Open Thread: What’s Evansville Missing?

cody

July 31, 2007 @ 10:50AM

I think we need to develop main street with more bars and local pubs.

We need a macaroni grill.

Bigger stadium

Better trolly service downtown on weekend nights!!

zrx1200r

July 31, 2007 @ 11:27AM

bicycle paths, even in the city.

the greenway project to be finished, so people can bike, walk, rollerblade around the city. no, wait, you can rollerblade everywhere except near aztar.

remember wes lake? kramer’s? granted, in city limits wouldn’t work, but nearby could be feasible. something closer than scales lake in boonville.

Teresa

July 31, 2007 @ 12:12PM

A really user-friendly riverfront area would be great…along with a real shopping area downtown…not just a ghetto-mart. If you look at the Newport-Cincinnati area and see what they’ve done with their riverfront area…shopping, restaurants, bars, family-oriented entertainment…that would be amazing here.

Brian Buxton

July 31, 2007 @ 01:28PM

I think a PF Changs would do very well here and have actually thought about opening one somewhere on the East side… I agree that a comedy club would be great to have, but we did have one and obviously nobody supported it. Of course the Funny Bone was attached to a terrible restaurant and the club itself was dirty. Maybe something more upscale with more nationally recognized acts?

Not sure that more bars is the answer either … possibly more bars that are upscale. There are so many places here in town that are total shi*holes that cater to the college crowd or places such as the 50+ coffee houses around that cater to teenagers (very few of which last 1 year). Neither of these groups have any money to support these places long term. Nobody in their 30’s/40’s/50’s who has money to spend on dinner and drinks wants to go to Fast Eddies and drink out of plastic cups. We need more upscale places like Cavanaughs, the Cork, Raffis and Blush that have great food, a nice atmosphere and entertainment.

I also firmly believe that if some local restaurants such as the Loft, Edgewater and Casiono Aztar would invest in a dock in front of their locations that would open them up to a huge amount of business from boat owners. I know I for one would love to be able to go out on a date in the boat, dock at a nice restuarant and have dinner. ANY restaurant on or near the river would benefit fro this.

Brian

Cody

July 31, 2007 @ 04:36PM

clevelands bars were all non smoking it was nice. you could also walk to every bar on west 6th street just like you can do in every bigger city!

what if i get hungry leaving the bar downtown where can i grab a bite to eat at 1 or 2 in the morning? Nowhere

MIKE MILLER

July 31, 2007 @ 05:16PM

Downtown is like a ghost town on the weekends and weekdays after 4PM, so that’s why people don’t come down here. On the good side, the new lofts that Bill Gaisser designed are very nice.

Travis

July 31, 2007 @ 05:35PM

Bicycle only lanes on major thoroughfares, so that people who ride bikes don’t have to worry about sharing the lane with vehicles.

New multi-purpose stadium. Roberts was built just for basketball, and that’s why there are so many problems…and why it is nothing more than an arena for UE.

More places that have free delivery. The only places around here that seem to deliver for free are pizza places.

Abandonment of the idea that this city is a ‘small southern town.’ That’s why nothing ever gets built or nothing changes, because we have a group of old people who think this is Mayberry.

The future Mrs. Folz

July 31, 2007 @ 06:21PM

We do have some cool stuff but everything closes so early. It is like a ghost town after 10 p.m. I loved the Funny Bone, it made a cool date but it needed much more effective management and better acts. Also, as a walkway resident, I would beseech someone to have the foresight to open a grocery/convenience store on Main or Second. The land prices are only going to get higher and all these new condo owners are going to need a place to buy food and such.

christine

July 31, 2007 @ 06:31PM

I doubt Urban Outfitters would consider Evansville part of their market, but it would be nice.

I also agree with the arcade idea. I was shocked upon entering an arcade in Virginia Beach in which the games still took quarters! Imagine playing skee-ball for 25 cents as opposed to $1.40 off of a plastic card you had to pay for.

I would also like more restaurants that are set up like Panera Bread. Better-for-you food than fast-food, but still quick and convenient without dealing with a server. Jason’s Deli would be a nice addition.

joe maynard

July 31, 2007 @ 06:45PM

I think that Evansville could use a concrete canal cut thru it just like in Indy. This could help with storm water run off during heavy rains. When not working to relieve water problems, use gondola’s for turist and romantic evenings. Have the Master gardners teach school student how to garden by planting scenic flower beds {Humming bird & butterfly gardens are my personal favorites along the way. Add a fountain or two that is illuminated at night. If we need to dig a ditch let’s have one to be proud of.

Lawrence Gibson

July 31, 2007 @ 07:04PM

User friendly roads. Need more overpasses on the Lloyd. People could save a lot more fuel if we didn’t start and stop all of the time. Until that happens maybe slowing down on the Lloyd would help some of the starting and stopping. I’ve tried it before and it works depending on the time of day. usually 50 mph works, but I have gone as slow as 40 mph and never stopped and also stayed with vehicles driving 60 mph and stopping at all of the lights. It takes a lot of patience.

