Heslar Naval Armory Heslar Naval Armory ( formerly Indianapolis Naval Reserve Armory ) was constructed in 1936 in Indianapolis , Indiana , USA , on the shore of White River as a Works Progress Administration construction project . It was designed by architect Ben H . Bacon and reflects an Art Moderne style . Heslar Naval Armory is currently the home of Naval Operations Support Center Indianapolis , Marine Corps Reserve Center Indianapolis , and Naval Recruiting Station Indianapolis , as well as the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps Cruiser Indianapolis ( CA 35 ) Division and the Central Indiana Young Marines of the Marine Corps League . In October 2008 the Indiana Wing Civil Air Patrol , state branch of the US Air Force Auxiliary , moved its headquarters functions and staff to the Armory . The building and property are legally owned by the State of Indiana and managed by the Indiana State Armory Board ( an entity of the Indiana National Guard ) , but is leased to the federal government for use by the United States Navy Reserve and the United States Marine Corps Reserve . History . Construction began on the US $ 550 , 000 project in February 1936 , and the building was officially dedicated as the Indianapolis Naval Reserve Armory at a ceremony on October 29 , 1938 . John K . Jennings , Indiana State WPA administrator , presented the building to Elmer F . Streub , adjutant - general , who then presented it to Captain O . F . Heslar , commandant of the Indiana State Naval Reserve . Louis J . Bornstein , representing the citizen ' s dedication committee , served as toastmaster . Guests included Lieutenant - Governor Henry F . Schricker ; Indianapolis Mayor Walter C . Boetcher ; Admiral Hayne Ellis , commander of the Ninth Naval District ; and representatives of the Navy Department and the Navy Reserves of several states . The structure was built of reinforced architectural concrete with steel roof trusses . Upon completion , the four - story building included a navigation bridge , signal hoist , magazine , battle telephones , boiler room , radio communication , watertight bulkheads , ship ' s ladders , galley , swimming pool , gymnasium , rifle range , classrooms , and mess and quarters for Officers and Enlisted staff . The mess hall and gymnasium were decorated with 12 ' x15 ' murals depicting famous Naval battles and events . Inscribed around the rotunda and on the walls of the exterior are the surnames of several significant figures in Naval History including George H . Preble , George Dewey , Oliver Hazard Perry , John Paul Jones , and David Glasgow Farragut . On November 20 , 1939 , Captain O . F . Heslar ( 1891 – 1970 ) took command of the armory and the USS " Sacramento " , the gunboat aboard which the Naval Reserve force trained on Lake Michigan each summer . Captain Heslar remained in this capacity through November 1940 , when he was ordered to take his ship and her crew to Boston , Massachusetts , for refitting . It was here that the vessel was transferred to the active U . S . Navy and was docked at Pearl Harbor when that base was attacked by Japanese forces on December 7 , 1941 . She survived the attack while shooting down at least two enemy fighters , and participated in rescue and salvage operations immediately afterward . During World War II , the inland location was ideal when generals and admirals , seeking to avoid the constant surveillance on the coasts , gathered regularly at the Heslar Naval Armory in Indianapolis to plan their Atlantic and Pacific campaigns , including elements of the pivotal Battle of Normandy that began June 6 , 1944 . Throughout World War II , the Indianapolis Naval Reserve Armory remained a vital facility where radioman and yeoman recruits trained for sea duty . Following that conflict it returned to a peacetime reserve function . In 1946 , the United States Marine Corps reactivated Headquarters Co . 16th Infantry Battalion for training and ordered them to Heslar . This unit was called for duty in Korea in 1950 . On December 12 , 1964 , the Indianapolis Naval Armory was renamed the Heslar Naval Armory in honor of its first and longest - serving commanding officer in a dinner ceremony emceed by Harry T . Ice . Mrs . Heslar was ill and unable to attend , but a tape recording was played for her later in their home in New Augusta . In attendance were Heslar ' s son , Lieutenant Fred G . Heslar USNR , and his wife , as well as former Indiana Governor Ralph Gates ; Rear Admiral Howard A . Yeager , Commandant of the Ninth Naval District , Great Lakes Illinois ; Colonel George P . Hill Jr , Commanding Officer of Fort Harrison ; Commander Joseph W . Tilford , commanding officer of the Indianapolis Naval Reserve ; Brigadier General John D . Friday of the Indiana National Guard ; Brigadier General G . Wray DePrez Indiana National Guard ( ret . ) , president of the Indiana State Armory Board ; Brigadier General Kenneth E . Keene , assistant chief , Indiana Air National Guard ; Captain James C . Wootton , commanding officer of Naval Avionics Facility ; Captain Firman F . Knachel ; and Captain Robert O . Jackson , commander of Indiana Naval Forces . Unveiled at the ceremony was a plaque that is now mounted on the exterior of the rotunda and reads : Heslar Naval Armory < BR > in honor of < BR > Captain Ola Fred Heslar , USNR ( Ret . ) < BR > Commanding Officer of the Naval Reserve < BR > State of Indiana 1921 - 1940 A dedicated Naval officer and true hoosier , Captain Heslar has given unselfishly of his time , knowledge , and efforts to further the Naval Reserve and the Indiana Naval Forces . Held in the highest esteem by his fellow officers and fellow hoosiers , it is altogether fitting that this armory be dedicated and so named . Matthew E . Welsh < BR > Governor , State of Indiana < BR > 1964 In 1978 , after the nearby Marine