Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 (http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=481) at the 2010 census.

Bloomington is the home to Indiana University Bloomington. Established in 1820, IU Bloomington has approximately 40,000 students and is the original and largest campus of Indiana University. In the 1991 book entitled The Campus as a Work of Art, author Thomas Gaines named the Bloomington campus one of the five most beautiful in America. Most of the campus buildings are built of Indiana limestone.

Bloomington is also the home of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Maurer School of Law - Bloomington, the Jacobs School of Music, the Kelley School of Business, the Kinsey Institute, the Indiana University School of Optometry, and the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute.

Bloomington has been named a Tree City for more than 20 years. The city was the site of the Academy Award-winning movie Breaking Away, featuring a reenactment of Indiana University's annual Little 500 bicycle race; Bloomington's rock quarries also figure in the movie.

Geography
Bloomington is located at 39.16215°N, -86.52904°W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.9 square miles (51.6 km²), of which 19.7 square miles (51.1 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) (1.00%) is water.

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 other portions of Indiana.

Just 50 mi south of Indiana’s state capital, Indianapolis, lies the city of Bloomington, also known as “B-Town”. With a population of over 80,000 residents, squeezed into just 19.9 sqmi, Bloomington is the sixth largest city in Indiana

Climate
Bloomington has an unusual amount of humidity throughout the year, even in the winter. Southern Indiana receives an abundance of rain, with a yearly average of 44 inches.

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.

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.

Politics
The Democratic Party in recent years has dominated city politics and has retained the mayor's office since 1972. The current mayor of the city is Mark Kruzan and the Democrats control the city council 8-1. Bloomington's liberal outlook has been influenced by the younger population which dominates much of the city, as well as the presence of Indiana University which has a reputation of having a large liberal student body. Bloomington was the first city in the state of Indiana to ban smoking in all public and private businesses, including private clubs.

Major employers

 * Indiana University Bloomington
 * IU Health Bloomington Hospital
 * Boston Scientific
 * Cook Group Incorporated
 * General Electric
 * Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division
 * Otis Elevator
 * Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division
 * Otis Elevator

Arts and culture
Bloomington has a rich and diverse performance arts culture that 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, and Theatre of the People. Bloomington is also home to 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 also 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, making it one of the busiest community theaters in the United States. Bloomington also offers artists and entertainers performance space at the Ivy Tech Waldron Arts Center, a unique and valued community arts center that has hosted hundreds of performances throughout the last two decades.

Bloomington is also home to a large folk punk music scene. The town is mentioned by name in many songs by Ghost Mice, and other such DIY punk bands. Bloomington is currently the home-base of Plan-It-X Records, and is home to the adventurous record labels 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. The "Zine" publishing company, Microcosm Publishing, is also located in Bloomington, as is the renowned Lotus Festival of World Music, which occurs each fall.

Much of Bloomington's wealth of music originates in the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, which has for decades been among the nation's largest and most highly ranked schools of music, highlighted by its Opera Theater and public performances numbering more than a thousand each year.

Traditional music is popular in Bloomington due in large part to the presence of the Archives of Traditional Music and Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University. Bloomington has been home to a large number of musicians and "scholars" over the years, including Stawberry McCloud, Lotus Dickey, Miles Krassen, Anthony Seeger, Bob Lucas, Willy Schwartz, Hawk Hubbard, Brad Leftwich, Grey Larsen, Cindy Kallet, Pete Sutherland, Malcolm Daglish, Sam Bartlett, Jamie Ganz, Ken Perlman, and numerous backporch pickers who support the active contra dance, Irish, and bluegrass music scenes.

Downtown Bloomington, located at Kirkwood and Walnut, offers buildings and shops filled with unique apparel as well as restaurants that introduce diverse tastes and cuisines from many cultures.

When walking downtown, splashes of colored murals catch the eye, many were painted by the youth at Rhinos Youth Center. Rhino’s, established in 1992 by students at Harmony Education School, has a mission to support community’s youth with engaging entertainment, in a drug free environment. Another 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.

Bloomington, Indiana is also host to Infinity Pro Wrestling, a premier professional wrestling league. Events are held throughout the year at the Bloomington, Indiana National Guard Armory.

