The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza is an urban feature and war memorial located in downtownIndianapolis, Indiana, United States, originally built to honor the veterans of World War I.[3] It was conceived in 1919 as a location for the national headquarters of the American Legion and a memorial to the state's and nation's veterans.
The original five-block plaza is bounded by Meridian Street (west), St. Clair Street (north), Pennsylvania Street (east), and New York Street (south). American Legion Mall comprises the two northernmost blocks and is home to the Legion's administrative buildings and a cenotaph. Veterans Memorial Plaza, with its obelisk, forms the third block. The plaza's focal point, the Indiana World War Memorial, is located on the fourth block. Modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, it houses a military museum and auditorium.[4] The fifth and southernmost block is University Park, home to statues and a fountain.[5]
On October 11, 1994, the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza was designated a National Historic Landmark District. In 2016, the district was enlarged to include in its scope the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and was renamed the Indiana World War Memorial Historic District. Combined, it is the largest war memorial project in the United States,[6] encompassing 24 acres (9.7ha).[7]
History
1919 concept renderingEmblem plaque embedded in a district sidewalk
The origins of the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza lay in a 1919 attempt by the city of Indianapolis to lure the newly formed American Legion from its temporary headquarters in New York City. The American Legion, chartered by Congress following World War I, is an organization of veterans that sponsors youth programs, promotes patriotism and national security and provides a commitment to Americans who have served in the armed forces.[8]
At an American Legion national convention in Minneapolis in November 1919, cities sent representatives to lobby to become the new headquarters. Indianapolis drew support because of its central location within the United States and the city's shows of patriotism. Although Washington, D.C. received the most votes on the first ballot, Indianapolis gained a majority and won the second with 361 votes of 684 cast.[3]
The city and state then had to provide a location, and one of the promises the city made was to erect a fitting memorial to those who served in World War I. Thus, in January 1920 a public library, St. Clair Park, University Park, and two occupied city blocks were designated as the site for the plaza, with one new building for the American Legion to use as their national headquarters, various public buildings, and a war memorial. The Indiana War Memorial Bill was passed in July 1920 and appropriated $2 million for construction and land.[3] The city and state reached an agreement whereby the city would pay for the site and maintenance costs, while the State of Indiana would pay for the memorial's construction.[9] The Plaza was dedicated by the Legion in November 1921 with the laying of a cornerstone from the bridge over the River Marne at Château-Thierry. About 45 buildings on the blocks were demolished in 1926, though several were relocated, and the Second Presbyterian Church and the First Baptist Church were not demolished until 1960.[10][11]
Various architects were invited by an appointed War Memorial Board, led by professional advisor and trustee Thomas Rogers Kimball,[12] to submit designs for a memorial intended to honor all who fought in World War I and also to provide meeting places, archives, and offices for the American Legion. Cleveland, Ohio-based Walker and Weeks was selected in 1923. Their plan consisted of a central memorial and two auxiliary buildings, an obelisk, a mall, and a cenotaph. Bids for the American Legion building, one of the two auxiliary buildings, were put out in 1925, and construction by the Craig-Curtiss Company began the same year.[3] The buildings were neoclassical in design to compliment the existing Central Library and U.S. Courthouse and Post Office; completed before the plaza's development, the buildings anchor the north and south ends of the plaza, respectively. The second auxiliary building was not constructed until 1950.[9] When Congress authorized the payment of World War I veterans' bonuses in 1936, the state of Indiana used the money for the construction of the memorial plaza, rather than paying it to the veterans.[13] One additional building was planned but never built.[3]
American Legion Mall covers the two northernmost blocks of the five-block civic center. The mall is bounded by Meridian Street (west), St. Clair Street (north), Pennsylvania Street (east), and North Street (south). Prior to its construction, the south block of the mall was home to the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.[4]
The two auxiliary buildings on the plaza are used by the American Legion. Both buildings were constructed from Indiana limestone in neoclassical style, consistent with the Indianapolis Central Library to the north. Until 2014, the west building fronting Meridian Street served as the Indiana Veteran's Support Center.[18] The larger east building fronting Pennsylvania Street serves as the Legion's national headquarters, housing mail services, archives, and other internal administrative functions of the Legion; the lobbying efforts of the Legion are based in its Washington, D.C. office.[19] Its two wings are joined by a recessed central entrance.[3]
