2013 NYC by Train 1 - Pre-Trip to Elkhart

Mike and I are going to New York City in August and plan to take Amtrak out of Elkhart, Indiana, to NYC-Penn Station. The train station in Kalamazoo is only a block away, but that train does not go direct to NYC. You have to take the train from here to Ann Arbor, then a bus to Toledo, Ohio, and then a direct to NYC from there. Adds a lot of hours and hassle, so we will board the train in Elkhart instead. That station is about 40 miles south of here, so not too far.

Not knowing anything about Elkhart, we decided to make a "pre-trip" down there to scope out the station, parking, luggage handling, etc. The ride is mostly back roads, so it took about 1-1/2 hours to get there, but a very pleasant drive. Once you hit Indiana, much of it is along the winding St. Joe River. As we got closer to Elkhart the farm houses turned into more modern ranch style homes, and then finally into old mansions as we got close to town.

We headed straight to the train station which took us through downtown Elkhart. Lots of older but nicely kept up buildings. The train station, originally built in 1900, sits across the tracks from the National New York Central Railroad Museum (www.nycrrmuseum.org). We didn't have time to browse the museum but it looks interesting enough for another trip.

We found nearby long-term parking but were not impressed. Parking is free, but no parking attendant. The cars parked there looked pretty run down, maybe abandoned. We drove downtown in hopes of an alternate parking plan.

Elkhart is a small, rustic town in the heart of Indiana Amish country. Both driving in and out, we saw their small black buggies and trotting horses traversing next to us along the roadside. The town grew out of an area inhabited by Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes and dates back to the early 1900's. It is located where the Elkhart River tributary runs into the St. Joe River.

In 1949, it was officially dubbed the "RV Capital of the World" because several RV manufacturing companies were located here. As a matter of fact, when we moved from San Francisco to Kalamazoo in 2003, we drove a rental RV and this town was the drop off point. That time we only saw the outskirts of the town and didn't realize how nice it was. It is also known for its past and current history of manufacturing musical instruments and its other nickname is the "Band Instrument Capital of the World."

As we walked the streets of downtown looking for an information sign, we could not miss the lovely Lerner Theatre, opened in 1924. It is in pristine condition after a total renovation, and has a seating capacity of 2,000. Although we did not see the inside, from the website www.thelerner.com/about.html it would rival any theatre in Chicago or New York.

Near the theatre was the Elkhart Visitors Center. We went in, grabbed a few brochures, and asked about parking. They had no idea!! 

Across the street was the Midwest Museum of American Art, located in a beautifully restored neo-classical style bank building (www.midwesternmuseum.us). We were impressed one more time. It houses over 2,500 works in its collection including some of my favorites--Rockwell, Warhol, Rauschenberg, Calder, and three generations of Weston family photographers. And only $5 to get in. BUT they didn't know anything about parking. They called City Hall for us and directed us there.

Well, actually they directed us to a court house (a ugly, blocky 50's building that did not fit into the rest of the quaint town) and THEY directed us to City Hall (1915 red brick structure). Outside was mundane, but inside was lovely with a grand staircase and marble everywhere. After some discussion and a few phone calls, they said all parking in town was free, but none was attended. They recommended a parking structure near the police station. We checked it out and decided that was the best spot.

By that time we were hungry. We asked for a recommendation and were directed to the 523 Tap and Grill (www.523tapandgrill.com). The person said just look for the green and white elk. What a pleasant surprise--classy and lots of interesting things on the menu. Mike had a perch sandwich and I had fish tacos with pesto sauce. Nice bar, too. Would definitely go back there.

Regarding the elk, Elkhart must have had an artsy elk decorating contest. All around town were elk "statues" painted in varied themes. Kind of like the taxis in Kalamazoo or the guitars in Cleveland (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), or the giant cherries in Traverse City.

Well, our trial run was over. Time to head home and wait for the day of our actual train trip to NYC.


PS - A couple of days later a friend advised she goes down to Elkhart all the time to catch the train to NYC. She parks her Mercedes in that long term lot behind the train station. After all that, guess we will, too.