As someone who has traveled all over the state by wheelchair, I have a special fondness for these…read moretowns and cities reviews. While I'm not a huge fan of actually "rating" a city or town, it's a great opportunity to talk about the many wonderful places in Indiana. I've been to Anderson a few times during my wheeling. I've also been for church and work events. Anderson is the seat of Madison County and has a population just under 55,000. As most know, Anderson was once an industrial hotbed and has at various times hosted the manufacturing of 17 different vehicles. While auto manufacturing really gave the city its fame, as that industry has declined in the area so has Anderson economically. Thomas Broderick Jr. has been the Anderson mayor since 2016. Major attractions include the lovely Paramount Theatre, Mounds State Park, Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, concerts at Reardon Auditorium (Anderson University), and a few other museums and such. The Church of God is based here in Anderson. I have friends who live here, however, I'll admit that I don't really find Anderson to be a true "destination" city. While I'd easily do a day trip here, I'd be hard-pressed to make it a weekend getaway. The city is fairly accessible, though it's worth noting that downtown is a historic landmark. There are hotels/motels here, the curb cuts are decent, and I've generally found the people friendly here. I recently visited the Paramount again and it's definitely a downtown highlight with its historic marquee and incredible auditorium that was looking even better than remembered the last time I was in Anderson. Overall, I'd call Anderson a bit of a hidden gem. It has a few fun touristy spots, lots of nature, the remnants of its industrial past, some cool museums, and a growing restaurant scene. While I wouldn't necessarily call it a destination spot, a trip to Anderson, Elwood, and other small towns in Madison County could easily be worth a weekend.

Anderson was once a hot bed of industry that left behind beautiful architecture in downtown. From a…read moresmall park in the downtown area, I saw a mural, lovely fountain with backdrops of amazing and historic architecture. An iconic theater is alone Jackson Street. The area appears to be a host to downtown festivities. Unfortunately, the Historical Society was not opened during my Thursday morning visit. I would have liked to have learned more about the city and see if there is a walking tour. I was also disappointed that no restaurants were opened in the downtown area around noon time. There's plenty of free street parking but limited restroom options. I will return to learn more and report back.

Huge, cool place to hang! They have free wifi, and they seemed to be getting rid of some books, so…read morethey had a "free book" rack. Very clean, quiet, safe place to be. I will be back!

This is an awesome public resource for the city of Anderson. The availability of black-and-white &…read morecolor printers at a reasonable price is phenomenal! You can email to the printer and as long as you pick up your document within two hours it will be there for you to get. The librarians Are so very helpful I have never been disappointed when I have ask a question. Neither have I been embarrassed to ask something that I probably should've already known. The very best part of this library is that once you get a card you can go online and download an app called Hoopla. With that you can do video streaming you can get e-books you can get audiobooks the only limit or is it's only 10 items a calendar month. And oh by the way if you happen to be home bound they will come to you and assist with access to their resources.

A nice renovated branch library on the North side of Muncie. The Frank Lloyd Wright architecture…read morestyle has always been appealing to me. Plenty of parking is offered. A drive up up book drop off is offered on the parking lot side. The library floor plan is on the smaller side, but still has many volumes including a Children's area. The building was renovated 25 years ago and still looks great! I would recommend a visit.

Blessed to have such a great local library! They are always trying to come up with great programs…read morefor all ages. Books clubs, craft nights, educational programs, and so much more! I've been loving using all the audiobooks and e-books from the various apps the library works with. There's even a language learning app similar to duo lingo and babbel! I can't wait to see what the remodel will bring to this already impressive library!

According to previous reviews, it sounds like there were some unpleasant experiences with customer…read moreservice. Today I experienced opposite of that. As a first-time visitor of this library, the librarian at the checkout desk was super friendly and helpful. She gave me a rundown of the library and let me know where the rooms were that I could use for studying. She greeted me before I greeted her, as well as the few of the other employees there. This library is huge, and beautiful. there is even a fireplace area where you can sit and read. And a teen area specifically for teens to study or check out books. as well as a children's area and several meeting rooms. The best feature for me was the semi-private, individual study rooms. These are first come first serve and can seat up to four people. I will be back again!