The Vietnam and Korean Wars Memorial (1996) consist of two semi-circular limestone and granite monuments divided proportionally to represent the number of casualties from each conflict. Both monuments are engraved with the names of Hoosiers killed in the Korean War and Vietnam War along with excerpts from letters home.[20] The World War II Memorial (1998) is a single cylindrical limestone monument engraved with the names of Hoosier World War II casualties. A free-standing column lists operations and campaigns of the war. Both memorials were designed by architect Patrick Brunner.[20][21][4] The Gold Star Families Memorial Monument, situated in the northeast quadrant of the mall, was dedicated on May 1, 2021.[22]
Vietnam War Memorial
Cenotaph Square
Cenotaph Square
Cenotaph Square is situated between the two auxiliary buildings, south of the Central Library, and to the north of the sunken garden. The rectangular black granite cenotaph centered in it rests upon a base of red and dark green granite. Four shafts of black granite topped with gold eagles mark the corners of the square.[9]
Obelisk Plaza with War Memorial in the right background
The Veterans Memorial Plaza, also called Obelisk Square, is located on the third block, south of American Legion Mall.[9] The 100-foot (30m)black granite obelisk was built in 1923 and the square was completed in 1930.[24] Near the base of the obelisk are 4-foot (1.2m)-by-8-foot (2.4m) panels placed in 1929 representing law, science, religion, and education intended to represent the fundamentals of the nation. The obelisk rises from a 100-foot-diameter (30m), two-level fountain made of pink Georgia marble and terrazzo.[3][25] The fountain has two basins, spray rings, and multicolored lights.[9]
The square was originally paved with asphalt, but it was landscaped with grass and trees in 1975.[3] On the east and west sides fly the flags of the fifty states, which were installed in 1976 in commemoration of the US Bicentennial.[14] They were replaced with the flags of countries of the Americas during the 1987 Pan American Games.[26]
Architects Walker and Weeks planned the Indiana World War Memorial building as the plaza's centerpiece, sited between the federal building and the public library.[14] Work on the actual memorial to the veterans of World War I began in early 1926. Five of the seven buildings located on the site had to be demolished before the construction commenced; the other two, Second Presbyterian Church and First Baptist Church, were not demolished until 1960. General John Pershing laid the cornerstone of the memorial on July 4, 1927, saying he was "consecrating the edifice as a patriotic shrine".[27] Funding problems in 1928 slowed the building of the interior. Even a new contractor in 1931 and $195,000 provided by the Public Works Administration in 1936 did little to speed the process of completing the structure.[9] Although its interior was incomplete, it was dedicated on November 11, 1933 (Veterans Day) by GovernorPaul McNutt and Lt. Gen. Hugh Drum, Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Army.[3] In 1949, a local newspaper reported that the memorial was already deteriorating, its limestone scaling, paint peeling, leaks forming, and plaster cracking; further reports were published in 1961. Despite proposals to develop the area instead of completing it as originally planned, the memorial and surrounding landscaping were finally completed in 1965.[3][9]
The memorial's design is based upon the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. At 210 feet (64m) tall,[28] it is approximately 75 feet (23m) taller than the original mausoleum. The blue lights that shine between columns on the side of the War Memorial make the monument easily recognizable. It is the most imposing neoclassical structure in Indianapolis due to its scale and size.[9]
Henry Hering's Pro Patria
The cubical structure is clad in unrelieved ashlar Indiana limestone on a high, lightly rusticated base, and is topped with a low pyramidal roof that sheathes its interior dome. It stands on a raised terrace approached by a wide monumental staircase. The structure has four identical faces. On each face, an Ionic screen of six columns, behind which are tall banks of windows, and is surmounted by symbolic standing figures designed by Henry Hering: Courage, Memory, Peace, Victory, Liberty, and Patriotism. The sculptures are repeated on each façade. On the south side, standing on a pink granite base in the center of the grand access stairs, is Hering's colossal exultant male nude bronze Pro Patria (1929); it is 24 feet (7.3m) high, weighs seven tons, and was the largest cast bronze sculpture in the United States.[29]
Lion and Shield
The north and south entrances are guarded by shield-bearing limestone lions, and on each corner of the terrace sits an urn. The pyramidal roof is stepped and has a lantern on top. Above the tall bronze doors on each side is the inscription "To vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the world."[3] On the north side is the building's main inscription:
