Veterans Memorial Plaza

Originally known as Obelisk Square, this park was completed in 1930 between the American Legion Mall and the Indiana World War Memorial. Its main feature is the Obelisk fountain, and this portion of the plaza was originally designed to serve as a venue for military parades and related civic events. Pairs of captured German artillery pieces once flanked each corner of the large open plaza. The centrally placed Obelisk fountain within the Indiana War Memorial Plaza resembles the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., and stands as a symbol of hope and inspiration to the nation. The spire is 100 feet tall and is composed entirely of black Berwick granite. It stands within a two-tiered fountain accented with water jets and colored lights. The obelisk is a four-sided shaft of black Berwick granite with a pyramidal point in gold gilt and is considered a universal symbol of regeneration. It is also said to represent the hopes and aspirations of the nation and a symbol of the power of nature to reproduce and continue the life of the country. Bas-relief panels at its base portray the four fundamentals on which the nation was founded: Law, Science, Religion, and Education. A two-level fountain of Georgian pink marble surrounds the obelisk with varied water jets, and in the evening colored lights illuminate the fountain.

Indianapolis city (balance), Indiana · United States