Reserve facility in Riverside Municipal Park was damaged , a decision was made to renovate the Armory and accommodate local Marine Reserve Components . Renovation began in 1977 with the removal of nearly all non - support internal structure and replacing them with a more modern floorplan . Also , a large parking lot was created on the former site of the Riverside Amusement Park . On November 1 , 1978 , the facility was re - designated as a Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center . Heslar Naval Armory has been listed as a contributing property to the Indianapolis Park and Boulevard System , along with several other sites and buildings . The buildings together form a Historic district that has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2003 . Captain Ola F . Heslar ( 1891 - 1970 ) . Ola Fred Heslar was born October 5 , 1891 , in Brazil , Indiana , to Walter and Minnie ( née Rhodes ) Heslar . He attended grade school in Brazil and Crawfordsville , and high school in Indianapolis . He enlisted in the U . S . Navy in 1907 and , after basic training , was assigned to a submarine in the Philippine Islands . Later , he was stationed at Norfolk Navy Yard as a radioman . In April 1913 , Heslar married Alice Marie Young of Rockland , Maine . He earned a commission in 1916 and served aboard the USS " Vulcan " in the Mediterranean and Atlantic . Next , and no doubt in reflection of his experience as a radioman , Heslar was assigned as Officer - in - Charge of the Transatlantic Radio Station in Tuckerton , New Jersey . From 1919 until 1920 , Heslar served as a staff officer under Admiral Henry Braid Wilson , Commander in Chief , U . S . Atlantic Fleet ( CINCLANT ) , 1919 - 1921 . He continued that duty under Admiral Hilary P . Jones when Admiral Jones accepted the post of Commander in Chief of the U . S . Atlantic Fleet in 1922 . In 1922 , Capt . Heslar retired from active Navy service and entered the U . S . Navy Reserve . He was assigned to active duty as Area Commander of Indiana , and later Chief of Naval Affairs for the State of Indiana . It was in these posts that he founded and organized the Indiana Naval Forces by initiating the Indiana Naval Militia Act , which was passed into law on March 1 , 1927 . Also in this capacity , Capt . Heslar oversaw the construction of the Naval Armories at Indianapolis and Michigan City . Capt . Heslar set a standard that was to be followed nationwide by naval reserve training and operational facilities when he established the first naval training activities at Heslar Naval Armory . During this time , Captain Heslar was also a member of the Great Lakes Commission of Indiana , and the Indiana Board of Public Harbors . Heslar ' s first wife died in August 1930 , having borne no children . In 1934 , Heslar remarried to Mabel Kathleen Gasaway of Indianapolis . In July 1938 , Fred Gasaway Heslar , Capt . Heslar ' s only child , was born . With the beginning of World War II Capt . Heslar returned to staff and combat duties serving as Director of Training , 9th Naval District , Great Lakes , Illinois and , later , on the staff of Admiral William Halsey . On May 17 , 1943 Capt . Heslar was awarded an honorary doctorate of law from DePauw University . He then went on to perform postgraduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University . In 1944 , it was announced that Captain Heslar would be promoted to Rear Admiral . However , due to his health , he was sent to the Mayo Clinic and forced to permanently retire from Naval Service . In 1959 , he was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service . Upon returning home to Indianapolis , newly elected Republican Governor Ralph M . Gates appointed Captain Heslar to the position of Indiana State Purchasing Director , which the Captain assumed on February 1 , 1945 . As of January 12 , 1946 , he was a member of the Republican Party , the Blue Lodge Free and Accepted Masons , the Columbia Club , the Woodstock Club , and the Methodist Church . Artifacts . Heslar Naval Armory is home to several artifacts of Naval history including : NOSC Indianapolis logo . The logo for NOSC Indianapolis ( then NMCRC Indianapolis ) was created by QM1 Jerome ( Jerry ) Bennett and approved by CDR Lee Shafer in 1980 . The eagle represents the USA , the Hoosier homeland is represented by the state ’ s outline . The unique nature of the WPA constructed building represents the peacetime home of the reservist . The ship ’ s wheel is for guidance , and the anchor for stability - both values central to Navy Reserve Training . When I designed the logo I was acutely aware of the heraldry and symbolism that is a part of such things as the Great Seal of the United States and countless other symbols from uniform patches to icons carved into significant architecture . I wanted to do something that deserved to remain for a time . I had visited the museum in the basement of Soldiers ’ and Sailors ’ Monument on the Circle at the center of Indianapolis and picked up a brochure from their information rack . One of the artifacts on display on a mannequin was an enlisted Naval Uniform from the War of 1812 . The Eagle atop my Naval Reserve Center logo is an exact copy of the eagle on that uniforms rating badge . If you examine it closely you can tell that my model was embroidered . The representation of the building was deliberately distorted to give depth to the rotunda ; the dominant feature of the building as viewed from the east or main entrance . If you follow the curve of the southern border of the state outline , the Ohio River , to the area of Madison , Indiana , you will notice an unusual symbol on the wooden wheel . It looks like a letter J and a letter B stuck together so that the two vertical strokes are combined . That is my mark which I incorporated into the original artwork . Jerry Bennett QMC