To commemorate the valor and sacrifice of the land, sea and air forces of the United States and all who rendered faithful and loyal service at home and overseas in the World War; to inculcate a true understanding and appreciation of the privileges of American citizenship; to inspire patriotism and respect for the laws to the end that peace may prevail, justice be administered, public order maintained and liberty perpetuated.[3]
The main entrance of the Indiana War Memorial Museum[31] is on the north façade, which opens into a large hall with Tennessee marble floors and Art Deco Egyptian themes. The museum is housed mainly on the lower level of the monument and honors the efforts of Hoosier soldiers in a timeline from the American Revolutionary War to modern conflicts. World War I and World War II are featured most prominently. Aside from firearms, it features a Cobra helicopter and the USSIndiana's commission plate. There are over 400 military flags housed in the museum, more than 300 of which are from the American Civil War. Indiana's Liberty Bell replica is located near the main entrance. It is of the kind given to each state by the federal government in 1950 to encourage the purchase of savings bonds.[32]
Additional museum exhibits are displayed on the main level of the monument. An exhibit replicating the radio room of the USSIndianapolis includes original equipment from World War II was opened on November 7, 2009.[33] The Grand Foyer main level features the 500-seat Pershing Auditorium, built and decorated with materials donated from several states and World War I allies. The memorial also has three meeting rooms on the main level; these rooms were originally named in honor of General George Patton, General Douglas MacArthur, and Admiral Chester Nimitz. In 2009, the rooms were renamed in honor of Hoosier veterans: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, General David M. Shoup, and Major Samuel Woodfill.[34]
Above the main level is the Shrine Room, nearly a vertical double cube, 110ft (34m) high and 60ft (18m) on a side, clad in materials collected from all the allied nations of World War I. Accessed by two staircases from the Grand Foyer, the Shrine Room Stairway's American Pavonazzo marble walls bear the names of all Hoosiers who fought in World War I. On the east and west sides are paintings by Walter Brough of the leading soldiers of France, America, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, and Serbia. Surrounding the room are sculptor Frank Jirouch's plaster frieze depicting events of World War I.[3]At the center of the space, beneath a giant hanging 17-foot (5.2m)-by-30-foot (9.1m) American flag, is the Altar of Consecration, flanked at the corners with cauldrons on tripod stands. Above the flag is the Star of Destiny, made of Swedish crystal, representing the future of the nation.[3]
Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum
In December 2021, the Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum reopened in new quarters in the War Memorial building. The museum had formerly been housed for almost 20 years three blocks south in the basement of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, but water leakage there forced the removal of all artifacts in 2018. The War Memorial space is larger, allowing more artifacts to be displayed, and includes American Civil War items from the Military Museum collection.[35]
University Park
University Park looking south from the War Memorial building
University Park occupies the southernmost block of the plaza, bounded by Meridian Street (west), Vermont Street (north), Pennsylvania Street (east), and New York Street (south). The park was originally reserved for a state university in 1827; however, it became the site of a seminary, the city's first high school, and a training ground for Union troops during the American Civil War. In 1876, the site was designated a public park. In 1914, the park was redesigned by landscape architect George Kessler as part of the park and boulevard system plan commissioned by the city.[14][5]
Among the park's features are three statues of prominent Hoosiers. The Schuyler Colfax Memorial (1887) is located east of Depew Memorial Fountain and was designed by Lorado Taft.[14]Benjamin Harrison (1908) was designed by Henry Bacon and Charles Niehaus and is located at the south end of the park facing New York Street. Seated Lincoln (1934), located at the park's southeast corner, was designed by Henry Hering.[5] Other sculptures include Syrinx (1973) by Adolph Wolter[36] and Pan (1980) by Roger White.[37]
Other features include benches, tree plantings,[5] and street lamps designed with acorn globes and fluted shafts. Two of the lamps are decorated with lions' heads standing on the backs of metal turtles.[3]
Depew Memorial Fountain
Depew Memorial Fountain
The Depew Memorial Fountain is a free-standing fountain completed in 1919. It is composed of multiple bronze figures arranged on a five-tier granite stone base with three basins. The bronze sculptures depict fish, eight children dancing, and a woman on the topmost tier dancing and playing cymbals. The dimensions are approximately 25 x 45 x 45 feet (14m).
