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<\/a><\/p>\nIn recent years Logansport has been making very good use of its historic assets.\u00a0 In 2009 it was designated a Preserve America Community. Today a historic railroad depot downtown houses a museum and anchors an attractive riverside public space to the south,\u00a0the Little Turtle Waterway Plaza\u00a0City of Logansport, Indiana \/ Locations \/ Little Turtle Waterway Plaza & Trail<\/a>\u00a0, a nice place to start an exploratory walk downtown that still boasts a number of great old buildings, many of which now house interesting shops and restaurants. \u00a0From there also are trails to follow along the Wabash River. In the past few years quite a lot of new public sculpture has appeared downtown, including a carousel horse,\u00a0clearly a tribute to that 19th century carousel in Riverside Park, which came to Logansport from its previous location in Fort Wayne in 1919. It was carved by master craftsman Gustav A. Dentzel, considered the best in his art, and is a National Historic Landmark\u2013one of only three complete Dentzel carousels in the country. (By the way, Indiana boasts another at the Children\u2019s Museum in Indianapolis.) Despite this honored status, rides are only 75 cents, and you can still try for the brass ring! \u00a0\u00a0Cass County Carousel, Inc | Logansport \u2013 Cass County Indiana<\/a>\u00a0 Unlike 25 years ago, the carousel is today housed in a climate-controlled building, the better to ensure its preservation. I appreciate the need, but I\u2019m a bit nostalgic for those days when it was in an open shelter and its joyous music rang through the park on a sunny afternoon. The miniature golf course still remains, not far from the carousel, as does the old miniature train.<\/p>\n Along with Dyckman Park, Riverside Park contains several 1930s-era Works Progress Administration resources\u2013always a plus for me! \u00a0 Riverside is on the Eel River, and a recently constructed bridge connects the Eel River Run Trail in the park with the River Bluff Trail on the other side. \u00a0That trail leads to the 35-acre Hervey Nature Preserve, which even includes a labyrinth.<\/p>\n I\u2019m fond of old drive-in restaurants, and Logansport has two I recommend.\u00a0 The Char-Bett is located in a former 1930s gas station on the outskirts of town on the old Michigan Road (State Road 25) heading northeast toward Rochester:\u00a0 tasty drive-in food and all manner of ice cream treats, including sodas, which can be hard to find these days. I had passed it several times in my journeys up and down the Road, but always in the off-season. This year I\u2019ve managed to stop twice.<\/p>\n For some reason, over the years I had missed the Sycamore Drive-In, just off old US24, once a major route, at 316 20th.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Just up the old Michigan Road from Indianapolis, about 75 miles, is Logansport, which,\u00a0given its key location at the confluence of two rivers (the Eel and the Wabash),\u00a0existed even before this historic route was platted to it. \u00a0Logansport was a … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>I reveled in the discovery, for they, too, offer sodas among their ice cream treats and a nice assortment of drive-in fare. How fortunate Logansport is!<\/p>\n