In the narrow strip along the South Carolina coast is the subtropical growth in which are found such plants as the large palmetto, several dwarf palmettos, the American olive, the evergreen Carolina laurel cherry, several species of yucca, the evergreen holly, and the groundsel bush. Characteristic grasses along the coast are panicum, water millet, and sea oats.
Just behind this coastal strip are low sandy plains or damp flat woodlands, where magnificent live oaks, the nearly evergreen laurel and white oaks, great magnolias, hickories, gums, and pines make up the most conspicuous arboreal vegetation. In the open pine flats, and near the inlets, the dwarf white honeysuckle perfumes the air in April and May, and covers thousands of acres with snowy sheets of blossom. From May to July the sweet bay is almost as fragrant. Numerous species of pitcher plants and several other insectivorous genera are found in open flats and shore areas. From Murrell's Inlet northward grows the rare Venus's flytrap. The striking bald cypress is prevalent in swamps, both on the coast and farther inland; while the smaller pond cypress and the pond pine are found in savannahs and other poorly drained areas. On the more elevated sandy places, under the pines and oaks, are abundant dogwood, sparkleberry, American olive, and trailing arbutus. The long gray Spanish moss, so impressive to visitors, is not a moss at all, but a flowering aerial plant belonging to the pineapple family. The dense vegetation of the Low Country is prevailingly evergreen, largely due to the tangled growth of one or more species of smilax, yellow jessamine, gallberry, red bay, sweet bay, and loblolly bay. Conspicuous in the swamps are red-fruited haws, tall cottonwoods, and tupelo gums.
The Sand Hills have their own distinctive plant life, dominated by the longleaf pine, under which are such scrub growths as turkey oak, upland willow oak, and blackjack. Spring flowers are abundant and beautiful, and here and there is found one of the loveliest little plants in the State--the pyxie, also known as flowering moss and pine barren beauty.
Between the Sand Hills and the mountains, the Up Country forests contain about the same trees and flowers that are found in the Southeast generally. The magnificent white oaks and beeches attract universal admiration. Redbud, dogwood, and river plum are among the most conspicuous of the smaller flowering trees. Crabgrass and Bermuda grass are serious pests in cultivated fields, but make excellent summer pasturage.
Among the most admired flora of the Carolina mountains are the rhododendrons (three species), azaleas, and kalmias. In their spring glory the kalmias make a spectacular display, descending along the bluffs of rivers to within a few miles of the coast, as on Springwood plantation near Georgetown. At Kalmia Gardens in Hartsville, on the lower edge of the Sand Hills and scarcely 100 feet above sea level, is a magnificent display of kalmias in their native habitat. The Carolina hemlock occurs sparingly in the South Carolina mountains.
South Carolina's Forests
South Carolina's principal natural resource is its farm land, which more than 63 per cent of the State's total land area. Especially in the Up Country, where rivers flow between rolling hills now largely denuded of their original forests, erosion has taken a heavy toll of soils. Much of the eroded land includes both types, about 700,000 acres being ruined altogether for agricultural purposes. Under a program conducted by State and Federal agencies, conservation projects have been established in five areas, where there are diversity of soil types, severity of erosion, and proximity to large groups of farmers who might take advantage of the demonstrations. Tree planting, strip cropping, and crop rotation are methods used to reclaim much of this land. Sections too steep or too badly eroded for efficient cultivation are devoted to pasturage or reforestation. The two principal soil conservation projects are the South Tiger River area in Spartanburg and Greenville Counties, and the Fishing Creek area in Chester and York Counties.
Though the forests of South Carolina have suffered severely from overexploitation, they still form one of the chief economic resources of the State. To preserve the forests that remain and add to their acreage, both Federal and State governments have organized facilities in South Carolina. There are two national forests in the State, the Francis Marion and the Sumter. The Sumter forest is in three divisions: the mountain division in Oconee and Pickens Counties; the Enoree division in Chester, Fairfield, Laurens, Newberry, and Union Counties; and the Long Cane division in Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, McCormick, and Saluda Counties. Tree planting, strip cropping, and crop rotation are methods used to reclaim much of this land. Sections too steep or too badly eroded for efficient cultivation are devoted to pasturage or reforestation.