Dawn Phillips

July 31, 2007 @ 07:33PM

I am in agreement with Brian Buxton, he is on target. I have said all along that Evansville seems to cater to the very old or the river camp crowd, no offense to either, but there are other people here too.

How sad is it we feel (we are early 40’s) we have to drive to Louisville or Nashville to enjoy a decent night out!

We need more (clean) places to dine outside when the weather is good. Evansville has 9 months of decent weather - let’s get outside and have a good time!

Let’s put together some concerts at the riverfront - plenty of seating.. A comedy club would be awesome too. We enjoyed FB when it was here, but again, it was dirty, smoky and not user-friendly.

I hope Mr. Buxton runs for city council someday. I applaud him for his insight and vision.

Good Luck Evansville.

daisy

July 31, 2007 @ 08:01PM

Evansville is missing a Panera and an Olive Garden on the West side…

It’s missing a dog park…

And a great Thai restaurant…

Punkin

July 31, 2007 @ 08:35PM

Having recently moved back to Evansville, I was pleasantly surprised that Evansville finally seems to be moving in the right direction, although there is much opportunity available.

Evansville needs to invest more into neighborhood parks, curb-side recycling (county-wide would be wonderful), beautifying major thoroughfares (i.e. Highway 41, Lloyd Expressway, First Avenue, Green River Road.), and enhancing a sense of community that seems to be lacking.

I hope that Evansville will build upon the momentum that appears to be building!

sloppyjoe

July 31, 2007 @ 08:46PM

Bike paths….and NO MORE LITTERING!

Lose the casino.

More places like the Jungle and Deerhead.

ice

July 31, 2007 @ 08:59PM

jo’s crab shak..and PF changs are great…World markets and we need a whole foods market…Plus we obviously can support a minor league team (look at the Otters and they are independenT)

ColtsFan

July 31, 2007 @ 09:29PM

A bigger jail to hold all the meth addicts, drunk drivers, & neglectful parents.

jenn

July 31, 2007 @ 10:21PM

I would like to see the restraunt The Cheesecake Factory open, it upscale and I believe Evansville and surrounding areas have plenty of people that would love it.

Eaustine

July 31, 2007 @ 10:41PM

Evansville needs A professional sports team Football, Hockey, or Basketball!!! I think there is enough people around this general area that would support any team, or any sport. People get tired of driving 3 to 4 hours to go watch a professional sport. Some loose interest in sports because of this. The closes place to watch any kind of professional is ST.louis, Nashville, or Indianapolis, and Cinncinati. All are 2 to 6 hours away from here.

douglasscott

July 31, 2007 @ 11:33PM

Evansville needs everything! Or so we tend to think. We need a new stadium, really??? Renovating Roberts would be the best option. In stages would be better. Bathrooms first! Downtown needs one 30+ story building that people driving around I-164, or across the bridges can see. They used to strive to make buildings taller than the older ones, now we are in a trend of making them smaller. At the same time the population in the city limits keeps getting smaller. Anyone notice this relationship? Big cities equal big buildings. Everyone wants more things to do, but yet they don’t want a bigger population. Yes the metro is growing, but the city isn’t. So my solution to what Evansville is missing is PEOPLE!

zrx1200r

August 01, 2007 @ 12:14AM

someone else mentioned it; i’ll second it.

a beach.

(in fact, the other day, someone stopped me by reitz and asked where the beach is: “I was told there’s a beach around here.” i think, in retrospect, he was looking for the sandbar, hoping it’s an everyday ski day nude drunken fest.)

*

something else we need: fewer stoplights…and smoother streets (ever ride a motorcycle around town?)

S.Holder

August 01, 2007 @ 07:18AM

I would like to see a comedy club as well, that is 21 and over.
And a Ruby Tuesday’s.

Justin Williams

August 01, 2007 @ 07:56AM

Wow, it sure looks like everyone has an opinion for what Evansville needs. Awesome!

Now we just need to send these suggestions to our local representatives.

Brian Buxton

August 01, 2007 @ 11:40AM

First off, thanks to Dawn Phillips for the compliment … it made me laugh - not that it’s a bad idea, but I tend to lean a little to the conservative side and usually pretty much speak my mind, neither of which bode well in local politics. Not a bad idea though - are you going to run my campaign?

And braindeadly had a good comment about gas stations downtown - I think the main reason that there are not more businesses, gas stations or a grocery store downtown is because of the area. Although there are some nice restaurants, etc. downtown, within 4 blocks of Main street in any direction are very high crime rate areas, and neighborhoods nobody would feel comfortable in at any time of the day. Have you noticed that many businesses on Main have bars in the windows? Would you want to own a business downtown where your onlly clientele after 6pm was drunks, the homeless, wanna-be gang members or thieves? The homes in downtown EVV at one time were the most expensive in the city. There are still some good neighborhoods there, but a block or so away is night and day differences.

