1. The River
Our place in the bend of the Ohio River gave life to what’s now Evansville. The city has built itself up from it, yet all roads (especially in Downtown, where they tip 45 degrees) seem to lead back to the water. Steamboat captains knew they had reached Evansville once they saw the twin steeples of Saint Boniface on Wabash Avenue. Now, riverboat cruise stops drop off travelers for a day of fun in the River City. Festivals are held alongside the river, and here at Tucker Publishing Group, Inc., we claim our spot in a three-story building smack dab in the middle of the riverfront, taking it all in. Most summers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges the Ohio River at the Evansville bend to maintain a 300-foot wide, 9-foot-deep channel for towing vessels. In the process, an island that attracts hundreds of pleasure boaters is created.
2. We Are Midwest Nice with a Southern Attitude
Passersby greet each other on the sidewalk. We hold doors open for one another and insist that you jump ahead of us in line at the grocery store. We strike up conversations while sitting in the stands at sporting events — so long as you’re wearing the right team’s colors. Here, our friendly disposition means visitors don’t feel like strangers. Classic Midwest niceties rule our demeanor, which is tinged with a distinct Southern flair. Many of us grew up on Southern-style home cooking fresh from the garden. We have a taste for bourbon, we say “y’all,” and we consider horse racing a standard sport. Even plants at home in the lower half of the U.S. find our climate welcoming: Wetlands, crepe myrtle, and azaleas all love our spot on the map.
3. Our Hometown Pride
They say that home is where the heart is, and for most people, hometowns are an integral part of their persona. Heather Vaught — named Best Evansville Ambassador in 2024 in Evansville Living’s annual Best of Evansville awards — has built two Main Street businesses (River City Coffee & Goods and Memo) around hometown pride. “I think some people mistake ‘hometown pride’ as being synonymous with the idea that you’re 100 percent happy with every aspect of where you’re from,” Vaught says. “I believe you can focus on the positives while simultaneously speaking out and pushing for change. We are lucky to live in a community where if you show up enough, ask questions, put in the work, AND listen — your voice can really be heard! You can help make Evansville the place you want to be proud to be from! You don’t have to have money, connections, or education or wait for someone else to build what you’re passionate about. Find your people and those who know more than you and work together.”
4. A Passion for Service
Residents often are deeply involved in a wide range of volunteer efforts and philanthropic activities aimed at improving the lives of those in need. The community rallies behind efforts such as United Way’s annual Day of Caring, in which more than 1,000 people participate in the community’s largest one-day volunteer event.
“I’m always in awe of the compassionate, giving spirit of the people in our region,” says Amy Mangold, President and CEO of the United Way of Southwestern Indiana. “Regardless of the situation, when our neighbors are in need, this community shows up and rallies around them to offer hope and help.”
Churches, civic groups, and schools also play a key role. Organizations such as the Welborn Baptist Foundation and the Vanderburgh Community Foundation serve as intermediaries that channel funds to organizations and initiatives aligned with specific missions and causes.
With a mission of cultivating communities that flourish, the Welborn Baptist Foundation focuses on early healthy eating and active living, Christ-centered communities, and nonprofit excellence. Church Engagement Program Officer Eric Cummings says among things people like about Evansville are “a vibrant faith community of churches and faith-based nonprofit organizations that serve our communities in very traditional ways … and through innovative restorative ministries such as revitalizing neighborhoods and providing wrap-around family supports and resources to help kids in marginalized environments succeed no matter what.”
5. Small-Town Neighbors
Don’t call them Evansville’s bedroom communities. Neighboring towns have unique histories and personalities. To the east, the river town of Newburgh, Indiana, has a place in history as the first town north of the Mason-Dixon line to be captured by Confederate forces during the Civil War on July 18, 1862, in what became known as the Newburgh Raid. Today, “the river, the history, the local shops and growing food scene all come together in a warm, welcoming community, where everyone knows each other and all work together to continue building the town and its vitality,” Historic Newburgh Board Member Christen Angermeier says.
To the west along the Wabash River, New Harmony, Indiana, was the site of two notable attempts at communal living by the Harmonists (1814-24) and the Owenites (1825-28), both seeking to establish utopian communities based on religious and social ideals. The modern village is a mix of contributions made by 200 years of artists, reformers, scientists, educators, and fans of this early American center for equality. New Harmony is home to an impressive National Historic Landmarks District, The Roofless Church — an open-air interdenominational church designed by Philip Johnson and dedicated in 1960 — and the Atheneum Visitor Center, designed by Richard Meier.