Though the forests of South Carolina have suffered severely from overexploitation, they still form one of the chief economic resources of the State. To preserve the forests that remain and add to their acreage, both Federal and State governments have organized facilities in South Carolina. There are two national forests in the State, the Francis Marion and the Sumter. The Sumter forest is in three divisions: the mountain division in Oconee and Pickens Counties; the Enoree division in Chester, Fairfield, Laurens, Newberry, and Union Counties; and the Long Cane division in Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, McCormick, and Saluda Counties. Tree planting, strip cropping, and crop rotation are methods used to reclaim much of this land. Sections too steep or too badly eroded for efficient cultivation are devoted to pasturage or reforestation.
South Carolina in the Archaeozoic era
More than a billion years ago, in the Archaeozoic era, schistose rock of great but unknown thickness extended along what is now the Appalachian and Piedmont Plateau region of North America. The first great upheaval of this land mass, known as the Laurentian revolution, occurred toward the end of the era to produce Appalachia--a highland that separated the Atlantic Ocean from a shallow inland sea that covered the central part of the continent. The older rocks now found in the South Carolina Up Country--the gneisses, schists, slates, and quartzites--were formed by the metamorphism, through intense heat and pressure, of the early sedimentary rocks. Into these older formations granite, diorite, diabase, and some other igneous rocks have, at different times, been intruded. In Greenville and Spartanburg Counties are found lean iron ores of the Preterozoic era, which succeeded the Archaeozoic.
During the next era, the Paleozoic, the high mountains of Appalachia were being worn down. They were steep, rugged, and gaunt, like the newer ranges of the Rockies today. Flowering plants probably did not exist until near the end of the era, and vegetation consisted mainly of huge ferns and club mosses. Aquatic vertebrates and amphibia reached their greatest development during the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, when this region was entirely above the sea-hence fossils of those periods are not found in the State. The coal, iron, and petroleum deposits of the Paleozoic era do not occur in South Carolina, though they are found in Alabama and west of the Blue Ridge. Nor is the Permian period, last of the Paleozoic, represented in the Appalachian region south of West Virginia.
Between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras occurred the Appalachian revolution, the second great upheaval of this land mass. The fall line was the shore of the ocean in the Mesozoic era, and from that line to the present coast are marl limestone, and other sedimentary deposits of this era. Successive additions to the coast line were formed by sedimentary material resulting from erosion in the highlands. After the deposition of the Cretaceous sediments the coastal plain was inundated by the sea a number of times, and mantles of clay, sand, and gravel laid down. Seven such terraces, with elevations from 25 to 270 feet, rise successively along the South Carolina coast. At Charleston these beds of clay, sand, and limestone overlie the crystalline rocks to a depth of more than half a mile, but they thin out to nothing at the fall line. The South Carolina Up Country is of very ancient formation, and the Low Country comparatively recent--with little record left of the ages in between. Phosphate beds near Charleston have yielded many sharks' teeth, vertebrae of mammoths, and other fossils; and similar remains have been found around Eutawville and in the swamps of the Pee Dee near Florence. Practically no fossils have been discovered above the fall line--heat or pressure having destroyed them if they ever existed.
The Cenozoic era is represented in the lower part of the State by exposures of sedimentary rocks of the Tertiary period, mostly loose and uncompacted, and usually retaining somewhat their original horizontal positions. The movements that closed the Miocene, third epoch of the Cenozoic era, gave the Atlantic coast nearly its present outline. South Carolina entirely escaped glaciation during the Pleistocene epoch at the end of the Cenozoic era, and as a consequence it has no inland lakes or deposits of glacial debris characteristic of regions farther north.
