Indiana World War Memorial Plaza The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza is an urban feature located in Indianapolis , Indiana , originally built to honor the veterans of World War I . The five - city - block plaza 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 . At the north end of the plaza is the American Legion Mall , which is the site of the administration buildings of the Legion , as well as a memorial cenotaph . South of that is the Veterans Memorial Plaza with its obelisk . The centerpiece of the plaza is the Indiana World War Memorial , modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus . Within is a military museum , the Shrine Room , and an auditorium . At the south end is University Park , the oldest part of the plaza , filled with statues and a fountain . On October 11 , 1994 , the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza was designated a National Historic Landmark District . History . 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 in 1919 after World War I , is an organization of veterans that sponsors youth programs , promotes patriotism and national security , and provides commitment to Americans who have served in the armed forces . Three Indianapolis veterans wanted to attract the Legion to the city , which already had the Soldiers ' and Sailors ' Monument . At an American Legion national convention in Minneapolis during 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 out of 684 cast . 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 . Work began in 1921 . 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 . 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 . Various architects were invited by an appointed War Memorial Board 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 . The partnership of Walker and Weeks of Cleveland , Ohio was chosen in 1923 . Their plan consisted of a main 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 . In style the structure complimented the nearby local library . The second auxiliary building was not constructed until 1950 . The Neoclassical design incorporated the existing library , federal building , and University Park . One additional building was planned but never built . The War Memorial and the parks in the plaza are an example of the City Beautiful movement , which supported classical , uniform , and beautiful public architecture . The plaza covers a five - block strip north of Monument Circle between St . Clair , Pennsylvania , New York , and Meridian Street s . In 1989 , the plaza was listed on the National Register of Historic Places , and it was named a National Historic Landmark District in 1994 . The Historic District includes the plaza as well as the Indianapolis Public Library , immediately north of the plaza , and the Birch Bayh Federal Building & U . S . Courthouse , immediately south . The Scottish Rite Cathedral is across the street on the west side of the plaza , and the Minton - Capehart Federal Building is across the street on the east side . The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza is a popular location for celebrations , including the Fourth of July festival , Veterans Day , and Memorial Day services . The Chase Tower , located three blocks directly south of the Memorial building , has a roof with a design similar to the Memorial ' s . American Legion Mall . The two auxiliary buildings on the plaza are used by the American Legion . Both buildings were constructed from Indiana limestone in neoclassical style , similar to the public library just to the north . The east building at Meridian and St . Clair , designated building B on the original plan , houses the Indiana Department of the American Legion , the American Legion Auxiliary , and the National Forty and Eight . The four - story building served as the national headquarters until the second building was completed . The larger west building at Pennsylvania and St . Clair , building C , serves as the Legion ' s national headquarters . The headquarters deals with the mail , archives , and other internal administrative functions of the Legion ; the lobbying efforts of the Legion are based in its Washington , D . C . office . Its two wings each mirror building B and are joined by a recessed central entrance . Three semi - circular granite memorials list the names of the Hoosier s killed in World War II , the Korean War , and the Vietnam War . Cenotaph Square . Cenotaph Square is located between the two auxiliary buildings used by the American Legion . It is in a sunken garden with the rectangular black granite cenotaph centered in it resting upon a base of red and dark green granite . Four shafts of black granite , with gold eagles surmounted on them , mark the corners of the square . The inscription on the north face of the cenotaph memorializes James Bethal Gresham , a Hoosier who was the first member of the American Expeditionary Force to be killed in action in World War I . A native of Evansville , he was a corporal in the 16th Infantry Regiment and was killed at Bathelemont , France on November 3 , 1917 . The inscription on the south side says " A tribute by Indiana to the hallowed memory of the glorious dead who served in the World War . " Veterans Memorial Plaza . The Veterans Memorial Plaza , also called Obelisk Square , has an obelisk and fountain and is located on the plaza south of the Mall . The black granite obelisk was built in 1923 , and the square was completed in 1930 . Near the base of the obelisk are - by - panels placed in 1929 representing law , science , religion , and education intended to represent the fundamentals of the nation . The obelisk rises from a , two - level fountain made of pink Georgia marble and terrazzo . The fountain has two basins , spray rings , and multicolored lights . On the east and west sides fly the flags of the fifty states , which were installed in 1976 for the US Bicentennial . They were replaced with the flags of countries of the Americas during the 1987 Pan American Games . The square was originally paved with asphalt , but it was landscaped with grass and trees in 1975 . The War Memorial . Architects Walker and Weeks planned the Indiana World War Memorial Building as the plaza ' s centerpiece , sitting between the federal building and the public library . 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 " . 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 . Although its interior was incomplete , it was dedicated on November 11 , 1933 ( Veterans Day ) by Governor Paul McNutt and Lt . Gen . Hugh Drum , Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Army . 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 instead develop the area , the memorial and surrounding landscaping were finally finished in 1965 . The memorial ' s design is based upon the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus , which was one of the Seven Wonders of the World . At tall it is approximately taller than the original Mausoleum . The blue lights which 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 . 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 high , weighs seven tons , and was the largest cast bronze sculpture in the United States . 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 . " On the north side is the building ' s main inscription : Indiana World War Memorial Military Museum . The main entrance of the Indiana War Memorial Museum 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 ' 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 . Additional museum exhibits are displayed on the main level of the monument . An exhibit replicating the radio room of the includes original equipment from World War II was opened on November 7 , 2009 . 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 . Above the main level is the Shrine Room , nearly a vertical double cube , high and 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 marble frieze depicting events of World War I . At the center of the space , beneath a giant hanging - by - 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 . University Park . University Park occupies the southernmost block of the plaza . It was originally intended to serve as the site of a state university , but this never occurred . Instead , it was the site of churches , a high school , and a training ground for Union soldiers during the American Civil War . In 1876 it was transformed into a city park . Surrounding the square are statues of prominent Hoosiers . Benjamin Harrison ' s statue is on the south side , designed by Henry Bacon and Charles Niehaus ; seated Abraham Lincoln is in the southeast corner , designed by Henry Hering in 1934 ; and Schuyler Colfax is on the east side , designed by Lorado Taft in 1887 . There are also sculptures of Pan and the nymph Syrinx designed by Myra Reynolds Richards in 1923 . University Park was redesigned in 1914 by George Kessler for the park and boulevard system he had developed for Indianapolis , which included a fountain at the center . Street lamps on the walkways have acorn globes and fluted shafts , and two of them decorated with lions ' heads stand on the backs of metal turtles . 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 . 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 . " 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 south side of the large 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 . "