Indianapolis
For most American cities, their history starts with a fort or trading post. Indianapolis has a very different history. When Indiana was granted statehood in 1816 it was felt that the capital should be in a more central location than the Territorial capital at Corydon. In February 1820, George Pogue and John McCormick settled on a site in the centre of the state and built cabins there. In June, commissioners appointed by the state decided that Pogue & McCormick’s settlement was the ideal site for a new state capital. The legislature approved the new site in January 1821 and it was named Indianapolis, a combination of Indiana and the Greek word ‘polis’ for city. A four square mile site was approved, but designers E P Fordham & Alexander Ralston planned only one square mile because it seemed inconceivable that the capital would ever need to be larger. The centre of the design was Governor's Circle, a large circular area of common land, where the Governor's mansion was built. No governor lived there and it was demolished in 1857. Indianapolis became the county seat of Marion County in 1821 and in 1825 the state legislature met there for the first time. Despite being capital of the state, Indianapolis grew very slowly, largely because it was not situated on a navigable river. By 1832 the population was little more than 1,000. The Madison & Indianapolis was the first railroad to arrive in 1847, the year Indianapolis was incorporated, and the population began to soar. By 1850 it had risen to 8,000 and by 1900 it was more than 169,000.
Indiana World War Memorial
The War Memorial Plaza in Indianapolis covers nearly 10 hectares (around 24 acres) making it the largest US site dedicated to war veterans outside of Washington DC. It contains two museums, three parks, plus numerous monuments, statues, sculptures, and fountains. The Indiana World War Memorial Building is shown here from one of those parks, University Park. Construction of the Memorial Building began in 1926 to a design by Cleveland architects Walker and Weeks. It was planned as a monument to Indiana men killed in World War I, but construction delays meant that it was not completed until 1965 by which time there had been another World War. The limestone and marble memorial stands 64 metres (210 feet) high and it pays homage to Indiana men (known as Hoosiers) killed during the war. It also houses a free museum that documents American military history from the Revolutionary War up to the present day.
President Benjamin Harrison's House
Benjamin Harrison was born on August 20, 1833 in North Bend, Ohio. When he was aged 7 his grandfather, William Henry Harrison, became the 9th president of the USA. In 1854 Benjamin Harrison inherited some money from a aunt, and he used the money to move himself and his wife Caroline from Ohio to Indianapolis where he would practise as a lawyer. Harrison joined the Republican Party shortly after its formation in 1856. By 1874 he had made enough money from his work as a lawyer to commence construction on the north side of Indianapolis of a large house designed by architect Herman T. Brandt. The house was completed in 1875 and Harrison lived there until his death in 1901 apart from his time as Indiana Senator (1881-1887) and as the 23rd US President (1889-1893). Harrison gave speeches to crowds on the tree shaded lawn outside the house during his 1888 presidential campaign. Widowed in 1892, Harrison remarried in 1896 and his second wife Mary continued to live in the house after his death. In 1937 she sold the house and most of its furnishings to the Arthur Jordan Foundation, which used it as a dormitory for their music school. After the music school moved out in 1951, the Foundation restored the house and opened it to the public. The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site is open for tours Monday to Saturday and in June and July it is also open on Sundays.
Soldiers & Sailors Monument from Washington Street
After the Civil War plans were mooted for a monument to commemorate Indiana's Civil War veterans. After years of debate about possible locations, a bill authorising the monument was passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 1887 with the location of the monument specified as Governor's Circle. An international contest was set up to find the best design, and in 1888 Bruno Schmitz, an architect from Berlin in Prussia was chosen as the winner. He called his design the Symbol of Indiana and the cornerstone was laid in August 1889. Unfortunately the funds allocated by the Indiana General Assembly and from public donations proved insufficient so construction work was slow. Extra funds were raised via a property tax and the monument was eventually completed in 1901. Governor's Circle was renamed Monument Circle after the impressive 86.7 metre (284 foot) high neoclassical limestone and bronze monument at its centre. It was named the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and its public dedication was held on on May 15, 1902. The Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum is housed in the base of the monument and there is an observation deck at the top that provides views across the city. At Christmas the monument is decorated with lights much like a Christmas Tree. Monument Circle is now an elegant hub in Indianapolis so it was no surprise to see a couple posing for their wedding photos by the monument. Click Tab 2 to see the wedding couple in their carriage by the Soldiers & Sailors Monument.
Indiana Repertory Theatre, Washington Street
The Indiana Theatre was built as a movie palace in 1927. The opulence of the movie palace was signalled by its highly ornamental glazed terra cotta facade in the Spanish Baroque style. The ornate interior easily matches the splendour of the front facade. As a movie palace, the Indiana Theatre had a capacity of 3,200 plus a ballroom, bowling alley and even a barbers shop. In 1980 it became the home of the Indiana Repertory Theatre who use it to stage live theatre productions. The ballroom is now known as the Indiana Roof Ballroom and it is still used for dances as well as hosting events and weddings.
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Depew Fountain, University Park
University Park was originally land set aside by Alexander Ralston for a state university that was never built. It was used for a variety of purposes until in 1914 George Kessler produced plans for a park and boulevard system. Kessler’s design had a central circle with diagonal walkways, a layout that needed a focal point at its centre. The origins of that focal point go back to 1887 with the death of Dr. Richard J. Depew, a well-known physician in the Indianapolis area. After his death his wife commissioned the design of a fountain in his memory and when Mrs. Depew died in 1913, she left $50,000 from her estate to the city of Indianapolis for the construction of the fountain ’in some park or public place where all classes of people may enjoy it’. The original design for the Depew Fountain was by Karl Bitter, from Vienna, but he died in 1915 and having only completed a small model and incomplete sketch of the fountain. Alexander Stirling Calder took over the design work and the fountain was completed in 1919. The central column of the fountain is surrounded by statues of eight children holding hands in a ring and frolicking around the fountain. On the top of the fountain is a a statue of a woman in a toga with a cymbal in each hand. With University Park now part of the Indiana War Memorial Plaza the Depew Fountain provides light hearted contrast to the rest of the plaza.
© Mike Elsden 1981 - 2025
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