The soils of the Piedmont Plateau are chiefly residual, having been formed by the weathering of the underlying rocks. The granites and gneisses form loams, while most of the other rocks form clay soils. Organic matter is rapidly destroyed in the warm climate, and the ironbearing minerals become oxidized, giving the red color characteristic of the region. A few hills or small mountains are composed of rocks, such as quartzite, granite, or gneiss, that are extremely resistant to weathering, and stand up above the level of the plateau. Little Mountain, Kings Mountain, Crowder's Ridge, and Henry's Knob are the most prominent of these residual hills or monadnocks. Sugar Loaf and Horseshoe Mountains, in the Sand Hills of Chesterfield County, rouse the visitor's curiosity because they look as if they had been detached from each other by some violent explosion. Much igneous rock is scattered over the Piedmont section.
In the Sand Hills have recently been found fulgurites, long tubes of fused silica formed by the action of lightning on sand; and in the northeastern corner of the State, in Horry County, round pits in the terrain seem to give evidence of a meteoric shower at some remote time in the past.
During the next era, the Paleozoic, the high mountains of Appalachia were being worn down. They were steep, rugged, and gaunt, like the newer ranges of the Rockies today. Flowering plants probably did not exist until near the end of the era, and vegetation consisted mainly of huge ferns and club mosses. Aquatic vertebrates and amphibia reached their greatest development during the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, when this region was entirely above the sea-hence fossils of those periods are not found in the State. The coal, iron, and petroleum deposits of the Paleozoic era do not occur in South Carolina, though they are found in Alabama and west of the Blue Ridge. Nor is the Permian period, last of the Paleozoic, represented in the Appalachian region south of West Virginia.
Between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras occurred the Appalachian revolution, the second great upheaval of this land mass. The fall line was the shore of the ocean in the Mesozoic era, and from that line to the present coast are marl limestone, and other sedimentary deposits of this era. Successive additions to the coast line were formed by sedimentary material resulting from erosion in the highlands. After the deposition of the Cretaceous sediments the coastal plain was inundated by the sea a number of times, and mantles of clay, sand, and gravel laid down. Seven such terraces, with elevations from 25 to 270 feet, rise successively along the South Carolina coast. At Charleston these beds of clay, sand, and limestone overlie the crystalline rocks to a depth of more than half a mile, but they thin out to nothing at the fall line. The South Carolina Up Country is of very ancient formation, and the Low Country comparatively recent--with little record left of the ages in between. Phosphate beds near Charleston have yielded many sharks' teeth, vertebrae of mammoths, and other fossils; and similar remains have been found around Eutawville and in the swamps of the Pee Dee near Florence. Practically no fossils have been discovered above the fall line--heat or pressure having destroyed them if they ever existed.
The Cenozoic era is represented in the lower part of the State by exposures of sedimentary rocks of the Tertiary period, mostly loose and uncompacted, and usually retaining somewhat their original horizontal positions. The movements that closed the Miocene, third epoch of the Cenozoic era, gave the Atlantic coast nearly its present outline. South Carolina entirely escaped glaciation during the Pleistocene epoch at the end of the Cenozoic era, and as a consequence it has no inland lakes or deposits of glacial debris characteristic of regions farther north.
The soils of the Piedmont Plateau are chiefly residual, having been formed by the weathering of the underlying rocks. The granites and gneisses form loams, while most of the other rocks form clay soils. Organic matter is rapidly destroyed in the warm climate, and the ironbearing minerals become oxidized, giving the red color characteristic of the region. A few hills or small mountains are composed of rocks, such as quartzite, granite, or gneiss, that are extremely resistant to weathering, and stand up above the level of the plateau. Little Mountain, Kings Mountain, Crowder's Ridge, and Henry's Knob are the most prominent of these residual hills or monadnocks. Sugar Loaf and Horseshoe Mountains, in the Sand Hills of Chesterfield County, rouse the visitor's curiosity because they look as if they had been detached from each other by some violent explosion. Much igneous rock is scattered over the Piedmont section.
