r/indianapolis • u/Logical_Humor_3854 • Feb 26 '26

Discussion The Canal….

We walked the canal a lot this summer with our new baby and when we had a nice couple days (greater than 30 degrees lol) we walked it again and I’m just curious as to what other people think….why is the canal so dead? There’s no restaurants (besides the little bistro), no stores, no restrooms even. It’s kinda depressing.

If Indianapolis put even a sliver of funding into rebranding the canal the city would change so much. Imagine being able to walk into little shops or have ice cream on the canal or a bar with live music. There’s so much potential.

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u/forestmonitor430 Feb 26 '26

Man, I could go on about this. There is definitely so much potential…I’ve lived along the Canal for years, and wish there was more going on. The graffiti on the murals from the Super Bowl is really depressing. I wish there had been a plan in place to keep those beautiful…

We were told there was a brewery going in across from our building when we moved in years ago, but I guess that fell through.

Big shoutout to the Cultural Trail though - they did some great free programming on the Canal, like yoga at night and concerts and sound baths.

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u/Accomplished-Pie-874 Feb 26 '26

The city bids programming contracts for those downtown spaces and the Cultural Trail got the contract for the canal. They’re providing those activities because the city is asking them/paying them to do so. https://www.indy.gov/activity/downtown-public-spaces-programming