Lawrence Gibson had a fantastic comment on less stoplights and more overpasses … but unfortunately the cost of that would be prohibitive. It would be easier to build a new city … but the idea is fantastic. The Lloyd SHOULD have been one continuous overpass/raised highway with access roads on both sides and zero stoplights - like 465 in Indy. That way traffic could flow smoothly and drivers could enter and exit as needed without stopping. There is a hint of this between Roberts Stadium and The Pub, but that is the extent of it … those in charge of the Lloyd were seriously short sighted. Makes me shudder to think that the people who designed this actually had degrees in engineering.

I agree on the comments on chain restaurants … it always makes me laugh when a new Texas Roadhouse or other such chains open up and people actually STAND IN LINE to get in! You can eat at an Olive Garden, TR, Lognas, etc. in pretty much any city.

And the idea about more sports teams, etc. coming to town is also fantastic, but will EVV support it? In order to attract those teams we have to have a sports park and new stadium. Remember just a few short years ago when Mayor Lloyd was trying to develop the river front, build a new stadium and an entertainment plaza that would include restaurants, bars, and condos? The old Kenny Kent building was even torn down in order to facilitate this. People in Evansville loved the idea until they realized that they would actually have to pay for it with tax dollars. And the media misrepresented where that money was going to come from … at which time the entire deal was cancelled and Russ was made out to be the scape goat. In order to grow EVV needs to get rid of the small farm town way of thinking and take some chances.

Daisy posted about the dog park, which I completely agree with, but not so much her suggestions re: a Panera and an Olive Garden on the West side… I feel that what Evansville lacks is cohesiveness. West siders don’t want to come to the East side and vice-versa. But do we really need an Oilve Garden on the west side, or a hacienda on the north and west side? It’s only 11 MILES from USI to Green River road. A 10 or 15 minute drive at best. Ever driven from one side of town to the other in Louisville, Indy, Cinci or St. Louis. It can take an hour or more. But if what you want to do or the restaurant in your city is that far away you go and it’s no big deal. People in Evansville travellling from east to west act as if they are taking a weeks vacation. In my opinion making Evansville into 4 small cities within itself (north, east, west and Newburgh) is not the answer.

More bike paths, less litter, a really good fruit market - butcher shop - and fish market would be fantastic, more parks a new stadium and a real riverfront are all great ideas as well.

So, who is voting for me in the next city council election?

=)

Brian

Citizen

August 01, 2007 @ 02:58PM

I have just recently turned 21 and feel that Evansville is slowly but surely coming around. The riverfront is gradually being built up. These things dont’ just happen over night and there are many people in this area that aren’t used to a more contemporary lifestyle. I really feel that Evansville needs a place for teenager to go. A place where they can have a good time and stay safe and out of trouble. Growing up in Evansville, I can remember being super bored and ended up taking part in drinking and other “troubled” activities. Lets give some kids something to DO!!

Emily

August 01, 2007 @ 06:41PM

Jenna,

I totaly agree about the need of “clean” and classy bars! Also, kudos for a pita pit!!

inkalot

August 02, 2007 @ 10:25AM

River restaurants! As Teresa said, go to Covington, Newport, and Bellevue, KY - across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. The several restaurants are on barges & they are awesome. Some restaurants are upscale; some are not. All are busy summer, winter, spring and fall. The entire region is missing a tremendous opportunity!

Riverfront activities - look into the Tall Stacks event that Cincinnati has had every three or so years. Awesome!!!

Then there’s the stop light pattern - please change it! The stop lights are wasting precious fuel & $$$ when we have to stop at each and every light. It also adds to frustration of visitors!

The River is a tremendous asset, and there are many ways to use it without abusing it - all year long.

Dustin

August 03, 2007 @ 11:50AM

I think the best place to do a comedy showcase would be someplace like Civic Theatre, 1123, or Alhambra if it ever gets renovated. The Wired Coffee shop might be good, but that’s a christian establishment I believe (Which means you would have to cut your bits about hunting bloody cooter in Booneville, Dan :)).

D!

MrScheu

August 12, 2007 @ 02:36PM

I stumbled across this site and thread and thought it needed a bump to keep it going because first and foremost what Evansville needs is more discussion like this! This type of exchange of thoughts and ideas centered on improving our community is absolutely needed for growth and development. Thanks to Justin for getting this started; and here’s hope that someone out there is listening!

As to other things that Evansville needs:

1) Unity. Take a look on the Opinions and Letters to the Editor and you will find people pointing fingers and placing blame. I know this is everywhere, but it’s counterproductive. For once, let’s stop with the accusations and arguments over which political party is right, which is wrong, what is “the one true Church”, and whether we are “anti-job pro-environmentalists” or “big-business eco-haters”. Let’s stop the finger pointing and work together to find solutions to our communities problems.