Across the Ohio River, Henderson, Kentucky, is deeply linked to the legacy of John James Audubon, a prominent figure in art and ornithology who serves as the namesake for the town’s state park, museum, and nature preserve. A peculiarity of Henderson is that a small portion of it — consisting of Ellis Park Racing & Gaming, a thoroughbred racing site owned by Churchill Downs — lies on the north side of the Ohio River, first claimed by Kentucky before the river shifted south.
6. You Can Get There From Here
Road trips are made easy from Evansville, given the city’s centralized location. Indianapolis, Indiana, is accessible via Interstate 69, while other highways make St. Louis, Missouri, Louisville, Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee reachable in 2-3 hours of driving. Want a longer trip? Evansville Regional Airport offers a robust schedule, with 15 daily flights to hubs such as Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina, Chicago, Illinois, and Dallas, Texas, plus direct, nondaily connections to at least sunny destinations in Florida.
7. Cultural Diversity
Evansville is a community of worldly flavor, with residents from all over the globe who bring their cuisine and customs. A little less than three percent of the population of Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey, and Gibson counties in Indiana and Henderson, Kentucky, is foreign-born, with those of Hispanic/Latino descent comprising the lion’s share of those residents, and the Marshall Islands, Haiti, China, and India also represented here. This cultural diversity is reflected in the city’s events. Volksfest is a nod to the area’s German heritage, while Fiesta Evansville and HOLA Evansville celebrate local Latinos. The Cultural Society of India, Haitian Center of Evansville, and Grace of Christ Slavic Church recently began hosting festivals with food and cultural activities, and for more than 20 years, the Islamic Society of Evansville’s International Food Festival has been an autumn staple.
8. Our Schools
Much of Evansville’s day-to-day culture and life is centered around education. Futures are made here, starting with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation’s nearly 40 institutions serving students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Signature School was one of Indiana’s first charter high schools and in 2023 was named the top such school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Other schools in the city have achieved, as well — the public Oak Hill Elementary School and parochial St. Wendel Catholic School were among 16 in Indiana to receive national blue ribbon status in 2024 from the U.S. Department of Education. The Catholic Diocese of Evansville, Evansville Day School, Evansville Lutheran School, Evansville Christian School, and Joshua Academy provide more private and public education options for families. In higher education, the University of Evansville has a nationally renowned theater program. The University of Southern Indiana, situated on 1,400 acres just west of Evansville, is Indiana’s fastest-growing comprehensive university. Medical education students from UE, USI, and Indiana University study in the Stone Family Center for Health Sciences in the city’s Downtown. Ivy Tech Community College’s Evansville campus readies students for the workforce in a variety of fields.
9. We’re a Sports Town
Sports is in our blood, and the city’s schools and playgrounds have produced star athletes such as Olympic gold medalist swimmer Lilly King, retired Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly, and Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese. High school sports traditions and rivalries span generations and spark passionate debates, while the University of Evansville Aces and University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles provide the city with two NCAA Division I college sports programs; USI started its Division I transition in 2022. Both universities have storied men’s basketball traditions; each won national championships in Division II. Speaking of sports tradition, Bosse Field dates to 1915 and has been home to the Frontier League’s Otters professional baseball club for 30 years. Downtown Evansville features the Ford Center, where the UE men’s basketball team and Thunderbolts pro hockey club play.
10. Downtown is the Heart of the City
Downtown Evansville has lived many lives, but it’s long been the center of local government and a key spot for city commerce and entertainment. It’s where Sears opened its first retail store in the U.S. in 1925. The Civic Center’s opening in 1969 cut Main Street into two parts and turned the south part of Main into a pedestrian mall, “The Walkway,” for 31 years. The Ford Center’s opening in 2011, Bally’s Evansville’s move from a riverboat to land in 2017, and the implosion of a vacant 18-story tower in 2021 (followed by a redevelopment project that is ongoing) have helped define the area. Today’s Downtown continues to evolve, and it’s a melting pot of interests and experiences. Residents and visitors can dine and shop, take in a sporting event or a show, prowl a museum, library, or the scenic Ohio Riverfront, or enjoy the hustle and bustle of the casino. We love our Downtown and look forward to its continued resurgence.
11. How We Honor Our History, Wartime and Otherwise
It started in 1812 with Evansville’s founding. The city’s history is marked right at its center by the floating U.S.S. LST-325 on the Downtown riverfront — 167 LSTs were produced in the adjacent shipyard — bringing World War II history buffs to explore. Evansville Wartime Museum, which anchors the Hoosier State’s military trail, documents the city’s grit during wartime and preserves artifacts to keep that history alive. The city proudly wears its National Parks Service designation as one of America’s 38 WWII Heritage cities. Still, Evansville’s history is not solely defined by war; it includes walking tours highlighting the differing eras of architecture in the Riverside Historic District and the historic Black neighborhood of Baptisttown. At the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science, moments in the city’s timeline are displayed in rotating exhibits. The city’s library systems — Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library branches and Willard Public Library — often host historians and experts for public talks on how the River City grew up. The truth about Evansville’s history is that no matter where you go in the city, there’s no escaping it.
