Breathing new life into Lugar Plaza
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Local musician Hey Judy Liu plays while people have lunch and play cornhole in Lugar Plaza Thursday afternoon. Photo: Justin L. Mack/Axios
The ongoing reclamation of Richard G. Lugar Plaza after years of hardship is ramping up this summer with programming designed to bring buzz back to Indy's newest park.
Why it matters: Unlike changes that aim to make Indianapolis a more attractive tourist destination, Lugar Plaza's revitalization is focused on creating a better experience for denizens who depend on downtown daily.
Driving the news: Since mid-May, the free Spring Into Lugar events have brought food trucks, games and live music to the plaza just outside the Indianapolis City-County Building from 11am-1pm every Tuesday-Thursday and other special occasions.
- Downtown Indy Alliance, in partnership with Big Car Collaborative and Indianapolis Cultural Trail, is presenting the new lunchtime activities alongside the returning Spark on the Circle as part of its summer 2026 offerings.
Flashback: Named in honor of the man who served as Indianapolis mayor from 1968 to 1976 before spending 36 years representing Indiana as a U.S. senator, Lugar Plaza opened to fanfare in 2018 in the heart of a dense and active downtown.
Yes, but: The pandemic and the office space exodus that came with it hit the plaza hard.
- Underuse gave way to a new reputation as a loitering spot where drug use and crime were common, due to public safety incidents like a mass overdose in the plaza that sent six people to the hospital in February.
State of play: Later that month, Lugar Plaza was officially designated as a city park, bringing clearer rules on hours, alcohol and behavior — along with increased police patrols and enforcement.
Zoom in: Local leaders are keeping frustrations from downtown residents and workers in mind as they work to rehab the space, Downtown Indy Alliance president and CEO Taylor Schaffer told Axios.
- "In 2018, 2019, it was their favorite place to go have lunch. And then, with the pandemic and some of the challenges that occurred in and around that plaza, it just didn't feel welcoming. It didn't feel safe," she said.
- That feeling is part of why Spring Into Lugar launched a few weeks earlier than Spark and other downtown programming.
- "We wanted to be able to wrap our arms around that as quickly as possible to provide that amenity for workers to breathe life into that space that really is so beautiful," she said. "And do it with an eye toward active management."
The latest: During this week's three-day slate of programming, the downtown lunch crowd provided the bulk of the foot traffic.
- Chess games broke out on provided boards while office workers moved their badges to the side to play cornhole during food truck Tuesday.
- Passers-by stopped in for impromptu games of giant Jenga and Connect Four on Wednesday.
- Local musician Hey Judy Liu played covers and original songs, providing Thursday's promised live music.
Plus: The music returned to Lugar Thursday night for an Indiana Fever pregame party called Game Day Beats presented by HOT 100.9.
If you go: Don't expect a gathering that screams downtown block party.
- From a glance, the crowds that trickle in and out between the CCB and IndyGo's Julia M. Carson Transit Center across the street may look like just another day in the plaza.
Schaffer and others know this is the first step in what could be a long journey for Lugar Plaza, and there are already plans to keep the momentum going when summer ends.
- "Take that first step, and then build with each month," she said. "See what's working. See what people are responding to ... I think allows us to be really creative."