1. Representation. It’s getting better, but it’s still pretty darn evident that our State Government turns a blind eye to anything South of I- 70 . If we want to achieve anything productive we need the State to pay attention. Of course, this all needs to start with a City Council who will quit fighting between themselves for personal power and actually work for the concerns of the city.

2. Hi-Tech. Let’s face it, Evansville was built as a blue collar city. Manufacturing did quite a lot for the city in the early days. But talk to anyone who works at Whirlpool now and they will most likely tell you that those days have come and gone. The blue collar jobs are going away for many reasons and it’s time we started gearing ourselves toward this new-fangled High-Technology and InterWeb based commerce stuff.

Again, the main thing that Evansville needs is involvement from its citizens. Thanks again Justin.

elpee

August 25, 2007 @ 07:27PM

Something Evansville is seriously missing is beauty. I think all of Evansville could use some cosmetic changes to give it a better appeal to incoming businesses and people looking to relocate here and the people who live here. Underground power lines would do a lot as well as stricter regulations for new buildings and the signs they put up. When I look down Green River road, sometimes I want to vomit because of all the huge ugly signs. I know we aren’t a little mountain ski town in Colorado or a nice northern suburb of Chicago, but there is no reason our city planners can’t put stricter rules on businesses. Have you ever seen a McDonalds in Lake Forest or Breckenridge? They are actually nice looking and unobtrusive.

Also, local business needs to be encouraged more. All of those big chain restaurants previously mentioned really aren’t that great and their buildings are huge and ugly. Isn’t there enough of that in Evansville? It seems every time I come back home, one of those chains has gone out of business and the building is simply left there until a new crappy resaurant comes and replaces it.

Everyone has great ideas! Glad I stumbled across this page while looking for directions to Madeline’s.

Living here for the next two years and hope to see some changes…

Kakey

September 02, 2007 @ 02:36PM

Hey,
I just stumbled accross these ideas when looking for something else, and ended up reading most of the comments that people left. I agree that involvement and interest like this is one of the best ways to get started improving things for the better. From a college student’s perspective, I also agree that Evansville would be a great place for a clean, well-run comedy club. I also think that places with healthier food would be great…I was recently in Bloomington and I loved the wide variety of healthy options available…even things as simple as grocery stores having a make it yourself salad bar, with a few benches or tables so people can eat there or do carry out.

Rich

September 30, 2007 @ 12:23AM

I agree with a lot of the comments here. Evansville really does seem to be geared towards the middle aged and elderly, most of whom don’t want change. unfortunately, that excludes a major portion of the population…the portion that loves to spend money like crazy.

To cater a little bit more to this untapped resource, i definitely believe in rejuvenating downtown evansville with a revamped public transit system (our transportation is so dismal compared to any decent city), more bike paths, actual stuff to do on the riverfront such as shopping, restuarants that don’t close at 6:00 PM, upscale bars, a comedy club, and outdoor events like concerts.

another truly sad thing that is missing from evansville is a decent park. ever been to lincoln or millenium park in chicago? that’s what evansville really needs. a large park used as a venue for all kinds of events.

i’m glad someone mentioned a good deli. we only have a few small delis here in evansville. I would love to be able to walk down old maint street and the riverfront and encounter a plethora of delis, butcher shops, wineries, etc. Some kind of culture for god’s sake.

speaking of culture, what do we have here? a few german bars and meth addicts. that’s about as far as the culture gets here in evansville. we need to expand evansville’s horizons a bit. places like nagasaki don’t exactly cut it.

I was really surprised to see someone comment about the size of the buildings, because you made a really interesting observation. go to any decently sized city, especially one with a riverfront, and you will be able to see huge buildings in the skyline and vibrant lights. the way out city looks merely adds to its desolate ghost-town-esque feel that everyone encounters after 10:00 PM.

we can’t depend on the casino to keep evansville alive at night. we really need some kind of night life attractions.

i’m not sure how i feel about a professional sports team. there is an opening for one here, but i really don’t know how it would work. for baseball, there is already huge fan loyalty for the cubs and cardinals. for football, obviously the colts (and bears :) ). hockey….i don’t think that would go too well. basketball has gone way down in popularity in recent years.

SUPERBANANABOMB

October 08, 2007 @ 05:42PM

In response to Brian Buxton’s comments concerning downtown:

Downtown Evansville has a high crime rate? Says who?! I’ve lived downtown for years and I wouldn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable walking around by myself anywhere downtown at any time. In fact, I think that the majority of the “crime” that happens downtown is a direct result of the bars. Other than that there really isn’t anything to worry about. Oh and you said something about bars being on the windows of businesses. Where are these bars at? Only a couple of the businesses on the Main Street walkway have bars on them. Actually the only one I can think of right now is the Peephole.