12. Museum Experiences
Our city packs in five museums with a wide range of collections and topics. Black history is well documented at the Evansville African American Museum, which has continued its preservation work through the reburial of graves unearthed during Downtown’s Toyota Trinity Stormwater Project in 2024. The Victorian-era Reitz Home Museum stands as one of the area’s best examples of French Second Empire architecture, preserved by the dedication of volunteers. The Reitz Home often welcomes tours of schoolchildren who may also visit the three-story Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville, whose interactive exhibits and events — like a sandy beach on Fifth Street each summer — encourage learning and creativity. Evansville Wartime Museum shares how the city’s efforts shaped the course of World War II and includes artifacts like a P-47 Thunderbolt airplane and a 1943 Chrysler M4A4 Sherman Tank known as “Rosie’s Revenge,” as well as special exhibits depicting the horrors of the Holocaust. On the Downtown riverfront, the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science displays exhibits featuring local and regional artists’ work — plus “Seated Woman in Red Hat,” a rediscovered glass mosaic by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso — as well as artifacts from the area’s history. The museum’s Koch Immersive Theater & Planetarium also is a draw.
13. The Arts Scene
Evansville has cultivated a rich arts culture. The Evansville Philharmonic delights audiences every year with its orchestra and chorus performing a schedule of concerts that spans genres from pop to classical. Christmas in Evansville is not complete without Peppermint Pops — featuring a kick line from the North High School Huskettes — and Handel’s “Messiah,” performed by candlelight at historic Trinity United Methodist Church. Nutcracker performances from Ballet Indiana and the Children’s Center for Dance Education also boost the holiday spirit. Music festivals dominate the summer social calendar, including First Fridays at the Haynie’s Corner Arts District neighborhood, where musicians perform and artists display their work for sale along the streets. Public broadcasting station WNIN hosts its Jazz Fest in mid-July. Patrons walk through the latest installations to get to the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana’s summertime On the Roof concert series, while the Reitz Home Museum hosts Wine Down to the Weekend on Thursdays. For the Sake of the Song is a relatively new music festival highlighting local songwriters. Old National Events Plaza, Victory Theatre, and Ford Center host national touring talent year-round, driving traffic to Downtown. For the visual arts, both Twymon and Inman galleries display work from area artists and makers, as does the Evansville Museum.
14. Green Spaces
For a population of 115,332, Evansville has plenty of city parks. The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation manages 45 community, neighborhood, and pocket parks, which add to residents’ health and quality of life. Garvin Park eventually became the home of Bosse Field, the third-oldest U.S. baseball park in continuous operation, and four years ago, Deaconess Aquatic Center. The city’s parks also host a variety of amenities, including golf at Helfrich Park, basketball at Tepe Park, and swimming at Lorraine and Howell parks. They are places for community gathering, exercise, and entertainment, including the annual Music in the Park concert series that bounces between city parks every other week during the summer.
The Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve boasts the Welborn Baptist Foundation Nature Playscape, a five-acre spot for children to explore, as well as the Arwood Family Treehouse, which was 10 years in the making before opening in 2024. Kids can navigate ramps, rock walls, rope bridges, and climbing ropes on the treehouse and take in a view of the forest 12 feet above ground.
Looking for a combination of nature and history, as well as archeological wonders? Visit Angel Mounds State Historic Site. Established in 1938 and covering 600 acres, Angel Mounds has a 1.4-mile outdoor trail, as well as a recently updated indoor exhibit featuring modern perspectives on Mississippian history and traditions.
15. Love of Learning
Evansville’s strong public libraries have evolved with technology and offer diverse programming for all ages and interests. Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library has eight physical locations, with the centerpiece (literally and figuratively) being its massive Central branch Downtown. EVPL’s East and West branches were funded by Andrew Carnegie; a third Carnegie library on Cherry Street served Black residents and was razed in the 1970s. The extensively renovated McCollough branch on Washington Avenue has mapped out coming improvements across the system.EVPL also provides around-the-clock online services for job seekers, students, or those hungry for knowledge, as well as a quirky Library of Things — physical items like bocce ball sets and cake pans in the shape of a Darth Vader helmet that cardholders can borrow, use, and bring back. The city also is home to Willard Public Library, a towering Gothic Revival structure designed by James W. Reid and opened in 1885. It joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Revered for its genealogical collections, Willard also hosts seasonal Shakespeare plays on the lawn and boasts the “Grey Lady” apparition, who may be spotted during ghost tours each fall.
