April 27, 2018

KIB and Athenaeum Celebrate New Downtown GreenSpace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: 
Ashley Haynes
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.

ahaynes@kibi.org

c: 317-793-2871

 

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and the Athenaeum host Celebration of new Downtown Community Greenspace on Monday
A grand opening is set for Monday, April 30  from 4PM to 7PM at the Mass Ave pocket park

INDIANAPOLIS – (April 27, 2018) Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIB) and the Athenaeum Foundation, along with numerous community partners will celebrate the creation of the Mile Square’s newest public greenspace on Monday with a grand opening celebration. Presentations by the Athenaeum Foundation and KIB staff will highlight this interactive space for nature, art, and gathering in the sea of concrete and asphalt. The space will serve not only to bring natural beauty to Massachusetts Ave, but also further the Athenaeum’s values of sound mind, in a sound body.


The event will feature performances by Young Actors Theatre and Classical Music Indy, samplings from Coat Check Coffee, and informative tours of the park’s native plants.


“I am so excited to have this dream come to fruition, and it would not have been possible were it not for KIB!” said Cassie Stockcamp, Athenaeum Foundation, Inc. president. “Programming this underutilized space allowing our neighbors and guests to be in nature, is important and rewarding.”


“This pocket park, created with the Athenaeum Foundation and surrounding community, has transform a blank slate of turf in a part of town that does not have many green spaces,” said Joseph Jarzen, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful vice president of program strategy. “Now the space is a more interactive area that provides a programmable place for the organizations within the building, and the casual passerby who lives and works in downtown.”


Key partners with this project include the Athenaeum Foundation, Inc., J.C. Hart Company, Inc., Greg Henneke & Martha O’Connor, the Nicholas H. Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation, Mass Ave Community Development, Efroymson Family Fund, Shuck Construction, Wilhelm, and the City of Indianapolis’ Department of Public Works.


Monday, April 30, 2018

  • WHO: Athenaeum Foundation, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, past volunteers, and the community
  • WHAT: Mass Ave Pocket Park at the Athenaeum Celebration
  • WHERE: 401 E. Michigan, Indianapolis, 46204 (pocket park located along New Jersey)
  • WHEN: Monday, April 30, 2018 from 4 pm – 6 pm
    • Remarks by the Athenaeum Foundation, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, and Mayor Joe Hogsett will take place around 4:20 pm
  • VISUALS: Former strip of turf grass transformed into an interactive space with benches, tables, native plant beds, and lighting; remarks by Athenaeum Foundation, KIB staff, and Mayor Joe Hogsett; performances by Young Actors Theatre and Classical Music Indy

Committed to creating vibrant places and communities, IPL Project GreenSpace is a community-driven effort that helps neighbors transform vacant lots and underused spaces into natural, beautiful and functional pocket parks and greenspaces for neighborhoods. Sponsors for this program include: Indianapolis Power & Light Co., the City of Indianapolis, Lilly Endowment, Indiana Neighborhood Housing Partnership, and LISC. KIB also partners with the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the Indiana Historical Society to create unique pieces that reflect the community’s vision and culture. For more information please visit www.kibi.org/greenspace.  


About Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIB)
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. is a private nonprofit organization with a mission to engage diverse communities to create vibrant public places, helping people and nature thrive. Annually, KIB works with nearly 20,000 volunteers on nearly 900 community projects. To learn more, visit www.kibi.org or follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @kibiorg.

About the Athenaeum 
The Athenaeum, formerly known as the Das Deutsche Haus, preserves and enhances its historic German-American landmark to advance the “sound mind in a sound body” values of its founders through programming that lifts spirits and engages diverse communities. Built in 1894, it serves as a community center for many cultural, business and nonprofit groups, including the YMCA, Young Actors Theatre and The Rathskeller restaurant. The Athenaeum is listed three times in the National Registry of Historic Places for architecture and historical significance and in 2016 was named a National Historic Landmark becoming one of only 2,400 designated sites in the Country.
 
###

 

Category