In the Sand Hills have recently been found fulgurites, long tubes of fused silica formed by the action of lightning on sand; and in the northeastern corner of the State, in Horry County, round pits in the terrain seem to give evidence of a meteoric shower at some remote time in the past.
South Carolina, The Blue Ridge Mountains, physical feature
South Carolina is roughly a triangle covering 30,989 square miles, 494 of which consist of water area. From the northwest corner a jagged man-made line, running east and southeast for 333 miles to Little River Inlet, marks the boundary between the two Carolinas; the Savannah River, with its tributaries, the Tugaloo and the Chattooga, extending southeast from the same corner for 238 miles to Tybee Sound, separates, the State from Georgia; while the Atlantic shore line stretches for approximately 190 miles, between Little River Inlet and Tybee Sound.
The Blue Ridge Mountains occupy an area of about 500 square miles in the northwestern part of the State. The highest point, Sassafras Mountain (alt., 3,548 ft.), is almost on the North Carolina boundary. The South Carolina mountains are not spectacular, but their broken outline, soft blue color, and sunny exposure give them peculiar charm. Outcroppings of granite are not uncommon, and at Table Rock and Caesar's Head are vertical cliffs of gneiss. From this mountainous border the land drops successively to the Piedmont Plateau, the Sand Hills, the Coastal Plain, and sea level, over a distance of about 235 miles. The mean altitude of the State in general is estimated at 350 feet.
The chief physical feature of South Carolina, though not the most picturesque, is the fall line, which roughly bisects the State along a diagonal between the North Carolina boundary in Chesterfield County and the Georgia boundary in Aiken County. It separates two regions commonly known as the Up Country and the Low Country--regions differing in custom, history, and livelihood. The main part of the Up Country is composed of the Piedmont Plateau, with its rolling hills, ragged woods, small farms, and newly developed industries. The soil of this region is red clay, originally covered with a thin but rich layer of forest-formed humus. Much of this top soil has been washed away, and the roads, cutting through clay banks, look as if carved from scarlet cheese. These clay lands will produce good crops of corn, cotton, and vegetables if the missing humus is supplied and conserved.
In the level Low Country lie alluvial regions and much swampland where, since the State's beginning, large plantations have depended chiefly on a single crop--first indigo, then rice, and later cotton. Tobacco has recently become of considerable importance in the Low Country, as well as truck or vegetable crops. The Sand Hills along the fall line constitute the least productive agricultural land in the State, although recently peaches and grapes have been found well adapted to this intermediate region.
South Carolina is drained by three main river systems: the Pee Dee in the northeast, the Santee in the central area, and the Savannah in the southwest. Tributaries of the Pee Dee are the Little Pee Dee, the Waccamaw, and Lynches; the Santee is formed by the confluence of the Wateree and the Congaree (the latter made up of the Broad and the Saluda); and the Savannah in its upper reaches is joined by the Tugaloo, the Chattooga, and the Seneca. The Edisto River in the southeast is independent of the three main systems. The swift flow of the streams in the Up Country has led most of the State's manufacturing plants to select sites in that section. Below the fall line, these red, mud-laden rivers become wide and comparatively clear, depositing their silt on the bottom. Stained black with tannic acid from cypress and other roots, they run slowly through flat rich soils to the Atlantic Ocean. Between Georgetown and the Savannah River, along more than two thirds of the coast line, is a border of sandy barrier islands; while north of Georgetown an arc of unbroken beach extends to the North Carolina boundary. There are no large inland lakes in the State, except those formed artificially by river dams.
In climate, South Carolina ranges from temperate in the northwest to semitropical in the southeast. The lowest annual mean temperature for any station in the State is that of Caesar's Head in Greenville County, 54.9°; the highest is that of Beaufort, being 67.3°. The State as a whole has an annual mean temperature of about 63°, with normal seasonal variations. Summers are long and hot, but not as en ervating as is generally supposed. Nights are cool in the Up Country, and the heat is tempered by sea breezes near the coast. April, May, and October are the pleasantest months in the Up Country, and the winter season is mild and pleasant below the fall line. Rainfall is abundant and evenly distributed throughout the year. Growing seasons range from 186 days in the mountains to 284 days along the coast.