16. Our German Heritage
Driving around Evansville, you’ll get a crash course — figuratively! — in our German heritage just by glancing at street names. Influenced by the city’s woodworking, sawmill, and cabinetry settlers, locals know Boeke Road is not pronounced “Bo-kah” — that’s the restaurant and lounge at Haynie’s Corner. Rather, the German influence on the region turns the street name’s “oe” into an Anglicanized “ay” sound, so it comes out at “Bay-kee.” There are plenty of other examples, among them Boehne (Bay-nee), Diefenbach (Dee-fen-bahk), Dreier (Dry-ehr), Eickhoff (Ike-hoff), Hartke (Hart-key), Helfrich (Helf-rick), Reitz (Righ-tzt), Tekoppel (Tee-cup-uhl), or Weinbach (Wine-bahk). German influence doesn’t stop with the way we speak — it also comes out in what we eat. Several restaurants serve German dishes, but Gerst Haus makes Bavarian cuisine its specialty, serving up steaming plates of kraut balls, German potato salad, sauerbraten, pig knuckles, bratwurst, fried bologna, and a variety of schnitzels, plus a selection of imported beers. Celebrating 125 years, Evansville Germania Maennerchor sings the praises — literally: “maennerchor” means men’s choir — of the River City’s German heritage, hosting the three-day Volksfest each August, a Christkindlmarkt each winter, and fish fries each Lent.
17. West Franklin Street
If it feels like West Franklin Street cuts through its own little town, that’s because it once did. The neighboring community of Lamasco was platted in 1837 and geographically cut off from Evansville by Pigeon Creek. Eventually incorporated into the adjacent city, the area around West Franklin Street still has a personality all its own. Functioning as a kind of main street, the main drag sports its own restaurants, shops and services, and nightlife. Holding court along West Franklin Street is Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library’s West Branch, a Carnegie structure. Groups like the West Side Nut Club have taken over the street to stage popular events like car shows, the Franklin Street Bazaar each summer, and the Nut Club’s signature Fall Festival. Arguably, no other stretch of road in Evansville has such a distinct flair.
18. Local Flavors
It’s not just the chain restaurants that line the East Side shopping centers that give Evansville its flavor. You can find Himalayan cuisine at Yak & Yeti, Korean dishes at Jaya’s Authentic Food, and Central and South American signatures at the new Sazón y Fuego. Stop in for Southern comfort food at Comfort by the Cross-Eyed Cricket, savor smoky barbecue from Hickory Pit Stop, indulge in Italian and Thai cuisine at Pangea Kitchen, and find Middle Eastern specialties at Cafe Arazu. There’s no shortage of variety, which gets put on display every year at the city’s 130-plus West Side Nut Club Fall Festival booths. Find hush puppies, corn dogs, funnel cakes, and fried anything, plus — for the truly adventurous — Zombie boogers, elephant tears, moink balls, meatwads, and more.
19. Friendly Neighborhood Spirit
This is a big city with a small-town culture, drawing from the surrounding rural area where two friends are bound to bump into each other unplanned, so it’s easy to feel at home. A walk along residential streets often reveals sidewalk chalk displaying a message or drawings from some creative children, and passersby don’t just take in the view — some, like in the Vann Park neighborhood, leave out chalk so little artists can continue their public drawing pursuits. The idea of a neighborhood cookout goes strong with neighborhood association-organized events around chili, soup, and more. Contests like 911 Gives Hope’s Guns and Hoses may pit police officers against firefighters in the boxing ring, but in the end, they’re all fighting for a cure for Prader-Willi Syndrome. Nonprofits tap into that neighborly spirit for charitable events like The Longest Table, Rotary Club’s Santa Run, Evansville Rescue Mission’s Drumstick Dash, YMCA of Southwestern Indiana’s Half Marathon, and River City Rodeo, which all draw big crowds of supporters.
20. Historic Districts and Architecture
Evansville has plenty of history in its neighborhoods. The Riverside Preservation Area, established by local code in 1962 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is made up of 238 properties within walking distance of Downtown and the Haynie’s Corner Arts District. Lincolnshire, located just east of U.S. 41 and north of Benjamin Bosse High School, is known for its Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and English Cottage properties. Another East Side district, Hebron-Meadows, boasts blocks of low-slung mid-century modern homes. Efforts by the Historic Preservation Commission within the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development aim to encourage the preservation and restoration of historic sites, drawing attention to them as important cultural assets.
