There is a lot of space to run or be involved in group activities at this park. Indy Parks has…read morepartnered with IMPD and share the activity center. The police get a place to meet and use the many sport fields on site while the park gets the benefit of increased park security. The neighborhood is one of the rapidly transitioning areas on the near north side as 16th Street is seeing numerous renovations and reclamations of property. Further development along the nearby Monon Trail is also fueling the change. The park is named after James Thomas Vastine Hill who was one of Indy's first African-American attorneys back in 1882. He rose to the level of deputy prosecutor before retirement. A large mural of JTV Hill has been painted on the side of the activity center. The park has a shelter with picnic tables and a grill. There is a playground with swings and climbing equipment, but the drainage is not that great. The park does have it's own parking lot if you enter from the south (18th Street). Fun fact: 18th Street is paved with bricks along the park's edge. For hours and activities inside the center, you can refer to Indy Parks' website. Review #515

My son and I have been going to all the local skateparks since moving Indiana. This park has a…read morelittle bit of everything a skater could want. A great mix between vert and street. My son just recently got a scooter and he really likes carving in the bowl. If you want to bring the whole family the playground is pretty unique as well so it really has something for everybody. We will definitely be coming back.

This park is named after William Willard, founder of the Indiana School for the Deaf, who the state…read morebuilt a school for in 1850. The park is the site of that school. Willard park is an accessible park. It has one of the largest covered pavilions I have seen at a neighborhood park. There is a free private lot, a playground, a walking/running trail, a full basketball court, a half basket court, and an aquatic center. It is not very quiet as it is right by a firehouse and located off of a busy street. The playground is accessible to children with disabilities. There is a long ram that leads up to the top of the jungle gym equipment. It is some older looking equipment that could use some TLC. Kids will still find it entertaining. The pavilion is massive and has picnic tables. The basketball courts are nice for the most part. The full court has a few cracks, tons of trash, some graffiti. It needs a resurfacing. The half court was a bit lower than the standard height (not complaining) and was in better shape than the full court. It also has 2 4-square courts on the end opposite the hoop. The trail is unpaved but pretty wide. Not sure how far it is, but it looked like a quarter to a half mile or so. The park has a lot of space. It spans over 11 acres. It also has lots of trash. I even saw a spot where someone dumped burned charcoal from their grill. There was a city worker there picking up trash when I was there, but they needed a team to tackle that job. The park has a memorial for Sylvia Likens in the back near the fence, a young girl that was tortured and murdered by her caregiver. This is a decent park, even though it is slipping a bit. It has lots of potential and can easily be a five star spot.

This is a small playspace. Even though it was built in 2004, it still looks relatively new and is…read morein pristine condition. It was built with collaboration of volunteers from the Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Products, Ingredion Incorporated, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, Children's Bureau, Inc, Rebuilding Together and Sinclair Recreation. The playspaces' donors include Republic Services, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Penn Station East Coast Subs. Surprisingly, it took them less than eight hours to complete the project. The playspace has a very nice half basketball court, an outdoor classroom area and outdoor fitness equipment that runs along the gate. The ground of the playground area is lined with fine gravel and has very nice and well-maintained equipment that include some traditional swings, a jungle gym with slides, a curvy balance beam, a tilted sky runner, a small luckey climber, modern style monkey bars, and a pebble bridge. It is all completely fenced in, which is nice, so you don't have to worry too much about the little ones running off too quick. There are a couple of benches on the playground area perimeter to sit and watch the little play. The basketball court is well maintained and you will find a hopscotch and four square markings in the back corners to play those games. The markings are starting to fade a bit, but is still visible at this point. The area has three new style picnic tables and a bench in a grass area in the corner of the space and even though the park closes at dusk, it has lights. It is also monitored by video cameras. This is one of the first playspaces that has a sign that says all adults must be accompanied by a child, yes, you heard me right, no adults without a kid. I like that rule. Keeps that from being a hangout spot for grownups and hopefully keeps the creepers out. There is free street parking available in front of and on the side of the playspace. Parking here is easy. This is a very nice and modern playspace. That looks relatively new. I am not sure how much use it gets, but it should get a lot based off of how neat and tidy it is, the amenities it has and the location. I recommend checking out this place, if you are in the area, but remember you must have a kid with you. I guarantee that they will love this compact playspace.

