ADDRESS: 307 N. Pennsylvania Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana                                                                               PARK HOURS: Open 24 hours. Avoid the downtown area after dark. During daylight hours, be aware of your surroundings.                                                           RECREATION: No recreational facilities available. This park is used primarily by downtown employees for breaks and picnic lunches.                                         SIZE: One square block.                                           BEST TIME TO VISIT: During times of heavy songbird migration - April, May, late August, September and October.                  

                    

University Park is a one square block of real estate surrounded by downtown skyscrapers. A beautiful flowing fountain is decorated with manicured Japanese Yews. A mowed park area with scattered trees, this park offers little in the way of ground cover or food. Clearly, this park is a downtown migrant trap. When migrants become tired and hungry, they must return to planet earth and make due with what they find. The downtown skyscrapers may claim some of these migrants as window kills. One birder found a dead, male Painted Bunting at the base of one of these skyscrapers. The body of the bird was still warm. I told him he should have used CPR to revive the bird for his Indiana life list. Maybe the birds found here are tired night migrants, attracted by the lights of the city. Because the migrants here are dog tired and hungry, great views can be had of species that are hard to get close to anywhere else. There is no place to hide. At University Park, search around the Japanese Yews. Search the evergreen trees northwest of the fountain. 

Bird species which have been found at University Park include: Eastern Wood Pewee, Least Flycatcher, Common Yellowthroat, Chipping Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Peregrine Falcon (nests downtown), Brown Creeper, Brown Thrasher, Hooded Warbler, American Woodcock, Red-headed Woodpecker, Lincoln's Sparrow,

DIRECTIONS: To successfully navigate the city of Indianapolis, pay careful attention to the green, overhead interstate signs. From the ticket terminal at the Indianapolis International Airport, drive east, following the "To I-465/70 Indianapolis" arrow sign.  Stay in the middle lane.  Follow the "I-465/To 70 East-Downtown" arrow sign.  Switch from the middle lane to the far left lane.  Follow the "To 70 East" arrow sign.  Drive east roughly 1.5 miles to the green, overhead interstate "I-70 East/Downtown Indianapolis" arrow sign.  Move to the far right lane.  Veer right (south) at the "70 East/Indianapolis" Exit sign.  Drive east on I-70 for roughly 5 miles.  Watch for Exit 79B/Illinois Street/McCarty Street-3/4 mile.  Move to the far right lane when you see this sign.  Veer right (south) on Exit 79B/Illinois Street/McCarty Street.  Stay in the left lane on the exit ramp.  Veer left (north), following the green, overhead "Illinois Street" arrow sign.   Drive north on Illinois Street into downtown Indianapolis.  You are on a one way street.  Drive north under the Circle Center and Indianapolis Arts Garden skywalks.  Move to the right lane after you pass Market Street.  Turn right (east) on Vermont Street/C.R. 400 N.  When you reach the stop light at Meridian Street, University Park will be directly to your right (southeast).  Continue driving east on Vermont Street.  Park in a metered parking space between Meridian Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.  Meter maids constantly check for violators.  Pay Up !!!   University Park is bordered by Vermont Street to the north, New York Street to the south, Meridian Street to the west, and Pennsylvania Avenue to the east.  The Indianapolis Star building is to the east, a war memorial to the north and the United States Post Office is to the south.