Festivals

 * Afro-American Art Festival
 * African American Music and Culture Showcase
 * Black Pride Film Festival
 * Chocolate Festival
 * Dark Carnival Film Festival
 * Eastfest
 * Fall Festival on Fairfax
 * Plan-It-X Fest
 * Fourth Street Arts and Crafts Festival
 * Little 500
 * Indiana Heritage Quilt Show
 * Lotus World Music and Arts Festival
 * Pride Film Festival
 * Taste of Bloomington
 * Theta Antique Show
 * Third and High Festival
 * Bloomington Farmers Market
 * Business EXPO hosted by The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and the SBDC
 * The Combine

Shopping

 * College Mall
 * Fountain Square Mall

Locally, the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market operates at city hall on Saturday mornings, April through October. The market gives the city a chance to buy, sell, and trade goods. Another place to pick up unique items is Fountain Square Mall. This mini mall is a historical landmark because it still has bricks from the original building structure. The Square also consists of Buskirk Chumley Theater, the Monroe County Court House, and several churches.


 * Kirkwood Avenue

Post-Secondary Education
Outside of the Monroe County school district, Bloomington is home to the prestigious Indiana University, which educates over 40,000 students.
 * Indiana University
 * Ivy Tech Community College

Elementary schools

 * Arlington Heights Elementary School
 * Bloomington Montessori School
 * Childs Elementary School
 * Clear Creek Elementary School
 * Fairview Elementary School
 * Grandview Elementary School
 * Harmony School
 * Highland Park Elementary School
 * Lakeview Elementary School
 * Marlin Elementary School
 * Rogers-Binford Elementary School
 * St. Charles Catholic School
 * Summit Elementary Schools
 * Templeton Elementary School
 * Unionville Elementary School
 * University Elementary School

Middle schools

 * Batchelor Middle School
 * Harmony School
 * Jackson Creek Middle School
 * St. Charles Catholic School
 * Tri-North Middle School

High schools

 * Bloomington High School North
 * Bloomington High School South
 * Aurora High School (shut down)
 * Bloomington New Tech High School
 * Harmony School
 * Hoosier Hills Career Center
 * Indiana University High School (distance education)

Others

 * Monroe County Public Library
 * MCCSC Adult Education

Newspapers

 * The Herald-Times
 * Indiana Daily Student
 * The Ryder http://theryder.com/magazine

Magazines

 * Bloom Magazine

Television

 * WTIU
 * WTTV

Radio stations

 * WBWB
 * WCLS
 * WFHB
 * WFIU
 * WGCL
 * WHCC
 * WIUX
 * WTTS

Airports

 * Monroe County Airport (No Commercial flights)
 * Indianapolis International Airport (Nearest commercial airport 50 mi away)

Highways
Bloomington is one of the largest cities without an Interstate or Freeway Expressway. However, State Road 37 (SR 37) is currently a 4 lane expressway between Indianapolis and Bloomington. In Bloomington itself SR 37 is nearly up to Freeway standards with 4 interchanges and only 1 traffic light within the city limits.

Interstate access to Bloomington is not too far off as the Interstate 69 (I-69) expansion between Indianapolis and Evansville will run directly through Bloomington with SR 37 becoming I-69. The part between Evansville and Bloomington is set for completion in 2014. The upgrading of SR 37 to I-69 does not have a firm date but it is estimated to be complete between 2016 and 2020.

In terms of State Road 45 (SR 45) and State Road 46 (SR 46) they currently run as 1 road through Bloomington as a 2 lane highway. However, a major 3.7 mile construction project is in its middle stages that will upgrade the road to a 4-6 lane highway through Bloomington and the center of the Indiana University Campus. This project is slated for completion in the fall of 2012.

State Road 48 (SR 48) was also recently upgraded to a 4 lane highway just west of Bloomington.