Golay Community Center is a non-profit organization that was presented to Western Wayne county by…read morethe Charles Golay family in 1981. Golay, a known industrialist from Cambridge City, wanted to create a place where community members could gather and build on their physical, emotional, and spiritual lives. The actual community center is on the east end of Cambridge City practically on the town line. You can rent rooms at the Golay Center and the prices tend to be quite affordable. This includes meeting rooms, a kitchen space, and semi-private use of their pool. Each room can hold up to 50 people and the meeting room dividers can also be removed. Golay Center offers pickleball, open gym volleyball, flag food, "paint with Jes," cheerleading, and food truck days on Wednesdays and Fridays. They also have fitness classes, swim instruction, personal training, bingo, blood drives, and other community activities. Golay Center truly is a "community" center. They offer both annual memberships and day passes. While folks from Indianapolis might consider Golay Center a little quaint, it's a solid, nicely kept, and well run community center. Like most small towns, I've found that a "stranger" gets a bit of a second glance but that tends to go away pretty quickly. Memberships include use of the facility: pool, weight room (16 and over), cardio room (16 and over), gymnasium, free aerobics classes or discounted classes, and discounted rates on programs. When I was at nearby Earlham, this was always a nice resource (though Earlham also has some nice options). I've always liked the Cambridge City area and Golay Center is a mighty fine community center for a relatively small town.

I joined because there are aerobic classes I am interested in. A couple of negatives for me:…read more 1. As a new comer to the facility, you would think someone would show you around. Desk personnel acted like I was already familiar with the facility. I had to ask quite a few questions. 2. Don't like entities that want you to use automated payments. While it isn't required, the monthly premium is quite less if you do so, 24.00 versus 60.00.

The Wayne County Courthouse located in Richmond, Indiana is a massive historic limestone structure…read morethat was first dedicated in 1893. The Richardsonian Romanesque building was designed by James McLaughlin, a Cincinnati architect. The building has an impressive "turret" and lots of architectural detail on the outside, including gables. Stain glass windows add color within the central atrium. Unfortunately, mobile phones or cameras are not allowed inside the courthouse. Therefore, I was unable to take photos of the beautiful dome and chandelier, original marble stairs with wrought iron railings or the somewhat remodeled courtrooms. A friendly clerk did open one of the courtrooms for my visit. Most of the space has been updated to provide greater comfort. The superior court did maintain the original fireplace, judge's bench front and oak trim. The courthouse houses two Superior Courts, one Circuit Court and smaller hearing rooms. The site is not the first county seat. Prior to 1870, the courthouse resided in Centerville, Indiana. Apparently, there was quite a battle between the citizens of Centerville and Richmond. A canon was even fired during the incident. When the courts moved to Richmond in the early 1870's, a temporary building was used until the current building was dedicated in 1893. There is free parking around the Courthouse.

Saturday morning in Richmond meant that the Wayne County Courthouse was sitting quiet, locked up…read moreand completely free to wander, which honestly fits a building this massive. Wayne County was named for General Anthony Wayne, the Revolutionary War figure whose name shows up all over. This courthouse dates to 1893 and is a big, confident Richardsonian Romanesque structure with the heavy stone, rounded archest and muscular proportions that define the style. The architect was James. W. McLaughlin of Cincinnati, who designed a number of civic buildings in the region and clearly didn't hold back here. Even without going inside, the scale along projects that late 19th-century belief in county government as the literal anchor for the community. Walking the grounds undisturbed gives time to appreciate how the tower rises above downtown Richmond and how the stonework wraps the entire block in that fortress-like Romanesque presence. Parking was easy, the sidewalks were empty, and the whole place felt like a stage waiting for the weekday bustle. Funny enough, this is my *third* Wayne County Courthouse after Detroit Michigan and Goldsboro North Carolina. It's a niche accomplishment but an interesting one because across the three states, three different eras have three very different interpretations of what a courthouse should look like. [Review 990 of 2026 - 199 in Indiana - 26169 overall]

The Gennett Records Walk of Fame has been completely revitalized and just had their ribbon cutting…read moreto showcase the all brand new plaques. Previously the Hall of Fame records were showing wear and destruction from vandalism and weather, but they have all been restored, and even lifted up off of the sidewalk on concrete stands. Talented musicians like Hoagy Carmichael and Louis Armstrong all became famous and recorded their records here in Richmond at this site. It's a really cool, free, and historic sight to see in Richmond. And it documents the history of Gennett Records, where the actual buildings once stood. There is one building that still remains, and it is used for the winter farmers market and other community events.

