april-2012

ON THE TOWN: INDIANAPOLIS, IN
LOCAL FACES BY SAM STALL
An award-winning author, a Grammy-nominated musician and the owner of the nation’s oldest shoe store
open up to tell us why they call Indianapolis their home.
John Green
The veteran vlogger and New York Times
bestselling author raced to the top of the
bestseller lists months before of his most
recent young adult novel, The Fault in
Our Stars.
What’s your favorite storied institution?
“Indianapolis Museum of Art
(imamuseum.org) is undoubtedly one of the
great encyclopedic museums in the US,
and the 100-acre park behind the museum
contains some of the most interesting
contemporary art installations in the
world. Admittedly, I’m a bit biased because
my wife is a curator at the IMA, but it’s
true: the museum has a great collection—I
particularly recommend Alfredo Jaar’s
Park of the Laments, a disquieting and
beautiful escape from the city.”
What do you like to do in Indy when you’re not
writing or basking in great art?
“Indianapolis has great bike paths. You can
bike a 30-mile loop around the city without
ever having to ride on a road with cars. You
see the skyscrapers downtown, the beautiful
canals of the city, some of Indianapolis’
nicest parks and the well-traversed
Monon Trail.”
Where do you go to shake off writer’s block?
“Indianapolis has a reputation for being a
sprawling city. But we have so many secret
green spaces alongside our creeks and rivers
and hiding between neighborhoods. I love
fi nding and visiting those places—and I
bring my computer, because even when
I feel like I’m in the forest, I can almost
always y gget
wireless.”
Brad Stout
Stout is best known for his Stout’s Factory
Shoe Store Company chain’s flagship
operation, a downtown Indianapolis shop
called Stout Shoes that has been in his
family since 1886, making it the oldest shoe
store in the nation.
Did you ever consider a career outside
of shoes?
“I got an MBA from Southern Methodist
University and was going to stay in Dallas.
But my siblings took a pass on the family
business, and coming back just seemed like
the right thing to do. But it wasn’t as if I was
groomed from the beginning to take over.”
What’s the secret for staying in the shoe
business—or any business—for so long?
“You have to continually evolve. We have
an old clock hanging on the wall that I
like to show people. It was made by the
International Time Company of Endicott,
New York. That company is now IBM.
They started out making clocks and then
typewriters and then PCs and now they’re
primarily a computer services company.”
How do you keep current?
“We started out primarily dealing in factory
seconds, which we’d bring in from around
the Midwest. When the factories closed, we
evolved. Now my son Brady runs our online
business. It’s up 150 percent over January
of last year. I don’t see how an independent
retailer can stay in business if they don’t get
an e-commerce component going.”
How do you decompress?
“I like to go to Eagle Creek Park and hike.
There are bald eagles there, and last
spring we saw white pelicans. My wife and I
love birds, and there’s a bird preserve in
the park.”
APRIL 2012 72
GO MAGAZINE
Michael Feinstein
A nightclub owner and a seasoned
musician, the five-time Grammy-nominated
singer, pianist and entertainer, splits
his time between New York, LA and the
Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, where he
serves as artistic director for The Center
for the Performing Arts.
You have a rare break from your multiple
jobs and 150 performances a year. What
do you do?
“I love to go see the Hoagy Carmichael
Collection in Indiana University’s
Archives of Traditional Music (indiana.
edu). It’s a marvelous representation of
his career and his legacy, as well as a great
tribute to one of the fi nest musicians
America ever produced.”
How is the larger cultural scene in Indy?
“It’s thriving. The IndyFringe Festival
(indyfringe.org) is fantastic. I went to
several shows during the last festival and
had the best time. I was very impressed
by the variety and quality of talent and
the support the community shows for
the venture.”
Aside from the geography, what can
you find here that you can’t find in
the big cities?
“I had forgotten the simple friendliness
and neighborly feeling that one
experiences as part of the Indianapolis/
Carmel community. When I moved into
my home in Carmel, several neighbors
brought cookies and sent notes and just
knocked on the door to say welcome. It
was the most marvelous experience.”