From overlooked roadside attractions to offbeat museums and obscure natural wonders, Local Hidden Gems will showcase some of the unique and unexpected treasures that make America extraordinary. We will emphasize charm, surprise and delight.
Local hidden gem: The Idle is a tiny, hidden spot that at first seems to deliver the type of serene escape most city parks offer. Its quaint gravel trail beckons visitors through a shady oasis with homey-feeling wooden benches. Then the path deposits said patrons atop a hill with a few rows of seats that overlook the traffic of I-65 and I-70.
Serenity, indeed.
In fact, before the Idle was even built, it was a punchline on NPR's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me," when the host asked a caller to guess whether the tiny park, a Karen Pence towel charm museum or a women's prisoner talent show were real. (The person chose the museum.)
But since the traffic-watching perch opened in 2018 , it has won over many locals, becoming, ironically, a place where people slow down and enjoy moments of unorthodox contemplation and conversation. Idle founder Tom Battista saw the park's location between the historic Fountain Square and Fletcher Place as a way to rebuild bonds between neighborhoods disrupted by the highways' construction.
Most of all, Battista envisioned the Idle as a vantage point above the rat race where the sea of traffic noise can shape-shift to sound like a hurricane or a hum, depending on a person's imagination and the time of day. All who step into the park have fair warning thanks to a John Lennon song quote stamped into the concrete at the entrance: "Sitting here watching the wheels go round and round."
Where: Virginia Avenue between Fletcher Place and Fountain Square, just off the bridge over I-70 and I-65. Access it via the Indianapolis Cultural Trail .
More info: idleindy.com
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Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'Watching the Wheels': Indianapolis' Idle park offers serenity via traffic-viewing
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