The Blue Ridge Mountains occupy an area of about 500 square miles in the northwestern part of the State. The highest point, Sassafras Mountain (alt., 3,548 ft.), is almost on the North Carolina boundary. The South Carolina mountains are not spectacular, but their broken outline, soft blue color, and sunny exposure give them peculiar charm. Outcroppings of granite are not uncommon, and at Table Rock and Caesar's Head are vertical cliffs of gneiss. From this mountainous border the land drops successively to the Piedmont Plateau, the Sand Hills, the Coastal Plain, and sea level, over a distance of about 235 miles. The mean altitude of the State in general is estimated at 350 feet.
The chief physical feature of South Carolina, though not the most picturesque, is the fall line, which roughly bisects the State along a diagonal between the North Carolina boundary in Chesterfield County and the Georgia boundary in Aiken County. It separates two regions commonly known as the Up Country and the Low Country--regions differing in custom, history, and livelihood. The main part of the Up Country is composed of the Piedmont Plateau, with its rolling hills, ragged woods, small farms, and newly developed industries. The soil of this region is red clay, originally covered with a thin but rich layer of forest-formed humus. Much of this top soil has been washed away, and the roads, cutting through clay banks, look as if carved from scarlet cheese. These clay lands will produce good crops of corn, cotton, and vegetables if the missing humus is supplied and conserved.
In the level Low Country lie alluvial regions and much swampland where, since the State's beginning, large plantations have depended chiefly on a single crop--first indigo, then rice, and later cotton. Tobacco has recently become of considerable importance in the Low Country, as well as truck or vegetable crops. The Sand Hills along the fall line constitute the least productive agricultural land in the State, although recently peaches and grapes have been found well adapted to this intermediate region.
South Carolina is drained by three main river systems: the Pee Dee in the northeast, the Santee in the central area, and the Savannah in the southwest. Tributaries of the Pee Dee are the Little Pee Dee, the Waccamaw, and Lynches; the Santee is formed by the confluence of the Wateree and the Congaree (the latter made up of the Broad and the Saluda); and the Savannah in its upper reaches is joined by the Tugaloo, the Chattooga, and the Seneca. The Edisto River in the southeast is independent of the three main systems. The swift flow of the streams in the Up Country has led most of the State's manufacturing plants to select sites in that section. Below the fall line, these red, mud-laden rivers become wide and comparatively clear, depositing their silt on the bottom. Stained black with tannic acid from cypress and other roots, they run slowly through flat rich soils to the Atlantic Ocean. Between Georgetown and the Savannah River, along more than two thirds of the coast line, is a border of sandy barrier islands; while north of Georgetown an arc of unbroken beach extends to the North Carolina boundary. There are no large inland lakes in the State, except those formed artificially by river dams.
In climate, South Carolina ranges from temperate in the northwest to semitropical in the southeast. The lowest annual mean temperature for any station in the State is that of Caesar's Head in Greenville County, 54.9°; the highest is that of Beaufort, being 67.3°. The State as a whole has an annual mean temperature of about 63°, with normal seasonal variations. Summers are long and hot, but not as en ervating as is generally supposed. Nights are cool in the Up Country, and the heat is tempered by sea breezes near the coast. April, May, and October are the pleasantest months in the Up Country, and the winter season is mild and pleasant below the fall line. Rainfall is abundant and evenly distributed throughout the year. Growing seasons range from 186 days in the mountains to 284 days along the coast.
Indianapolis, Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS (750 alt., 781,870 pop.) is the capital of Indiana and seat of Marion County. Embracing 54.13 square miles in the heart of a fertile, undulating agricultural area, it is the largest city in the United States not on navigable water.
