USA - Indiana - Falls Of The Ohio State Park

Falls of the Ohio State Park Interpretive Center has exhibits and films featuring the geologic and cultural history of the Falls of the Ohio. Devonian sea life, the Ohio River, George Rogers Clark, and Lewis & Clark expedition are featured.

Sent by Destany from Indiana, USA.

Falls of the Ohio State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is located on the banks of the Ohio River at Clarksville, Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky. The park is part of the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area. The exposed fossil beds of the Jeffersonville Limestone dated from the Devonian period are the main feature of the park, attracting about 160,000 visitors annually.

The park includes an interpretive center open to the public. The center functions as a museum with exhibits that concentrate on the natural history related to findings in the nearby fossil beds as well as the human history of the Louisville area, covering pre-settlement, early settlement, and the history of Louisville and southern Indiana through the 20th century.

The Woodland Loop Trail features ten stainless steel markers denoting the plant life of the trails, thanks to an Eagle Scout project.

Unlike at other Indiana state parks, annual entrance permits do not allow unlimited free access (rather, only five people per pass per visit) to the interpretive center, as fees are still needed to reimburse the town of Clarksville for building the center (read more).

USA - Indiana - State Capitol Building

INDIANA STATE CAPITOL BUILDING

Indianapolis, Indiana

The statue of Oliver P. Morton, Civil War Governor of Indiana from 1861-1867, stands at the Market Street entrance. This Neo Roman structure with its Corinthians columns was constructed in 1878-88 at a cost of 2 million dollars. The building's most distinguishing feature was the gold dome, which was 72 feet in diameter and rises to a height of 234 feet above ground.

Sent by @jocrafts from Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

The Indiana Statehouse is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. It houses the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court, and other state officials. The Statehouse is located in the capital city of Indianapolis at 200 West Washington Street. Built in 1888, it is the fifth building to house the state government.

The first statehouse, located in Corydon, Indiana, is still standing and is maintained as a state historic site. The second building was the old Marion County courthouse which was demolished and replaced in the early 20th century. The third building was a structure modeled on the Parthenon, but was condemned in 1877 because of structural defects and razed so the current statehouse could be built on its location (read more).

U.S.A. - Indiana - State Bird

Cardinal - Indiana State Bird.

Sent by Sandy from Indiana, USA.

Indiana designated the northern cardinal (Richmondena Cardinalis Cardinalis) as official state bird in 1933.

One of America's favorite backyard birds, cardinals are distinctive in appearance and song - known for their "cheer cheer cheer," "whit-chew whit-chew" and "purty purty purty" whistles.

Male cardinals are a brilliant scarlet red, females a buffy brown with reddish wings - both have a jet -black mask, pronounced crest, and heavy bill. The cardinal sings nearly year-round, and the male aggressively defends his 4-acre territory (male cardinals have been seen attacking small red objects mistaken as other males). (Source)

USA - Indiana - Mapcard (2)

INDIANA
Hoosier State
CAPITAL : Indianapolis
AREA : 36,291 sq. mi
POPULATION : 5,400,000
MOTTO : Cross-roads of America
FLOWER : Peony
BIRD : Cardinal
TREE : Tulip
SONG : On the Banks of the Wabash
19th state admitted to the Union

Sent by Walton, a postcrosser from Indiana, USA.

USA - Kentucky/Indiana - The Milton-Madison Bridge

THE MILTON-MADISON BRIDGE
Built in 1929. A continuous truss bridge on U.S. 421 connects Milton, KY and Madison, IN. Main span 727 feet, total length 3184 feet.

Sent by HeatherC from USA.

This is from Wikipedia : The Milton-Madison Bridge is a continuous truss bridge that connects Milton, Kentucky and Madison, Indiana. It carries approximately 10,000 cars a day. A contract has been signed to replace the bridge by 2012.

This two lane vehicular bridge is the Ohio River crossing for U.S. Route 421. It has a main span of 600 feet (180 m) and total length of 3,184.2 feet (970.5 m). It has a deck width of a mere 20 feet (6.1 m), and above the deck the vertical clearance is 16.8 feet (5.1 m). This bridge is the only vehicular crossing of the Ohio River for 26 miles (42 km) going upstream ( the Markland Bridge near Vevay, Indiana) and 46 miles (74 km) downstream (the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge in Louisville).

The bridge provided for the shortest distance between Indianapolis, Indiana and Lexington, Kentucky.

Built by J.G. White Engineering Corp., construction was started in 1928, and completed in 1929, at the cost of $1,365,101.84. It was opened for traffic on December 20, 1929. Originally a toll bridge, on November 1, 1947 at noon the toll was removed.

In 1997 the bridge was refurbished. This was after a 1995 study which could not agree on a new bridge location, so $10 million was used for the refurbishment.

The bridge is in the process of replacement, as the current bridge is "functionally obsolete" and "structurally deficient." It has a sufficiency rating of 33 out of a possible 100; its superstructure condition rating is considered "poor". Modern trucks are unable to use the bridge. One of the boons to the new bridge would be to aid a $20 million "resort and entertainment center" where previously a cotton mill stood.

A Milton-Madison Bridge Study was begun by the Indiana Department of Transportation and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on August 26, 2008. The study must take in account the Madison Historic District, which is a National Historic Landmark, and the study is burdened by having to consider the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) in a partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has designed a new bridge to replace the current bridge. The new project is headed mostly by INDOT. The bridge will be removed except for several piers in the waterway, which will be rehabilitated and widened to accommodate a new, wider steel-truss superstructure. Scour mitigation will also be performed on the existing piers. The new bridge will also feature an ADA compliant pedestrian walkway. Construction for the new bridge will begin in the fall of 2010, with the bridge remaining open during work on the piers. The design-build bridge project will be completed years ahead of schedule and with significantly less disruption than originally estimated. Walsh Construction Company plans to close the bridge for only 10 days during construction rather than an anticipated year-long closure. The team will use an innovative construction method called “truss sliding” to ”slide” the 3,181-foot-long truss into place along steel rails and plates.

USA - Indiana - Baby Animals

Baby Animals of Indiana.

Sent by Dawn from Kokomo in Indiana, USA.

USA - Indiana - Mapcard

Sent by nursenine9. This is the second Indiana mapcard received.

USA - Indiana - Mapcard (1)

This is the second postcard received from Kellie who lives in Terre Haute in Indiana. Thanks for this lovely map postcard.

USA - Indiana - Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Received this postcard from Michelle who lives close to this race track of the Indy 500.

This is from Wikipedia : The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400.[4]

It has existed since 1909, and is the original Speedway, the first racing facility historically to incorporate the word. With a permanent seating capacity for more than 257,000 people[1] and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000, it is the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in the world.[5] (By comparison, the world's largest stadium seats 220,000 spectators.) ....