The fountain was commissioned in memory of Dr. Richard J. Depew by his wife, Emma Ely, following Dr. Depew's death in 1887. When Mrs. Depew died in 1913, she had bequeathed $50,000 from her estate to the city of Indianapolis for the erection of a fountain in memory of her husband "in some park or public place where all classes of people may enjoy it."[38] The original design was created by Karl Bitter, who was killed in a traffic accident in 1915 before the work could be finished. Following Bitter's overall design, Alexander Stirling Calder created the bronze figures and the fountain. Architect Henry Bacon designed the fountain's setting.
A memorial plaque on the south side of the granite basin reads "Depew Memorial Fountain. A gift to Indianapolis from Emma Ely Depew in memory of her husband Richard Johnson Depew M.D. whose long and honorable life was spent in untiring service to his fellow men."[39]
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenotaphs honour individuals, many noted cenotaphs are instead dedicated to the memories of groups of individuals, such as the lost soldiers of a country or of an empire.
The World War II Memorial is a national memorial in the United States dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Karl Theodore Francis Bitter was an Austrian-born American sculptor best known for his architectural sculpture, memorials and residential work.
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The Indiana State Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a 284 ft 6 in (86.72 m) tall neoclassical monument built on Monument Circle, a circular, brick-paved street that intersects Meridian and Market streets in the center of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. In the years since its public dedication on May 15, 1902, the monument has become an iconic symbol of Indianapolis, the state capital of Indiana. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 13, 1973 and was included in an expansion of the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza National Historic Landmark District in December 2016. It is located in the Washington Street-Monument Circle Historic District. It is also the largest outdoor memorial and the largest of its kind in Indiana.
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The National World War I Memorial is a national memorial commemorating the service rendered by members of the United States Armed Forces in World War I. The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the World War I Centennial Commission to build the memorial in Pershing Park, located at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. The park, which has existed since 1981, also contains the John J. Pershing General of the Armies commemorative work. In January 2016, the design commission selected the submission "The Weight of Sacrifice", by a team consisting of Joseph Weishaar, Sabin Howard, Phoebe Lickwar, and GWWO Architects, as the winning design, which is expected to be completed by 2024.
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Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65, Interstate 70, and the White River, and is situated near the geographic center of Marion County. Downtown has grown from the original 1821 town plat—often referred to as the Mile Square—to encompass a broader geographic area of central Indianapolis, containing several smaller historic neighborhoods.
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Depew Memorial Fountain is a freestanding fountain completed in 1919 and located in University Park in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, within the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza.
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Peace Monument is a cenotaph designed by Charles Mulligan. It is located at the Adams County Courthouse in Decatur, Indiana, in the United States. It is a war memorial devoted to peace, active women in the American Civil War and as a general war memorial commemorating the sacrifice of soldiers in war. It is the first monument in the United States specifically devoted to peace.
1 2 3 4 Rollins Stanis, Suzanne T.; Glass, James A. (2021) [1994]. "Indiana World War Memorial Plaza"(website). Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
1 2 3 4 Rollins Stanis, Suzanne T. (2021) [1994]. "University Park"(website). Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
↑ Opsahl, Sam (July 2021). "Indy Pride"(website). Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
↑ Delores J., Wright (2021) [1994]. "National Sports Festival IV"(website). Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
↑ Rumer, Thomas A.; Van Allen, Elizabeth J. (2021) [1994]. "American Legion Department of Indiana"(website). Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
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