The site of Indianapolis was selected for the State capital because of its central location, which also became a great commercial advantage. More than half of all the farming in Indiana is done within 75 miles of this city, now the third largest corn and livestock market in the United States as well as an important banking center and the home of several insurance companies. Also because of its location Indianapolis has become one of the leading railway centers of the country. The first Union Station was built here in 1853; in 1877 the first Belt Railroad in the country was completed here. This 14-mile double-track belt, surrounding much of the city, greatly facilitates freight transportation. Most large cities have since adopted the idea.
Although the location of Indianapolis was a great advantage commercially, it was less beneficial to the development of industry. In spite of excellent railway facilities, the absence of navigable water has been a real handicap; the great quantities of coal and iron required for the basic industries cannot be transported cheaply enough by rail to attract large-scale enterprises. Hence Indianapolis has remained the home of relatively smaller manufacturing plants, highly diversified in their products and scattered widely throughout the city.
As an agricultural market, Indianapolis has attracted the meatpacking and milling industries, and large quantities of canned goods are produced. Industries using wood are also important -- with a number of plants devoted to the manufacture of paper and furniture.
The visitor's first impression is one of spacious friendliness -- broad streets, an almost Southern leisureliness, and fewer tall buildings than are seen in most cities of comparable size. Washington Street, the chief east-west thoroughfare, is nine miles long and as wide as any village Main Street; Meridian Street, less important commercially but first in residential stateliness, expands northward into a broad avenue.
This quiet spaciousness of Indianapolis results both from the terrain and from deliberate planning. Built on level ground with plenty of room to expand, the city was patterned after Washington, D. C. Its streets intersect at right angles and four great avenues cut away diagonally from the business section. Central to this plan and most memorable to the visitor is Monument Circle, from the heart of which towers the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Also in the center of the city, scattered among stores and office buildings, are the State Capitol, the State and city libraries, and the Scottish Rite Cathedral.
South of the theater and shopping section are the warehouses of the wholesale district, freight yards, and the smoke stacks of many of the city's factories. Beginning several blocks south of Washington, Meridian Street is a miniature New York Lower East Side, with a large proportion of foreign and Jewish shops and restaurants; still farther south are neighborhoods of trim houses, here and there a belt of slums, and Garfield Park with its sunken gardens. Westward along White River lie packing houses and factories, rising in the midst of drab streets of workers' homes; and Indiana Avenue, slanting northwest into the densely populated Negro section, is lined with little shops and stores. Northwest along White River is Riverside Park, a kind of inland Coney Island. Farther north are the Gothic halls of Butler University set in a park-like campus; a few miles westward on 16th Street is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A mile and a half east of Monument Circle between Michigan and 10th Streets is an incorporated town within the city -- Woodruff Place, which has never been annexed by Indianapolis, although it is wholly surrounded by it. A residential district, platted in 1872 and incorporated four years later as a suburb of Indianapolis, it covers 80 acres and has a population of about 1,200. Grass and flowers in the center of drives ornamented by fountains, urns, and Victorian statuary, together with tall trees, wide lawns, and gingerbread architectural details give this district an air of respectable old age. No business building of any kind is permitted.
North on such streets as Delaware and Pennsylvania are many fine old houses, set deep in shaded lawns and still inhabited by the descendants of their builders. Many newer residences of architectural distinction are on the curving, well-shaded lanes of Irvington, the extreme eastern section of the city, and in large sections in the north, where winding drives and wooded avenues provide desirable residential areas for the well-to-do. Probably the most beautiful of these drives is Fall Creek Parkway. Beginning at the Thomas Taggart Memorial Archway in Riverside Park it follows the meanderings of Fall Creek for nearly 12 miles past small parks and playgrounds. East of Keystone Avenue the drive is flanked by a bicycle path and a bridle path and, after passing Woollen's Gardens of Birds and Botany and the Boy Scout Reservation, ends near Fort Benjamin Harrison.
