This is a very nice man-made island located on a lagoon in Colombian park. You could not tell by…read moreits amazing features and renovated spaces, but the island was dedicated back in 1949. It's development was led by Veterans of Foreign War Post 1154 and the area is also known as Memorial Plaza, which is the front part of it. This is the location that the city decided to centralize their memorial and several memorials from around the city were relocated here. The island is very picturesque and scenic with some nice landscaping and brick pavers. Being that it is a subsection of a park, parking is not an issue. There are a few lots to park. You do have to walk a bit to get here though, no matter where you park because of the way the park is laid out. The entry walkway leading into the island is called the memorial plaza and has flags of all the branches of service waving tall and proud from flagpoles. The next thing that you will come across is Tippecanoe County Veterans Memorial. It is the oldest of the memorials (1949) and honors those residents that made the supreme sacrifice in the defense of our Country. Outside of the memorials, the centerpiece of this island is its awesome amphitheater, which has fixed and lawn seating. It can be rented for special events.There is also a promenade area with seating along the water. As far as memorial go, this area is packed as would be expected. They have the United Spanish War Memorial, Gold Star Family Memorial, Medal of Honor Memorial, Purple Heart Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. There is also a bunch of flag waving from flags poles over there and a Howitzer gun on display. They are all nicely done. I cannot stress enough how beautiful this place is. It is a fitting tribute to the brave men and women of the armed forces. It is well done and is placed in a prominent spot and not in the some back corner. It is definitely worth a visit.

Interesting factoid: Carroll County was named after Charles Carroll, who was the last surviving…read moresigner of the Declaration of Independence. The Carroll County Courthouse sits on a square in Delphi, which is the county seat. I like the simplicity of the Courthouse Square. At the southeast corner of the Square is a huge memorial honoring those that fought in the Civil War with the Courthouse behind. Small local businesses and restaurants surround the Square with most architecture original. This is the second courthouse in Delphi. The first courthouse (Victorian Style) was built in 1841 and served the community until 1917. A photo of the original courthouse hangs in the current courthouse. The current Neoclassical Courthouse was designed by the architects of Elmer E. Dunlap Co., Indianapolis. A. E. Kenner completed construction for the opening. The interior of the building is breathtaking. The center atrium is crowned by a magnificent stained glass dome. A beautiful mosaic tiled floor sits beneath the dome. Spiral marble staircases with decorative iron bannisters ascend to the second and third floors. Blue trim sets off the interior. Elmer did a fabulous job. Most of the building is original, including offices and the Circuit Courtroom. The bell from the first courthouse is on display in the lobby. A war honor roll is on the wall. Staff and people I met in the Courthouse were friendly and knowledgeable about the building. The Courthouse is fully operational. The local heath department was handing out free medical supplies. Court was in session. Clerks were available to take various payments. I think there is a museum in the basement, but I missed going down. There's plenty of free parking around the Square. This is a fabulous Courthouse, well worth the drive to Delphi.

Brookston's water just won an award for being the best tasting in the whole state of Indiana!…read moreBrookston's electric utility is consistently the best price of any of the neighboring communities. They do a great job delivering our utilities going for us with professionalism and caring.

This is a small, but well done tribute to Gold Star families that is among many other memorials in…read morethe Tippecanoe War Memorial (a sub-section of Colombian Park). It was dedicated in May 2015 and honors the families of servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives while serving in the military. It costed about $60,000 to build. It is in a very picturesque and located on a man made lagoon island, that is nicknamed memorial Island. The memorial is primarily a sculpture. It is an abbreviated version of more recent one, has 2 granite slab panels, and was made by the Louisville-based Woody Williams Foundation. The two panels form a cutout silhouette of a solder rendering a hand salute, along with the gold-etched words, "Gold Star Families, a tribute to Mothers, Fathers and family members who sacrificed a Loved One for our Freedom" with a large gold star above it on the first panel and "PATRIOT Honoring All Men and Women who served Our Country" below an image of the Iwo Jima flag raining on the second panel. The seals of the 5 branches of service are long the base of the sculpture. The memorial has a little bench in front of and facing it that you can sit and reflect and there is a nice flower garden that surrounds it. This is a nice place to reflect and pay respects to those members of the Armed Forces that made the ultimate sacrifice. There are not many memorials or monuments dedicated to Gold Star families, but that number is growing every month. Currently, there are less than 120 nationwide. The Woody Williams foundation has made these monuments in all 50 states and Guam. Indiana has 2 of them, the other two being in Fishers and Indianapolis. The front of each monument is the same, but some of them are personalized on the reverse side to suit each respective community. This one, in Lafayette does not have anything on the back.

A beautiful park is located just west of the center of Purdue's campus. The lawn has been…read moresprinkled with some new trees and in the center, the Loeb Fountain blasts 2200 gallons per minute in an array of arcs and jets. The area around the fountain is terraced with flower gardens. To the north of the fountain, several art works can be found. Review #1132

I was in Frankfort, Indiana yesterday. A trip to Frankfort is nearly impossible without visiting…read morethe building affectionately known by locals as "Old Stoney." Built in 1892, Old Stoney initially served as Frankfort High School. On February 24, 1922, the high school was completely gutted with only the four walls left standing. Using those walls, the building was rebuilt and reopened in 1926. It continued to be used by Community Schools of Frankfort until 1974. In 1976, a nonprofit was started and entered into a 99-year lease with Community Schools of Frankfort. In 1979, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Place. In 1995, the building was purchased by the city and was extensively renovated to serve as City Hall with space for the Mayor, Clerk Treasurer, City Engineer, and Main Street. Fun fact: Initially, there was a tunnel running underneath Old Stoney to other school buildings. You can still see part of the tunnel to this day. In 2016, a $4.3 million renovation gave the building a new roof, tuck points, heating/AC, brought the electrical system up to code, closed 2 out of 3 original skylights, installed new windows, repaired/painted interior walls, and included new landscaping. The Clinton County Historical Society and Museum uses the second floor. The building is 2 1/2 stories tall and created in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It has a raised basement, large round arched entrance, four large stone chimneys, and a 4-story corner tower. It's honestly hard to imagine going to high school in this building. Since it's used as a public building, accessibility has dramatically improved. It's a historic building, so it's not perfect in terms of accessibility. However, it's quite good and I can always get anywhere I need to go here.

"Old Stoney" is how the residents of Frankfort refer to this magnificent Romanesque Revival…read morestructure. Originally, it was built as the community high school in 1892, constructed mostly of Ohio sandstone and trimmed with Indiana limestone. The students must have had some fun running up and down the turrets. The school closed for four years after a fire in 1922, but reopened to serve students for until 1974. Will Beer (the Grandpa on the Waltons) was a notable student of the school. If the walls could only talk. Facing disrepair, a non-profit was formed to manage the aging building. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Buildings in 1979. The City of Frankfort bought the building in 1995 to move several city offices into the building, including the mayor. In 2016, major renovations were completed to upgrade mechanical and electrical infrastructure and make repairs. Worth a visit if you love architecture and are in Frankfort.