Sticking with downtown…

How many people who comment here actually live downtown, or have at least lived downtown for at least a year at some point?

I have lived downtown for the last four years. I know every street, sidewalk and alley like the back of my hand. I’ve met nearly every business owner around, I know who runs what and I know what’s going on pretty much all the time. That said - the last thing downtown Evansville needs is hundreds of condos!

If you’ve been on Main Street at all in the past couple of months you’ve seen the construction. Instead of cultivating some actual CULTURE here downtown, all they’re doing is putting in a bunch of overpriced condos for young professional-types and business people. The average downtown Evansville resident couldn’t even AFFORD one of these condos.

In my opinion, downtown should be known for two things:

1. A variety of interesting bars in a small, walkable distance. (The ones that are currently downtown are too spread out, with the exception of Hammerheads, TLC and the Jungle. Fast Eddy’s and Timeout Lounge are a bit too far to chance walking if you’ve been drinking… cops are always trying to slap people with a public intox.

2. A variety of non-corporate stores that cater to young, hip people that aren’t into pop culture. (i.e. independently owned shops, thrift stores, head shops, etc etc…)

One thing that sucks about living downtown is the fact that most of the business down here have the shittiest hours. It’s almost like they are never open.

Another thing I don’t understand is how people say we need to improve our public transportation system - WHEN THEY DON’T EVEN USE IT! I haven’t owned a car in over 5 years. I’ve ridden the bus more times than I can count. After 5 p.m. the bus runs once an hour instead of every 30 minutes… and it stops running around 11:30-midnight, depending on what route you take. I’d much rather pay $1 to get on the bus at 3 a.m. to get to wherever I need to go than pay who knows HOW much for a cab.

We don’t need a pro/semi pro sports team. There isn’t enough of a demand.

Another thing that is blatantly obvious that needs changed is campus areas. I moved here from West Lafayette (Purdue) and even though it’s not AWESOME there, it’s 100 times cooler than anything around the campuses here in Evansville. Both USI and UofE areas need a lot more culture. (Sorry, The Slice doesn’t cut it.) Campus areas need coffee shops, record stores, thrift shops… you know, stuff that young people actually like. 24-hour diners where people can eat away their hangovers. Bars that are specifically marketed for a college crowd. I never appreciated the whole campus area of Purdue until I left… it was it’s own liberal world and damn I miss it sometimes.

Businesses in general need to stay open later. I know Evansville isn’t a huge city but the reason why there isn’t much night life here is because we’re trained that there’s nothing to do after 10 p.m. I’m a very nocturnal person and I find myself going to bars frequently simply because there isn’t anything else to do.

There’s a lot of good stuff here in Evansville but the thing that sucks is that a small percent of the middle-upper and upper class pretty much dictate what goes on. Young, modern voices need to be heard at the city council. Most of the people that live downtown are young, progressive, don’t make a whole lot of money and are usually artistic or at least have passion for SOMETHING…

I’m also really tired of seeing slum lords like Fetter Properties buy up nice “historic” buildings downtown and turn them into apartments, and then not take care of them… most are dilapidated and cruddy-looking.

Sorry to rant, but I get really heated when I think of anything that has to do with downtown. I live downtown. I work downtown. I party downtown. Most of my friends are downtown. It really is a different city around here… it could be a whole lot cooler though.

Christina

October 12, 2007 @ 03:14PM

First of all, let me say this you all have some terrific ideas to make this town awesome! We moved here a year and a month ago and have seen several things that this town needs. The one thing that it doesn’t need improvement on is the hospitality! Evansville is one of the nicest and friendliest places that I have ever been. I am very happy that we moved here! On that note, here are some things that I have seen that could be added or use improvement:

1. More funding for the Animal Control Shelter and animal rescue facilities such as the Humane Society and other independent groups. There are far too many stray animals. I have never seen so many animal abuse stories on the news before. Below is a link to my blog with a letter that I mailed today to the city officials regarding my experience with Animal Control. I would like to do more, but I’m not sure what to do.
   http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=136284865&blogID=318429330

2. Recycling pick up every week, not every other week. There should also be a way to recycle Styrofoam. Also, at large events there should be recycling bins for all of the plastic and aluminum that gets tossed in the trash. I was happy to see a few bins at the Fall Festival, but that is the first time that I have seen them and they were few and far between. But I am happy to say that they were full!

3. Speaking of the Fall Festival, why are there no arts and crafts booths? When I think of a festival, I think of arts, crafts, food entertainment. The Festival is more of a fair.

