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Living in Mass Ave- it's 45 degrees from ordinary
Walkable
Accessible & Diverse
When Indianapolis city planners first designed Massachusetts Avenue as one of four diagonal streets leading into the heart of Downtown, they most likely had no idea how true to form the area would someday be.
A lot about Indy has changed since Mass Ave was born in 1821. But the neighborhood that would become the Mass Ave Cultural District, along with the people who live there, truly grew into the area’s designated claim, 45 Degrees From Ordinary.
David Andrichik (pictured to right) has seen that claim play out over the last 27 years, as both a resident and businessman. Owner of the iconic Chatterbox Jazz Club and resident of the nearby Renaissance Place condominium development, Andrichik plays a vital role in the District’s heart, which gained new life in the early 1980s.
As that decade kicked off, two Andrichik acquaintances were involved in the revitalization of the area, which had suffered a setback when interstate development in the 1960s limited access. One of Andrichik’s sources was key in Mass Ave’s joining the National Register of Historic Places in 1981; another played an integral part in reviving area housing options.
At the same time, Andrichik, who grew up in Chicago and loved the urban lifestyle, was looking to live and work in Downtown Indy. Through his friends, he learned of a building for sale on Mass Ave, one that came with a bar and liquor license.
“I just wanted to buy a Downtown building,” he explains. “Buy a place and continue to sustain the business there and encourage others who would be a major participant. The bar just came with it. And I just did all those things, and it’s paid great dividends.”
He bought the Chatterbox in 1982. The following year, he moved into the newly constructed 120-unit Renaissance Place. Nearly three decades later, Andrichik remains ensconced in the Mass Ave environment, walking to work and business meetings, tending his home’s small vegetable garden and taking in Downtown Indy sports and nightlife in his rare moments of free time.
He especially appreciates “the proximity of all the cultural opportunities, from the (local theaters, such as the Phoenix) to Murat Centre (home to concerts, performing arts presentations and touring productions of Broadway shows, among other options) to the great independent restaurants.”
Locally owned eateries include the Cajun flavors of Yats, the innovative seasonal cuisine of R bistro, Bazbeaux Pizza and cozy pubs such as Chatham Tap and McNiven’s.
Walkability, he says, is a key benefit of the Mass Ave life; he logs one and a half to three miles daily – more on the weekends, when he treks to White River State Park to visit a museum or the Indianapolis Zoo, or to the Wholesale District to take in an Indiana Pacers game. And any day of the week, Mass Ave’s charming – but little-known – pocket parks offer quiet respites from the bustle of urban streets.
“The automobile,” he says, “becomes optional rather than necessary. And the more that we emphasize that and facilitate that, the better off we’re all going to be in the long run, both personal-health-wise and urban-living-wise.”
That pedestrian-friendly lifestyle also attracted Tadd and Julie Miller to the Mass Ave District earlier this decade. As a broker at Milhaus, Tadd works in a Downtown office on East Ohio Street. When The Packard condominiums were built, he and Julie knew the location would be ideal for settling down. Bonus: Tadd could custom-design a unit perfectly suited to their preferences.
“We’re not suburban-soccer-type people,” Tadd explains. “We like to go out to eat, to concerts. We go to a lot of Colts games. It was just easier (to live Downtown).”
Now, the early-30s couple – toting their not-yet-three-year-old son, Ethan – walk from their 2,000-plus-foot unit to shop at Circle Centre Mall, dine at Mass Ave’s Bazbeaux Pizza or people watch at Monument Circle. And when they need to head for Indianapolis International Airport on one of their many business or leisure trips, the drive is a simple one.
“I can’t imagine how much time we would waste if we lived in the suburbs, just going back and forth to the airport,” Tadd says.
And what about raising a baby in the heart of the city? The Millers are one of four young families in The Packard to include a child under the age of one. “When I got pregnant, my mom kept saying, ‘If you have a kid in the city, where is he going to play?’ And I kept telling her, ‘Mom, there are plenty of places to play,’” Julie recalls.
For starters, the Miller’s unit includes a rooftop patio, where family and friends gather to celebrate special occasions, Downtown events and the annual Fourth of July fireworks display – and where Julie and Ethan retreat to savor a sunny spring or summer afternoon.
Add in the easily accessible White River State Park attractions, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the green space of Military Park – all of which will be even more connected with the completion of the under-construction Indianapolis Cultural Trail – and playtime options are plentiful.
Another intrinsic Mass Ave amenity, say these residents: the area’s diversity. It’s something Andrichik savors – and helps to facilitate – daily from the Chatterbox, which attracts an eclectic crowd of music lovers, business types, Wi-Fi-ing singles – even visiting celebs. One example: Ty Pennington and the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew stopped by after filming an Indy shoot.
“If you were to do a (survey) of people who walk through the door, it’s a tremendous cross section,” Andrichik says. “I just think that lends to the vitality of any city, and especially Indianapolis. It’s really the slice of life that you need, rather than seeing only people like yourself. And I think that is a tremendous cultural advantage.”
The Millers enjoy the camaraderie born of that cultural mix. “You get to know all the people,” Tadd says. “I’ve never experienced that anywhere. The bank tellers, the guy at the gas station -- they all know me. Everybody looks out for everybody. It’s almost like a big neighborhood.”
Indeed, while the mix of individual homes in this District varies from the luxe condos enjoyed by Andrichik and the Millers to cozy cottages on tree-lined streets just off bustling Mass Ave itself, the sense of community among all residents is strong. And those connected neighbors make the Mass Ave Cultural District “a gem,” says Andrichik.
“They’re there to shop and eat and have fun and come and go and be participants,” he stresses. “We need as many people living Downtown as possible.”
Visit www.discovermassave.com for more!
Find new residential options here.
Visit www.discoverculturaldistricts.com to learn more about the six Cultural Districts.
Written July 2009; updated October 2011 |
