Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in and the county seat of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States.[4] With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in Southern Indiana, and the 249th-most populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Evansville metropolitan area, a hub of commercial, medical, and cultural activity of southwestern Indiana and the Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area, which is home to over 911,000 people. The 38th parallel north crosses the north side of the city and is marked on Interstate 69 immediately north of its junction with Indiana 62 within the city's east side.
"Evansville" redirects here. For other uses, see Evansville (disambiguation).
Evansville
United States
1812
1817
1847
47.85 sq mi (123.93 km2)
47.35 sq mi (122.65 km2)
0.49 sq mi (1.28 km2)
2,367 sq mi (6,130 km2)
384 ft (117 m)
118,414
2,476.99/sq mi (956.37/km2)
1,834.6/sq mi (708.3/km2)
358,676 (US: 142nd)
- 47701, 47702, 47703, 47704, 47705, 47706, 47708, 47710, 47711, 47712, 47713, 47714, 47715, 47716, 47719, 47720, 47721, 47722, 47724, 47725, 47726, 47727, 47728, 47730, 47731, 47732, 47733, 47734, 47735, 47736, 47738, 47739, 47740, 47741, 47744, 47747, 47750, 47755, 47761, 47777
18-22000
434258[3]
Evansvillian, Vanderburgh
Situated on an oxbow in the Ohio River, the city is often referred to as the "Crescent Valley" or "River City". Early French explorers named it La Belle Rivière ("The Beautiful River"). The area has been inhabited by various indigenous cultures for millennia, dating back at least 10,000 years. Angel Mounds was a permanent settlement of the Mississippian culture from AD 1000 to around AD 1400. The European-American city was founded in 1812.
Evansville anchors a regional economic hub based primarily on trade, transportation, and utilities; professional and business services; education and health services; government; leisure and hospitality; and manufacturing.[5] Two NYSE-listed companies (Berry Global and OneMain Financial) are headquartered in Evansville, and three companies traded on NASDAQ (Escalade, Old National Bank, and Shoe Carnival) are also headquartered in Evansville.
Evansville is home to Bally's Evansville, the state's first casino; Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden, one of the state's oldest and largest zoos; and sports tourism industry. The city has several notable educational institutions. The University of Evansville is a private school on the city's east side, while the University of Southern Indiana is a larger public institution just outside the city's westside limits. The Indiana University School of Medicine also maintains a campus in Evansville.[6] Other local educational institutions include the nationally ranked Signature School, the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation.
Parks and recreation[edit]
Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve is a National Natural Landmark containing approximately 200 acres (0.8 km2) of virgin bottomland hardwood forest, the largest tract of virgin forest inside any city limits in the United States.[71] The Nature Center features exhibits, events, wildlife observation areas, meeting rooms, library, and gift shop. Adjacent to the Nature Preserve, Wesselman Park features a Par 3 golf course, basketball courts, tennis courts, sand volleyball courts, softball fields, and a playground.[72]
Evansville has a municipal park system with 65 parks and 21 special facilities encompassing more than 2,300 acres (9 km2) of land in the city of Evansville and Vanderburgh County. A bicycle and pedestrian trail extend into adjacent counties and links to the American Discovery Trail. This trail system includes the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage, a 6.75 mi (10.86 km) bicycle and pedestrian trail.[73] The city's operates four public golf courses, two disc golf courses, Garvin Park, Lloyd Pool, the Goebel Soccer Complex, Swonder Ice Arena and the C.K. Newsome Community Center.
Anchored by the Four Freedoms Monument and the Bally's Evansville, Dress Plaza along the riverfront offers a brick paved walkway above, and tiered seating below with a view of the Ohio River.
In popular culture[edit]
Film and television[edit]
Game scenes in the 1992 film A League of Their Own were filmed at Bosse Field. It is the third oldest baseball stadium still in use in the United States (behind Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago). The ballpark served as the homefield for the Racine Belles. Scenes from the 2014 Michael Rosenbaum movie Back in the Day feature Green River Road in Evansville.
All exterior shots on the 1988-2018 sitcom Roseanne are still photographs taken in and around Evansville. The Conners' house is at 619 South Runnymeade Avenue, and the Lobo Lounge is a pizzeria at the corner of Edgar and Louisiana Streets. Matt Williams, one of the show's producers, is a native of Evansville and a graduate of The University of Evansville theatre program. He is a co-founder of Wind Dancer Productions and has been involved with numerous sitcoms such as 'Home Improvement', movies and dramatic plays for Broadway.
The Daily Show has featured Evansville in two episodes. The first featured a story about comedian Carrot Top's reopening of the historic Victory Theatre. The second poked fun at former mayor Russell Lloyd Jr. for skipping out on a city meeting to attend Cher's Farewell Tour concert being performed on the same night at Roberts Stadium.
Evansville was also featured in Alton Brown's series Feasting on Asphalt. Alton and his crew visited the historic Greyhound Bus station for its vending machines, the YWCA tea room for lunch, and the Hilltop Inn[98] for a brain sandwich and burgoo. Other shows have included Ghost Hunters which investigated Willard Library's "Gray Lady" ghost and Storm Stories on The Weather Channel documenting the devastating tornado that struck the city in 2005. The city was briefly featured in the 2007 Prison Break episode "Chicago". In 2012, Evansville was featured on the British television program Supersize vs Superskinny because of a poll that ranked the residents of the city as the most obese in the United States.[99]
Evansville and neighboring Newburgh was the featured location for the feature film Back in the Day filmed in 2014.[100]
Evansville is mentioned several times in the third and fourth seasons of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.
In 2021, an episode of HBO's "We're Here" was filmed in Evansville.[101]
Literary media[edit]
Evansville is featured in a section of Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel Lolita, as well as Walker Percy's 1962 novel The Moviegoer, and Robert Silverberg's 1969 science fiction novel To Live Again.
Evansville is the primary location in the historical fiction novel, Invitation to Valhalla by Mike Whicker, published in 2004. The novel is based on the records of German spy Erika Lehmann's attempt to infiltrate the LST shipyards during WWII.
An Evansville couple is the focus of "Hungarian Rhapsody: An Adoption Story" by James Derk, based on a series of stories in the Evansville Courier & Press.[102]
Evansville, under the name Vansul, appears as a slapstick satire in the post-apocalyptic novel Light of the Ancient Sun.
Evansville is the hometown of the protagonist, Jack Crabb, in Thomas Berger's 1964 book Little Big Man. This is not mentioned in the 1970 cinematic adaption, Little Big Man.
Evansville has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):[103]