of Indianapolis, IN

Downtown Indianapolis dates back to the establishment of the city as the state of the new capital Indiana in 1820 near the east bank of the White River. The state legislature appointed Alexander Ralston and Elias Pym Fordham to review and develop the Indianapolis city plan, built in 1821. Ralston's original plan for Indianapolis demanded a 2.6-square-mile [2.6 sq km] city. Nicknamed Mile Square, the city was bound by the Roads of the North, East, South, and West, although the names were not given at the time, and the Governor's Circle, the larger circular districts, in the center of the city.The Ralston grid pattern with wide streets and public squares extends from the four blocks near the Circle, and includes four diagonal roads, later renamed the routes. Public squares were reserved for government and public use, but not all of these squares were used for this purpose. Ralston modified the grid pattern on the southeastern quadrant to keep pace with the flow of Pogue's Run, but the site built in 1831 changed its original design and established a standard grid there.

Downtown Indianapolis has been a regional transport hub in central Indiana since its inception. The first federal-sponsored highway in the U.S., National Road (now Washington Street), reached Indianapolis in 1836, and was followed by a railway in 1847. The Indianapolis Union Station was opened in 1853 as the world's first union station. The Citizen's Street and Railway Company was founded in 1864, which used the first mule-drawn railway line. Opened in 1904 on West Market Street, the Indianapolis Traction Terminal was the world's largest station, carrying 500 trains daily and 7 million passengers annually. It was eventually destroyed by a car, the terminal was closed in 1941, followed by a carcar program in 1957.