Bus service

 * Bloomington Transit
 * IU Campus Bus Service
 * Bloomington Shuttle Service provides bi-hourly service to the Indianapolis International Airport. The shuttle picks passengers up at various hotels in the city as well as Indiana University's Memorial Union.
 * Star of America provides bi-hourly service to the Indianapolis International Airport. The shuttle picks passengers up at various hotels in the city as well as Indiana University's Memorial Union. Also provides services from Indianapolis International Airport to Muncie/Anderson, Lafayette, and from Bloomington to Chicago(Not on a daily basis).
 * Rural Transit Express buses in the westside of Bloomington, focus on Ivy Tech. Operates four Routes in Monroe County, and has routes and sweeps to Owen and Lawrence County.
 * Catch-A-Train provides regular service to Union Station in downtown Indianapolis and to other Amtrak stations for trains to Chicago. The shuttle picks passengers up at various hotels in the city as well as Indiana University's Memorial Union
 * Catch A Ride Provides express bus service from Indiana University to Chicago, Merrillville, South Bend, Ft. Wayne for key holidays, semester breaks, and select weekend trips.
 * Miller Trailways Hoosier Ride provides daily round trip bus service between Indianapolis and Evansville with a stop in Bloomington.

Sister cities
Bloomington has three sister-city relationships.
 * 🇳🇮 Posoltega, Nicaragua
 * 🇨🇺 Santa Clara, Cuba
 * Luchou Township, Taiwan.
 * 🇨🇳 Jiaxing(China)

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


 * Kenny Aronoff, drummer
 * David Baker, symphonic jazz composer
 * Arija Bareikis, actress
 * Joshua Bell, violinist
 * Abraham Benrubi, actor
 * Kent Benson, basketball player
 * Diane Bish, organist, concert and recording artist, composer and conductor
 * Austin Lucas, folk-punk singer/songwriter
 * Meg Cabot, author
 * Dana Carpender, author and columnist
 * Hoagy Carmichael, singer-songwriter
 * William Cook (entrepreneur), founder of Cook Inc.
 * James Counsilman, US Olympic Swimming Coach
 * John Merle Coulter, former president of Indiana University
 * Malcolm Dalglish, hammered dulcimer player, composer, and choral director
 * John Darnielle, singer-songwriter
 * Joe Dowell, singer-songwriter
 * Mick Foley, a professional wrestler and author — born in Bloomington, but moved to Long Island as an infant
 * Karen Joy Fowler, author
 * Bobby Helms, writer and singer of Jingle Bell Rock
 * Douglas Hofstadter, cognitive scientist
 * Jared Jeffries, basketball player, New York Knicks
 * David Starr Jordan, former president of Indiana University and Stanford University
 * Kraig Kinser, an ARCA driver
 * Steve Kinser, race car driver
 * Alfred Kinsey, founder of Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction
 * Brad Leftwich, musician
 * John Mellencamp, rock musician
 * Elaine Irwin Mellencamp, supermodel and former wife of John Mellencamp
 * Denny Miller, actor
 * Thubten Jigme Norbu, brother of Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
 * Elinor Ostrom, Nobel-prize-winning political scientist
 * Angelo Pizzo, screenwriter and producer of Hoosiers and Rudy
 * Scott Rolen, Major League Baseball player
 * David Lee Roth, lead singer of band Van Halen
 * Alfred Ryors, former president of Indiana University
 * Jeff Sagarin, statistician for sports, contributor to USA Today
 * Ronnie Schneider, High School Tennis State Champion, #1 16 and under player in the country
 * John Strohm, indie rock singer, guitarist, and lawyer
 * Herman B Wells, former president and chancellor of Indiana University
 * Camilla Williams, opera singer
 * Andrew Wylie, first president of Indiana University
 * Max Zorn, german-born american mathematician

Nearby points of interest

 * The Bloomington Playwrights Project - produces only new plays by American playwrights
 * Bloomington Speedway (Bloomington)
 * Brown County, Indiana
 * Brown County State Park
 * Buckner Cave
 * Griffy Lake Nature Preserve
 * Hickory Ridge Fire Tower
 * Hoosier National Forest
 * Indiana University Bloomington
 * Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (Bloomington)
 * Lake Lemon
 * Lake Monroe
 * McCormick's Creek State Park
 * Monroe County Airport
 * Morgan-Monroe State Forest
 * Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division
 * Ransburg Scout Reservation
 * Rhino's All Ages Youth Center
 * Upland Brewing Company - Currently the largest microbrewery in the state of Indiana.