4. There is a spot on Oak Hill and a spot on Stockwell where there is an awful stench. Can this be fixed?

5. This was already mentioned, but a Wild Oats or a Whole Foods store would be terrific!

6. This goes along with reviving Main Street and the downtown area; I think that the city and county should put a cap on new building so that people are encouraged (politely forced) to utilize existing buildings and homes. Perhaps give some sort of incentive to businesses and people that choose to refurbish an older place rather than build a new place. Evansville has some gorgeous buildings and old homes that with some updating would make excellent office and living spaces. Not allowing the urban sprawl to happen at such a rapid rate would slow the rate that downtown and other neighborhoods are dying.

7. The north side needs a park. Neighborhoods are being built like crazy, but I haven’t seen any plans to save some of the open space for recreation.

8. I agree with needing bike paths and sidewalks.

9. I think that Evansville should go completely non-smoking, including in cars. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been behind someone smoking and their smoke gets sucked right into my car. Not to mention that most smokers just throw their butts on the ground if they are in their car and increase the amount of litter on our streets.

10. I don’t however think that we need more head shops. Anything that encourages or makes it more convenient for people in Evansville to use drugs is a bad idea.

11. I love the idea of having an entertainment district. That would include locally owned restaurants and bars, as well as chains interspersed with shopping (someone mention Urban Outfitters - that would rock!) so that you can eat drink and shop all in one nice safe location with adequate parking. Main Street would be great for that! It is a really cute litte section of town that I would love to see come to life again.

12. There needs to be a way to dispose of hazardous waste material other than one day a year. We had some unidentified liquid and an old car battery left from the previous home owners and we had to wait a year to get rid of it! What if we had not been able to make it for some reason on that one sacred day of the year? It is not safe to have that kind of stuff lying around your house.

13. Chinese delivery! As I understand it, China Garden is the only place that delivers. They supposedly deliver within 5 miles, but we live 3.9 miles away ant they refused to deliver to us even though they deliver to my neighbors 5 houses down from me.

14. More good Chinese and Mexican restaurants. The only good Chinese food that we have found is Ma. T. 888 China Bistro. We’re still looking for good Mexican.

15. Someone also mentioned more restaurants like Panera. I second that! They also mentioned Jason’s Deli, yummmm they have awesome tomato basil bisque. A Tropical Smoothie Cafe would be awesome too!

16. Carraba’s, Buca di Beppo’s and Macaroni Grill would make nice additions to the Italian scene.

17. All of the post offices need to have the 24/7 package mailing machines.

18. Of course to do all of these wonderful things, you need money. To get money, you have to encourage new businesses. New businesses don’t want to bring their high tech, white collar people here because there is nothing for them to do. So it is vicious cycle. Someone has to start the process. What we need is for all of the like-minded people, such as all of us on this page that wants Evansville to be the best city in the country to have a place to gather, come up with ideas, and get the ideas in front of the right people to put them into action. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Jo

October 15, 2007 @ 11:02AM

I moved away from Evansville a couple times…and somehow keep coming back. I lived in Portland and here are a few things I miss that I think Evansville could do better or incorporate:

• promote outdoor activities such with better bike/hiking paths. What we do have runs through some scary parts of town. The paths have terrible lighting and the emergency phones may or maynot work.

• urban growth boundries - promote restoration of declining neighborhoods and limit the expansion of housing developments outside city limits. Portland incorporated this into their city and have revitalized and improved the overall asthetics.

• BETTER RECYCLING PROGRAMS!!! Evansville’s recycling is horribly limited! (I think our state should implement a glass deposit on bottles! Have you ever seen the trash contianers at the bars full of glass that ends up in our landfill!?!?!?)

• To be single and live in evansville stinks! There is little to do unless you want to go to a bar. I think we should continue to revitalize our downtown area! Add art gallaries, restaurants, speciality shops, and for the love A WHOLE FOODS somewhere in this city!!!! I drive to Whole Foods in Louisville frequently to avoid the high cost and poor selection of organic and healthy foods here!

Robyn

October 18, 2007 @ 08:54AM

I would like to offer this suggestion. A movie/dinner theater. I know these places exist in larger cities and I think Evansville’s night life could greatly benefit from one.

The concept is this:

You buy a ticket for dinner/movie at an assigned time. Then you are seated and served dinner before the movie begins. The theater wouldn’t go completely dark, but would be dimly lit for better viewing of the movie. The table would have attendant call buttons, similar to those on airplanes, in case you need anything. The complex could also include a lounge area for people to hang out and talk afterwards. The indoor area would be non-smoking, but there could also be an outdoor, semi-enclosed area for smokers that could be heated or cooled for thier comfort.

The movie genres could vary from old to new and it could be located downtown.

It’s just an idea, but I would love to be able to go see classic movies on the big screen and be able to have dinner at the same time.

Steve Cochran

October 18, 2007 @ 09:48AM

Evansville needs modern dance! Not a company, just an informal group where interested people can take a class. I’m surprised that a town this size doesn’t have any modern dance.

