Bloomington, Indiana

History

Bloomington was platted in 1818. A post office has been in operation at Bloomington since 1825. Bloomington was incorporated in 1827.

The Elias Abel House, Blair-Dunning House, Bloomington City Hall, Bloomington West Side Historic District, Cantol Wax Company Building, Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, Cochran-Helton-Lindley House, Courthouse Square Historic District, Hinkle-Garton Farmstead, Home Laundry Company, Illinois Central Railroad Freight Depot, Johnson's Creamery, Legg House, Millen House, Millen-Chase-McCalla House, Monroe Carnegie Library, Monroe County Courthouse, Morgan House, J.L. Nichols House and Studio, North Washington Street Historic District, The Old Crescent, Princess Theatre, Prospect Hill Historic District, Second Baptist Church, Seminary Square Park, Steele Dunning Historic District, University Courts Historic District, Vinegar Hill Historic District, Wicks Building, Woolery Stone Company, and Andrew Wylie House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Bloomington has a total area of 23.359 square miles (60.50 km²), of which 23.16 square miles (59.98 km²) (or 99.15%) is land and 0.199 square miles (0.52 km²) (or 0.85%) is water. Bloomington is the sixth largest city in Indiana, based on population.

Climate

Southern Indiana receives an abundance of rain, with a yearly average of nearly 45 inches.

Geology

Bloomington is an area of irregular limestone terrain characterized by sinks, ravines, fissures, underground streams, sinking streams, springs and caves. It is situated in the rolling hills of southern Indiana, resting on the intersection of the Norman Uplands and the Mitchell Plain. The relatively varied topography of the city provides a sharp contrast to the flatter terrain more typical of central to northern portions of Indiana.

Water

Bloomington is located on a comparatively high ground, the summit of the divide between the basins of the West Fork and East Fork of Indiana's White River. Accordingly, there are no major watercourses within the city, nor is much groundwater available for wells. The largest stream within the city itself is Clear Creek, with its eastern branch known on the Indiana University campus as Jordan River.

Due to the absence of either natural lakes or rivers or groundwater in or near the city, a number of dams have been constructed on nearby creeks over the last 100 years to provide for the water needs of Bloomington and Monroe County. Early 20th century damming projects occurred at a number of locations southwest of the city, the most notable of them being the Leonard Springs Dam. Unfortunately, due to the limestone formations underlying the reservoirs and the dams, water kept seeping from the reservoirs through naturally developing underground channels. Despite all efforts, the city was never able to fully stop the leakage, and had to resort to pumping leaking water back to the reservoir.

By the 1920s, a more radical solution was needed to deal with the water crisis. A new reservoir, known as Griffy Lake, was constructed in a more geologically suitable area north of the city. (It is now within Bloomington's official city limits.) Later, in the 1950s, two much larger reservoirs, Lake Lemon and Lake Monroe were created in the northeastern and southeastern parts of Monroe County. Monroe Lake was created by the US Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, but has since been used to supply the city and the county with water. The water pumping station at Griffy Lake has been mothballed.

Environment

PCB pollution, associated with Westinghouse's operations, long was a concern in the area. A number of sites, in particular, Bennett's Dump and Lemon Lane Landfill at the northwestern edge of the city and Neal's Landfill in the county, were listed as Superfund sites. Clean-up operations at the Bennett Quarry site, started in 1983, were largely completed by 2000., while cleanups at the other sites were completed in 2012.

Demographics

Bloomington is the principal city of the Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan area that covers Greene, Monroe, and Owen counties and had a combined population of 175,506 at the 2000 census.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 80,405 people, 31,425 households, and 11,267 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,471.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,340.4/km²). There were 33,239 housing units at an average density of 1,435.2 per square mile (554.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.0% White, 4.6% African American, 0.3% Native American, 8.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population.

There were 31,425 households of which 16.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.3% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 64.1% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.76.

The median age in the city was 23.3 years. 11.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 44.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23% were from 25 to 44; 13.3% were from 45 to 64; and 7.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 69,291 people, 26,468 households, and 10,454 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,511.1 people per square mile (1,356.0/km²). There were 28,400 housing units at an average density of 1,439.1 per square mile (555.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.03% White, 4.24% African American, 0.29% Native American, 5.26% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races, and 2.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.49% of the population. 22.9% were of German, 10.2% Irish, 9.1% English and 8.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 89.3% spoke English, 2.9% Spanish, 1.3% Korean, 1.1% German and 1.0% Chinese or Mandarin as their first language.

There were 26,468 households out of which 17.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.2% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.5% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the city, the population was spread out with 12.7% under the age of 18, 42.3% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 12.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,377, and the median income for a family was $50,054. Males had a median income of $32,470 compared to $26,100 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,481. About 10.3% of families and 29.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The Bloomington and Monroe County region is home to major employers representing a diverse collection of fields, including education, the life sciences, advanced manufacturing and technology.