This park is just screaming for help. It is in desperate need of being saved. It has a lot of what…read moreyou want in a park, but most of it is outdated, worn and falling a part. There is a bunch of street parking across the street from the park and there is also parking available in the park's family center parking lot. It is 21 acres and has not been updated since it was constructed in 1931. It was originally called Northwestern Park. The park was the home field of the Indianapolis ABCs, the city's Negro National League team, back in the 1920's. The park was named after Charles T.H. Watkins, a remarkable community leader and a pastor at the historic A.M.E. Bethel Church. The park has 2 horse shoe pits, or at least areas formally known as horseshoe pits. The pits are overrun by grass, leaves and weeds and they do not have the post you throw the horseshoes on. The playground has some outdated equipment that includes traditional swings, a net climbing pyramid, a regular net climb and a jungles gym with slides. The equipment is pretty old/worn, as I mentioned. The playground area is lined with wood chips. There are two tennis courts at the park, but one of the court's net is missing. The court was packed with leaves and in desperate need of repair. You must really need to satisfy your tennis fix if you play on this court. There are also two basketball courts. They both have some decent rims, and backboards, but the court themselves are in desperate need of repair. You will find a picnic shelter here with picnic tables under it and a few picnic tables under a tree. The green space and fields are horrible. They are asking for ankles to be broken. it is very uneven and hard. It has so many divots. There is a field with football uprights on each end a two fields with backstops. As I mentioned though, I would make sure I was up on my health insurance if I played there. Lastly, there is a hopscotch area near the family center. It looked pretty good as far as hopscotch goes. It look relatively new. The city really needs to invest some money in this park and give it some much needed updates. It definitely has potential, but I would avoid this park if possible as it is now.

The park fills the corner of MLK and Fall Creek and features a community center about a block north…read moreon MLK. This seems to be the only area for parking since there are no other lots and no street parking on either of the busy streets. Besides the community center, there are basketball courts and a football field to the west of the courts. There is a playground and shelter and a great number of mature trees. There are two horse shoe courts that fit in among the trees on the southeast corner of the park. There also appears to be some raised beds for plantings on the north side of the parking lot. The park looks to be in pretty good shape. People were using the community center during my visit, but I didn't stop in. Overall, it is a nice park and greenspace. Review #685

Goodness, have I walked the canal about 50 times now?!…read more It's such a unique experience for Indy to have some water space in the middle of the city. This 3 mile loop will take you from 11th Street down to White River State Park to access the green space and extra trails down there. The canal water itself is not super cute, where there can be litter, and the water is rather opaque. They do drain the canal every so often to keep it from getting too uncute. The sidewalks are kept nicer, though a few spots in front of apartment buildings could use some TLC. There are also a few spots where the sidewalk is not level, so take caution if that is an issue. It's mostly stair access to the canal, but I *think* I've seen an elevator around the Ohio street basin. The canal has a few businesses along it for your merriment. Notably, there is Fresco on the Canal (I have a separate review for this) which is open March-October. Eiteljorg museum cafe is open daily around the lunch hours (11-3) and can be accessed through their patio gate. Entertainment wise, there is more going on. I've done the swan boat rentals, where you can pedal around on the canal. This is quite a workout! Rental of swan boats and kayaks is near the Ohio Street basin. There is also the gondolas, where your gondolier can sing, and they've always sounded marvelous. There's also a few stations for the Pacers Bikeshare around the canal, which is free for Marion County residents. Any time the weather is right, you can find me getting my steps in!

Nice river walk nearby center city area. It's refreshing looking at the water flowing through…read more We saw some fishes so definitely clean water for the city. Love the greens, bridges, arts around it. It would better with warmer weather for sure. I couldn't walk far because of the cold. But overall I love the scenery.

Clean , good equipment, friendly staff.. showers are hot, lockers, sanitation bottles and towels,,…read morehoop courts and track field for walking

Boner fitness was life changing for me. When I first went there, I was overweight, had no muscle,…read moreand was severely depressed. The moment I stepped in there, I transformed into a Greek god and life was sunshine and rainbows. I recommend anyone who needs to change their life to go to Boner Fitness.

Indiana Sports Corp (ISC) serves an important function in Indy. ISC works with the City of…read moreIndianapolis, Visit Indy, and local companies and organizations to bring sporting events to the city. Not only do these events have a big impact on local economy and civic engagement. they also shine a light on what Indianapolis has the to offer. Some of the big upcoming events include Big Ten championship (football, basketball), NBA All-Star game, NCAA Final Four, and College Football Playoff National Championship. There are different ways to support ISC, including financial support/membership, attendance and advocacy, and volunteerism. Without Indiana Sports Corp, we would not have all these great events coming to the city.

Despite a cold, rainy morning, we ran 6 (and a half) miles through downtown Indy visiting a number…read moreof cultural landmarks including Carroll Stadium where we kicked a soccer goal, Lucas Oil where we kicked a field goal, Bankers Life where we shot a basket (I made all 3!), then over to the War Memorial where we scaled the steps to "Gonna Fly Now" - Rocky-style. There was a small obstacle course of over-under walls, a farmers carry, and crossing a tight rope. The last stop was the Indiana State Museum where Abe Lincoln and some other characters cheered us on to the finish line. Participants all got a finisher's medal, t-shirt, and an arm band for a mobile phone. It was the first inaugural race and not overly crowded, but still seemed well-attended especially considering the weather conditions. Parking was convenient. I would categorize it more as a novelty race than a competitive one. There were a number of selfie stations and mascots along the course that participants were encouraged to engage with. There was free gear check, fruit, protein shakes, and one free beer each. We didn't stick around for the post-party due to the weather. I hope they continue to do this event and would only request restrooms at the water stations because they were difficult to locate along the route.