What a cool head in treasure in Richmond, Indiana. Who would have had any clue that some of them…read morethe roaring twenties greatest musicians came to Richmond and recorded in Richmond. I was totally amazed and I had a better understanding when I went to the firehouse barbecue restaurant in town and they had quotes from different famous musicians from led Zeppelin, to Bob Dylan to The Beatles who are all influenced by these musicians from the 1920s. The Walk of Fame is really cool because they had tile colored tile mosaic pictures of the famous musicians and then biographies about what they did and when they came to Richmond, Indiana to record at the Gennett studios. They also have the remnants of the recording studio and Gennett piano factory. What was disappointing was that there wasn't more information on the piano factory itself or the recording studios or any photographs which would have been really cool. And with today's society there's many retired people who love volunteering their time to set out a welcome center and help educate the younger people about the past. The musical history that came from Richmond Indiana is timeless to the point where my son who is now 18 and I listened on our cell phones some recordings of some of these famous musicians.I would definitely recommend anyone who wants to truly understand the origins of today's country music, blues, jazz, Texas blues, and soul to visit this place even for a couple hours just to read the information and soak up where they came to record their music. I felt that with a little bit more information about the studios and the piano factory maybe a welcome center and some photographs is definitely would have been a four or five-star attraction.

Morrison-Reeves Library is the public library in Richmond, Indiana. Founded in 1864 thanks to…read moreinitial funding provided by Robert Morrison, the library opened with an initial 6,000 books at a location now known as the corner of 6th and A streets. In 1893, the library was bequeathed another $30,000 by the widow of Mark Reeves. Reeves had actually worked for Morrisson when he was younger and shared a similar passion for the library. The library stayed in that building until the late 60's when it became apparent that the much loved building simply was no longer conducive to contemporary library needs and upkeep was becoming more than the library could handle. They would move into a new 52,800 square-foot building thanks to the efforts of librarian Mrs. Harriet Bard and currently remain in this building. The former building, sadly, had since been demolished. However, they did save many architectural aspects of the building along with furnishings. Morrison-Reeves Library is now pretty much what you expect from a library. I visited it occasionally while in seminary in Richmond and had the chance to return recently to visit a friend's art exhibition. Elements of the library respecting its history include the Harriet Bard Meeting Room, the Bimbo Memorial Fountain, the historic courtyard, The Bimbo Memorial Fountain is actually a dog fountain donated by a family in memory of their dog Bimbo. It allows passing dogs to get a drink of water. It's actually very cool. There are other decorative pieces incorporated throughout the library. The library is strong in access with several accessible parking spots, an automated front door, and ramps in places where they are needed. People over the age of 5 are eligible for a library card. The library is open six days a week - closed on Sundays. They have meeting spaces that can be reserved, public workstations, free wifi, and you can check-out up to 30 items. You can send faxes at $1 per page; make copies at $.10 per page black-and-white, $.25 per page for color. They offer quite a few digital services and community events (including art exhibits pretty regularly). The collection is up to around 85,000 books now. While I'm not sure I'd consider Morrison-Reeves Library a destination library, for those in the Wayne County area it's an absolutely essential library and some of the art exhibits are definitely worth the 60-90 minute drive to Richmond, Indiana. Richmond is a cool little town with quite a bit you can take in and it's easily worth a day trip.

It's big, that's for sure! They've got a large children's section, which is great. It's got tons of…read morebooks, computers with kid programs, audio books and even a play area. And they do have a lot of programs for kids. Downstairs is the media section; movies, music and audio books to borrow as well as computer/internet usage and classes for computers, etc. They're also set up for those who prefer ebooks. And they've got an awesome book sale every year. I mean come on - fill a bag for a couple bucks. I'm in. We like the library, especially for the youngin. The only problem we've noticed is that if you're not part of the weekly "library crowd" you're a bit shunned. We've done the weekly reading time for kids, but because we don't make it every week, our daughter is basically left out and alone at craft time. I get the the other kids and families know each other already, but the library staff member running the class makes little effort to involve the new kid. Pretty sad to watch. That being said, we still frequent the library for books, ebooks and movies and as long as we aren't in a kids class the staff is always friendly, helpful and they're great at getting our daughter excited about reading.