Indianapolis Soldiers & Sailors Monument (#0227)

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the center of Indianapolis. I was in Indiana for graduate school at Indiana University (Bloomington) in the early 1980’s (later pictures) and thus was in Indianapolis fairly often since it was the nearest big city. In those days the downtown was fairly dreary because downtown shopping had died out (as it had everywhere) and thus the streets were empty except for people working in the nearby office buildings. Because of that, I basically ignored downtown in those days and thus didn’t really appreciate how spectacular was the monument in the very center of the city. Things have changed dramatically in the 30+ years since I was in the area, which helps highlight the size and complexity of the monument.

More about the monument in later pictures, but this is the only picture I could get of the overall monument. It is possible to ride an elevator to the upper level, which gives a panoramic view of the flatness of central Indiana; the monument is only 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty. The figure at the top of the monument, referred to as “Victory,” is characterized as a “marriage of the classical Greek Victory image (a sense of action and triumph; adorned with flowing drapery) with the American image of Liberty with its torch symbolizing the light of civilization and its sword symbolizing justice.”

Source: www.in.gov/iwm/2439.htm