SUPERBANANABOMB

October 24, 2007 @ 12:25PM

In regards to “christina’s” last comments:

I agree with having arts and crafts booths at the fall festival. To me, a festival is more than stuffing your face with junk food and riding carnie rides. In my opinion the fall fest needs expanded greatly. If we’re gonna be the #2 biggest street fest we might as well kick it up a notch. Expand it a couple more blocks and add stuff to do.

There’s many places in town that have an awful stench. That’s because our sewer systems are deplorable (sewers before stadium!) and it’s not uncommon to catch a whiff of straight sewage. Heck, I live near the water treatment plant.

A whole foods store would be great (as many have mentioned) but we need to get one that can offer REASONABLE prices. The only stores in this area that cater to that crowd are (imo) very overpriced.

Evansville should go completely non-smoking, even in cars? That’s a Nazi state, my dear. If your olefactories are so sharp that you can smell cigarette smoke just from driving behind someone on the street, you are obviously a mutant and should be subjected to laboratory analysis. I whole-heartedly stand by the decision to ban smoking in restaurants because even though I am a smoker, I hate being around smoke while dining. However I think banning smoking in bars is ludicrous. You have to be 21 to enter and it’s a place that serves poison (literally) legally. Plus drinking and smoking go hand-in-hand. Banning smoking is just another way they are stripping citizens of their God-given rights. The day a law passes that says I can’t walk down the street and smoke a cigarette is the day I start a fucking riot in this city.

Also, head shops sell a variety of items, not just “paraphernalia.” And 99% of the paraphernalia sold in head shops are items used to enjoy smoking marijuana, which is NOT a drug. It’s a flowering annual plant and the only real side-effects are laughter, appetite and a generally positive attitude. Gee, we wouldn’t want people enjoying life now would we? A lot of people are brainwashed by government propaganda to the point of believing everything they’re told regarding drugs. Marijuana is naturally-occuring, non-addictive, has virtually no ill side-effects and is highly therapeutic on many levels. Yeah, let’s make that illegal so we can shove prescription drugs down peoples’ throats.

(sorry, Im very passionate about the subject of legalization)

You can call to have hazardous waste disposed of. It’s in the phonebook.

The last thing Evansville needs is more Mexican/Chinese restaurants. We have too many as it is. We have too many restaurants period. I agree that a lot of the ones we have are of lower quality but we already have a few that are very nice and I really don’t see the need for more.

carrie

October 28, 2007 @ 10:39AM

Jenna, my thought was the same. After two years of grad school at IU and then moving back to E’ville…what a disappointment with restaurants and bars. That being said, the population in B’ton is so much more diverse it’s easier for them to have more buy-in to different types of restaurants. So my answer to the whole thing: Make downtown Evansville a Bloomington-like scene…and don’t forget to give us a Nick’s English Hut. You’ve gotta sink the biz every once in awhile for the the sake of sanity.

punkin

October 28, 2007 @ 12:35PM

“If there was a” should not have been in the second sentence. Sorry for the typo!

Sharon B.

October 28, 2007 @ 02:29PM

Does anyone of the 50+ crowd remember the Upstage Dinner Theatre? It was owned by Michael and Sharon Flarehty. Ron Babcock was the manager and I worked at the box office and also helped as a dresser for the actor’s scene changes. There was a piano bar on the 1st floor along with the box office and Lulu Kamatoy’s cute little gift shop, the Bodega. We would all go to the piano bar after the show and sing show tunes. Downstairs held a nightclub with great bands and the top floor held the dinner theatre, in the round. It was awesome. It catered to all age groups! Actors came in from all over the country to perform. It was professional and classy. I vote for a year round dinner theatre.

punkin

October 28, 2007 @ 08:25PM

Carrie - I got that. And I didn’t mean to single your post out. :o) My point was just that posters keep saying that we need this-n-that to come to Evansville. My opinion is that we need to find ways to make Evansville better from within… and not simply import establishments. That does nothing to make Evansville unique or to help us stand out from any other city.

We used to live in Wisconsin and there were so many local restaurants, bars, stores. It was so refreshing. And locals really supported them. Sure, some would go under, but the good ones were well rewarded.

Max

November 05, 2007 @ 06:29PM

Joe’s Crabshack !!!!!!!

Mika

November 07, 2007 @ 04:57PM

I forgot to continue that thought…We need something like that “culture map” thing because it’s hard to find things in Evansville if you aren’t from around here. For example…my friends were trying to find out if there were any under 21 clubs…we searched online FOREVER, and they finally just gave up because there’s nothing with adequate information and REAL information, not just ads.