The site of Indianapolis was selected for the State capital because of its central location, which also became a great commercial advantage. More than half of all the farming in Indiana is done within 75 miles of this city, now the third largest corn and livestock market in the United States as well as an important banking center and the home of several insurance companies. Also because of its location Indianapolis has become one of the leading railway centers of the country. The first Union Station was built here in 1853; in 1877 the first Belt Railroad in the country was completed here. This 14-mile double-track belt, surrounding much of the city, greatly facilitates freight transportation. Most large cities have since adopted the idea.
Although the location of Indianapolis was a great advantage commercially, it was less beneficial to the development of industry. In spite of excellent railway facilities, the absence of navigable water has been a real handicap; the great quantities of coal and iron required for the basic industries cannot be transported cheaply enough by rail to attract large-scale enterprises. Hence Indianapolis has remained the home of relatively smaller manufacturing plants, highly diversified in their products and scattered widely throughout the city.
As an agricultural market, Indianapolis has attracted the meatpacking and milling industries, and large quantities of canned goods are produced. Industries using wood are also important -- with a number of plants devoted to the manufacture of paper and furniture.
The visitor's first impression is one of spacious friendliness -- broad streets, an almost Southern leisureliness, and fewer tall buildings than are seen in most cities of comparable size. Washington Street, the chief east-west thoroughfare, is nine miles long and as wide as any village Main Street; Meridian Street, less important commercially but first in residential stateliness, expands northward into a broad avenue.
This quiet spaciousness of Indianapolis results both from the terrain and from deliberate planning. Built on level ground with plenty of room to expand, the city was patterned after Washington, D. C. Its streets intersect at right angles and four great avenues cut away diagonally from the business section. Central to this plan and most memorable to the visitor is Monument Circle, from the heart of which towers the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Also in the center of the city, scattered among stores and office buildings, are the State Capitol, the State and city libraries, and the Scottish Rite Cathedral.
South of the theater and shopping section are the warehouses of the wholesale district, freight yards, and the smoke stacks of many of the city's factories. Beginning several blocks south of Washington, Meridian Street is a miniature New York Lower East Side, with a large proportion of foreign and Jewish shops and restaurants; still farther south are neighborhoods of trim houses, here and there a belt of slums, and Garfield Park with its sunken gardens. Westward along White River lie packing houses and factories, rising in the midst of drab streets of workers' homes; and Indiana Avenue, slanting northwest into the densely populated Negro section, is lined with little shops and stores. Northwest along White River is Riverside Park, a kind of inland Coney Island. Farther north are the Gothic halls of Butler University set in a park-like campus; a few miles westward on 16th Street is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A mile and a half east of Monument Circle between Michigan and 10th Streets is an incorporated town within the city -- Woodruff Place, which has never been annexed by Indianapolis, although it is wholly surrounded by it. A residential district, platted in 1872 and incorporated four years later as a suburb of Indianapolis, it covers 80 acres and has a population of about 1,200. Grass and flowers in the center of drives ornamented by fountains, urns, and Victorian statuary, together with tall trees, wide lawns, and gingerbread architectural details give this district an air of respectable old age. No business building of any kind is permitted.
North on such streets as Delaware and Pennsylvania are many fine old houses, set deep in shaded lawns and still inhabited by the descendants of their builders. Many newer residences of architectural distinction are on the curving, well-shaded lanes of Irvington, the extreme eastern section of the city, and in large sections in the north, where winding drives and wooded avenues provide desirable residential areas for the well-to-do. Probably the most beautiful of these drives is Fall Creek Parkway. Beginning at the Thomas Taggart Memorial Archway in Riverside Park it follows the meanderings of Fall Creek for nearly 12 miles past small parks and playgrounds. East of Keystone Avenue the drive is flanked by a bicycle path and a bridle path and, after passing Woollen's Gardens of Birds and Botany and the Boy Scout Reservation, ends near Fort Benjamin Harrison.
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