Naptown Architours

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Comment by Aaron M. Renn on August 10, 2009 at 8:22pm

Hi, Jeffrey. The project is moving along offline. I actually ended up partnering with a local architecture firm and some other organizations and I hope that we have something in the next 2-3 months or so. Which reminds me that I still have to incorporate some edits into the scripts we created. I'd better get on that! But it is still very much alive.

Comment by Jeffrey L. Madden on August 10, 2009 at 7:58pm

Hi all. Just wondering what the status of this project is. I am an Indy native (my great-grandfather helped carve the statues on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument) and would be interested in helping out if needed.

For the record, I have always hated the nickname "Naptown", assuming it came from the sentiment that Indy is boring. But that is a personal issue and if we picky natives can get past it, it might be a good "branding" to embrace and present to those outside of central Indiana.

Comment by Daniel Lavache on March 17, 2009 at 12:00pm

when does this group meet

Comment by Aaron M. Renn on October 24, 2008 at 7:22pm

Tim, thanks for the research and the links. That downtown LA tour is great. Great find. This is very close to what I'm hoping to accomplish here, only I want us to be cooler :)

Comment by Aaron M. Renn on October 5, 2008 at 9:40pm

Amy, thanks so much for posting that. I'll try to watch it soon. It's looks like a Monon Railroad video, probably worth watching on that basis alone. You are officially the first real contributor to the project. Way to go!

Comment by Amy Stark on October 4, 2008 at 7:54pm

Here is the video I promised to upload. You can skip the first couple of minutes... Begin at 2:30 roughly. This is a PUBLIC Domain Video, which means you can use any part of it in a Mashup without fear of credit infringement.

www.archive.org is so wonderful.

Comment by Amy Stark on October 4, 2008 at 7:48pm

Comment by Donna Sink on October 2, 2008 at 9:42pm

Amy, no I hadn't - but neither have some of my friends who are natives here.

I hate to take this so far off the topic of the architours, but it is an interesting topic: "branding" the city. In a way, "Indy" seems lazy. It's too obvious, and not particularly unique, since "indy rock" and "indy publishing" and DIY and whatnot have become common terminology.

Comment by Amy Stark on October 2, 2008 at 5:15pm

Is there a Naptown theme song?

I like Indy for a couple of reasons 1) the Sandi Patty (sp?) theme song is already out there. Wouldn't it be great to raise an Indy theme song to -- "New York, New York" -- status. Theme songs must work well in karaoke bars to really take off.... and 2) I think it's important to leverage the 500 race as much as you can in branding the tour name. Like it or not, It is the largest attended single day sporting event in the WORLD! And even though it is held in Speedway, it isn't called the Speedway 500.

Perhaps Naptown could be used throughout marketing materials, but Indy will have a better global recognition factor and make branding easier. If we are taking a vote put me down for Indy.
@Aaron this is your baby and you can name it whatever you want, really. If you are looking for advice, however, Pat Coyle knows what he's talking about.
@ Donna- had you ever heard of the name Naptown before you moved here? Just curious.

Comment by Donna Sink on October 2, 2008 at 3:14pm

I'm totally in agreement with Aaron on the use of Naptown.

For those of you who saw Aaron's first Pecha Kucha presentation, the room exploded in laughter - of the supportive kind - when they saw the image that said "Embrace Naptown".

I could carry on far too long about this, but having lived in lots of other cities before moving here, I agree that it's a cool-sounding name that allows multiple interpretations. If it's truly based in a jazz history, cool. If it relates to the African American history here, all the better - it would be great to emphasize the (growing) cultural diversity of the city and have the African American population feel/be included in what makes Naptown unique. If it relates to having a nap, well, since moving here the thing that has struck me about Indianapolis is 1. how nice everyone is and 2. how easy it is to live here. We're laid back, and should emphasize the good aspects of that quality while working on the downsides of it.

Since Aaron's presentation I've been calling us Naptown in pretty much every situation possible. I love the name.

As far as content on the architours: when I lead people through the Decorator's Show House and other such events, they always love to get informaiton that feels "gossipy" or like insider rumors. I think it can't hurt to throw a little spice into the content, personal stories, scandals, etc. - people love that, and it helps them remember.

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