scot

November 08, 2007 @ 05:51PM

I meant (from what I know) and needs not nedds

Missy

November 14, 2007 @ 05:08PM

I grew up in Evansville and my entire family lives there still. I am currently living in Seattle. I had been living in Bloomington, IN for 5 years before that). I think the biggest problem with Evansville is in its population. In any city you find the same people, but they the population is large enough to coexist. In a smaller city it becomes difficult.
-First you have the rich conservatives. These are the people that are monopolizing everything. This includes the ones who own the properties downtown and make it next to impossible to own any of it. They don’t let their money out into the Evansville economy enough to allow a more even distribution.
-Then you have the less educated lower class. These are the people who cause trouble and leave everyone else to fix the world for them, and then complain because they don’t understand why other people aren’t jumping in to fix it for them. They’re the ones who do nothing with their lives except cause trouble, eat up the government funds, and make the town look trashy. They can’t get ahead in life, because nobody offers them a college education and they can’t be offered competitive wages.
-And now, moving up are the artistic youth. The smart kids who will be in charge of the city in 20 years. They have dreams and plans and brains, but if the rich get richer and hold it above these kids’ heads, we’ll never see the changes that are needed.
Example- my mom is a web programmer for the courier and press. She’s been working there since the very beginning of “dot-com”ness in Evansville. It was her baby. Well, being a web programmer in Evansville after all these years (I think 15 years now at the same company) she still makes less than 1/3 of what she would make doing the same job in any city. Even though it is Scripps corporation, if she was doing the same job for Scripps Howard out here in Seattle, she’d be making so much more.
But I assume this thread is intended to be idealistic, so in my opinion, I’d like to see the following:
-less spreading out and developing the outskirts while downtown crumbles. I’d like to see a major shift in the whole downtown area. When you go to a big city to visit, you go to the downtown area, that’s where city’s bring in their tourist revenue.
Aztar is already there and the museum, but wouldn’t it be nice to see a new downtown library, and art stores and movie theaters and live theaters and galleries and unique clothing stores and corny gift shops. I think having a dock and pier would be lovely. Maybe tour boats on the river that go down and back and talk about the history of the river.
-on topic of the river…. clean it up!! That water is horrible!! If it didn’t give people staff infections it’d be a lot more enjoyable!
-People have been arguing back and forth over smoking and not smoking in the bars. Since I moved to Bloomington, it was a dramatic change to deal with the nonsmoking laws. I myself am a smoker, so at first it was a pain to deal with. But everyone adapts. Now I’d feel weird smoking inside any place. It cuts back on smokes, saves you money, and makes people that don’t smoke a lot happier. It really isn’t a big deal and is the norm in most other cities. Deal with it like I have to, sorry!
-Evansville needs to become more environmentally conscious. Hardcore. The transit system sucks, it isn’t pedestrian friendly, and recycling is left to those who are in the correct zones. People in Evansville generally couldn’t afford a co-op grocery that would have organic foods and holistic health items, and it would fold.
-TALENT. I knew so many freaking talented people in Evansville, but they were the ones who just sat around doing nothing with it. Most of the bands that actually decided to just into the active scene wer the motivated people with little talent. These people need to accept this, and get the unmotivated friends (I KNOW YOU ARE EITHER ONE OR YOU KNOW SOMEONE!) out there and help push them to be successful! I feel bad for the community’s small world view on the music scene! All the bands out in Evansville sound just like the crap they’re forced to listen to on the top 40 radio. So, someone needs to start an underground radio station that stretches further than USI’s station. Seriously. I would love to see diversity in the music scene.
-There needs to be more support of mom and pop places. When I visit some place, I don’t want to go to their McDonalds, I want to go to a place that I couldn’t go to normally! People in Evansville don’t care about they eat, it’s why it is one of the most obese cities in all of Indiana! Get rid of the fast food, and get some more nice and unique places to eat! Side note- my friends make fun of me because I’d never tried any new foods until I was 20! I know there have been Chinese places in Evansville, but my parents refused to try new places. Get these new children of Evansville out there, and give them opportunities to enjoy real food, so they aren’t stuck with Burger King as the only option!!

Wow, sorry for venting there! Heheh… Bottom line, is that I got out to see what the world had to offer, but I still feel a closeness with my home town. It’s a bond that’ll never go away. And I hope that one day, when I visit, it will have blossomed into a happening, prosperous place for all.

Nut Clubber

November 15, 2007 @ 12:05PM

I’d love to see a dueling Piano Bar. I have had more fun at those than just about any other “bar” in recent years.

Chimpie

November 15, 2007 @ 05:48PM

I think there is a very large population that Missy missed: College Students.

USI has about 10,000 now? UE a few thousand as well? Give these people something to do.

cgnewman

December 20, 2007 @ 06:36PM

First thing we need is to not just blog about our ideas we need to do our home work and find out what it will take to achieve it and who can we can get to contribute. Most of our local big companys love to donate money, because it come as a tax break for them mostly. While i agree and think alot of the ideas posted are great we need to look at the big picture. We have made some moves but not really what we need to reach an ultimate goal. Getting a (fill in your desired) resteraunt will just give us another place to eat, is that all we want. We need a visonary to see the potintial here and with the ideas here put together. Use a some what centraly lo