Website overview

Hello,

I have created this website to give people ideas for things to do and see in the Lafayette area. I have written a description of many of these places on this site, but if you know of a place I have missed, let me know and I will visit it and write a review. Browse the categories below to find something that interests you.

Sincerely,
Ben Leonard

Sites sorted by Topic

• Campuses
• Entertainment
• Festivals and Events
• Historic Ninth Street Homes
• Historical Sites
• Lafayette Places of Worship
• Nature Areas
• Pools
• Small Parks
  

Sites sorted by Location

• Battleground
• Crawfordsville
• Delphi
• Lafayette
• West Lafayette
  

Riverside Ice Rink

Riverside Ice Rink is the only place for ice skating in the Lafayette area. It is a small outdoor ice rink, but it has cooling coils so that it can remain open even when it is somewhat above freezing. Skating generally takes place in a counter clockwise manner around the rink leaving a small area in the center which is open for general use. Inexperienced skaters may hold on to the walls of the rink for support while ice skating.

Experienced skaters will be disappointed with the rink's small size, but it is preferable to not being able to skate at all. There is not much instruction available during general skating sessions, but there are guards to help you if you fall down.

Amenities

• Restrooms and a drinking fountain are available for the public
  
• Some but not a lot of parking is free in Tapawingo Park
  
• There is a heated shelter for putting on your skates and resting next to the ice rink
  
• Ice skates are available for rental
• A fee is charged for skating and skate rental. See the rink website for current pricing.
  

Links

• Riverside Skating Center
• Weather forecast for West Lafayette
  

Map

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Greater Macedonia Church of God

This building was constructed by a Jewish congregation in 1867. The Jewish synagogue moved in 1976 and the building was purchased by a Unitarian Universalist congregation in 1979. Recently this church has been purchased by the Greater Macedonia Church of God. This is the oldest standing brick synagogue in the state.

Location


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Central Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian church in this area dates back to missionaries sent in 1828. The first congregation was formed in 1832, but it split because of a national level denominational divide in the 1840s. The congregation divided into the First and Second Presbyterian churches and the Second congregation constructed this building which was completed in 1895. In 1914 the two halves of the denomination merged and Central Presbyterian was founded.

The building is in the Romanesque style and constructed from rough faced limestone. The entrance tower originally had a conical roof, but it was modified to its current configuration after a fire in 1913. The education building, constructed in 1927, has Colonial Revival style architecture.

Links

• Central Presbyterian Church
• Colonial Revival architecture
  
• Romanesque architecture
  

Location



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St. Mary's Cathedral

Construction of St. Mary's began in 1861 and was completed in the Gothic Style in 1866 after a delay from the Civil War. A fascade and stained glass windows were added during the 1880s. A belfry and steeple were added on top of the previous flat topped tower in 1898. New entrance steps were added in 1904 and during the 1920s a brick veneer was added. A fellowship area was added since 2000. The cathedral's steeple is 180 feet high.

The cathedral was built on the location of an old seminary. St. Ignatius Academy, a private boarding school, used to be on the west side of the lot.

Links

• Gothic style architecture
  
• St. Mary's Cathedral
  

Location



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Bethel African Methodist Epsicopal Church

This church was constructed by a Lutheran church in 1850 and sold to Bethel AME in 1866. The building was covered in stucco some time during the 1920s. Church offices were added in 1922 along with stained glass windows.

Bethel AME founded one of the first schools in the area and donated it to the government in 1969 for use as a public school for blacks. Bethel AMEs school remained in use until the 1880s.

Links

• African Methodist Episcopal Church
• Stucco
  

Location


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St. Boniface Catholic Church

The St. Boniface congregation was formed in 1853 when there were enough German Catholics to warrant splitting off from the main Lafayette parish. In 1863 the new church bought land for a new building which was completed in 1865. The church tower originally had a flat roof and the spire was added in 1887.

The building is in the Gothic Revival style. The original tower had a large stained glass rose window on the top level which was removed when the spire was added. The front facade has three parts which the tower in front of the two wings.

Links

• Gothic Revival architecture
  
• St. Boniface Catholic Church
  

Location

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Brown Street United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church was one of the first denominations to send circuit riders to Lafayette and opened five of the first six schools in the area. This congregation was formed in 1851 and the church building was constructed during the summer of 1885 for $15,000. The church, located in the German part of town, was predominantly German and held its services in German until 1919. Concurrent with the language change, the church's name changed from Deutsche Methodist Kirche to Brown Street Episcopal Methodist Church. This was later changed to its current name because of denomination restructuring.

The church has a gabled front on 9th street and has Gothic style arches. The steeple was destroyed by lightning in 1933 and later rebuilt although not as high as the original steeple. The church's exterior was restored in 1974.

Links

• Brown Street United Methodist Church
• Gothic Architecture
  

Location


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