Bloomington is a regional economic center anchored by Indiana University and home to a diverse business community involved in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, technology, health care, and the arts. Bloomington's concentration of employment in the life sciences is six times greater than the U.S. average, and employment in the technology sector has grown by over 80 percent in recent years.

Bloomington has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of "America’s Best Cities for Doing Business" and as one of Entrepreneur Magazine's Top 50 "Hottest Small Cities for Entrepreneurs." Additionally, Forbes Magazine ranked Bloomington No. 3 in its "Best Places for Business Careers" feature.

Bloomington is home to several professional and amateur theater companies, among the most notable are: the Indiana University Dept. of Theatre & Drama; Cardinal Stage Company; the Bloomington Playwrights Project; Theatre of the People; and the Indiana University Auditorium, which is a 3,000-seat performing arts venue which brings in national tours of musicals, plays and other live entertainment.

Bloomington is home to the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, which is a renovated 616 seat vaudeville and movie house built in 1922. Known locally as the "Indiana Theater" or the "Bus-Chum", it was operated until 1995 as a movie theater. In 1995, the building was donated to the community for use as a performing arts center. In 2006, the theater played host to more than 260 public performances. Bloomington also offers artists and entertainers performance space at the Ivy Tech Waldron Arts Center, a community arts center that has hosted hundreds of performances through the last two decades.

Bloomington also has a large folk punk music scene. The town is home to Chris Clavin who runs the DIY punk rock record label Plan-It-X Records and is in the folk punk band Ghost Mice who frequently sing about Bloomington. Every other year Plan-It-X Records organises Plan-it-X Fest, a large DIY punk music festival held in Bloomington. Bloomington is also home to the record labels Eradicator Records, Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar and BlueSanct. The Grammy Nominated band The Fray recorded their Triple Platinum debut album How to Save a Life at Echo Park Studios in Bloomington. Bloomington is also the hometown of dark folk rockers Murder By Death. The "Zine" publishing company, Microcosm Publishing, is also located in Bloomington, as is the Lotus Festival of World Music, which occurs each fall.

Much of Bloomington's music originates in the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, its Opera Theater and public performances numbering more than a thousand each year.

Traditional music is popular in Bloomington due to the presence of the Archives of Traditional Music and Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University. Bloomington has been home to a number of musicians and "scholars" over the years, including Strawberry McCloud, Lotus Dickey, Miles Krassen, Anthony Seeger, Bob Lucas, Caroline Peyton, Mark Bingham, Willy Schwartz, Jessica Radcliffe, Hawk Hubbard, Linda Higginbotham, Brad Leftwich, Ruthie Allen, Grey Larsen, Cindy Kallet, Bruce Anderson, Pete Sutherland, Malcolm Dalglish, Sam Bartlett, Jamie Gans, and Ken Perlman. From 1985-1993 Bloomington was home to the one-time Drum Corps International champion Star of Indiana. In 1993, the corp moved to musical theatre which created the group Blast!.

Downtown Bloomington is typically referred to as the area between First to Eleventh Streets and Madison to Lincoln Streets, with the vast majority of the dining, shopping and drinking establishments being located on the two main north/south thoroughfares of Walnut Street and College Avenue, which run parallel on either side of the courthouse. Portions of this one-way pair, along with segments of the east/west Sixth Street and Kirkwood Avenues, comprise Bloomington's historic courthouse square.

Bloomington and Monroe County's B-Line walking trail, on the site of a former railroad line, bisects the downtown area as well, providing an area for walking, biking, running and hiking.

One community service based organization, Habitat for Humanity, provides opportunities to help build hope in families, while Mother Hubbard's Cupboard provides free food to families in need.

Post-secondary education

Elementary schools

Middle schools

High schools

Others

Newspapers

Magazines

Television

Bloomington also receives stations from Indianapolis; it is part of the Indianapolis market.

Radio stations

Airports

Bicycling

Bloomington is a gold-rated bicycle-friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists. There are many on-street and off-street bicycle facilities, most notably the B-Line trail. Bloomington's somewhat compact land use development style has made it easy and convenient to get from point A to point B by bicycle. A map of bicycle friendly facilities is available on-line or a hard copy is available for free at any of the bicycle shops in town.

Highways

Bloomington, for many years was one of the largest cities without an interstate or freeway expressway. However, interstate access finally occurred in December 2015 when the Interstate 69 expansion between Evansville and Indianapolis was completed to Bloomington.

The upgrading of SR 37 from a 4 Lane Highway to Interstate standards for the next section of I-69 between Bloomington and Martinsville is under construction and will be completed by the middle of 2018. The last section between Martinsville and Indianapolis is still several years away.

State Road 45 (SR 45) and State Road 46 (SR 46) run through Bloomington together on a four-lane highway known as the "bypass".

State Road 48 (SR 48) starts as a four-lane highway on the city's west side before narrowing to two-lanes at Oard Rd outside the city limits.

Sister cities

Bloomington has four sister-city relationships.

Notable people

Note: This list does not include students attending Indiana University. Please see List of Indiana University (Bloomington) people for famous alumni.

Points of interest