American Legion Mall

American Legion Mall comprises two city blocks and is the largest part of the five-city-block plaza, whose overall design reflects the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and the City Beautiful Movement, a popular design trend in the 1920's. The American Legion was the catalyst for the Indiana War Memorial Plaza, and the search for its national headquarters location led to the creation of this plaza as one of the greatest national tributes to veterans. Indianapolis was selected as the site for the Legion's National Headquarters, now on the north side of American Legion Mall, and much economic development was undertaken to attract it because Indiana was recognized as a hub of major rail transportation and a true Crossroads of America. The American Legion was formed in February-March of 1919, immediately following the World War, by veterans who wished to honor their fallen and join in common endeavors for their own and the nation's good. Construction on the American Legion State Headquarters began in 1925 as the first building in the entire plaza, and it served as the original national headquarters until the organization moved to a new, larger building on the northeast corner of American Legion Mall in 1950. The same tools General John Pershing used to lay the original Indiana War Memorial cornerstone in 1927 were used again in a like ceremony on May 6, 1949, for the enlarged American Legion Headquarters, where a time capsule was placed containing a current edition of the Indianapolis Star, other city newspapers, facsimiles of several historic documents, and a history of the War Memorial. Throughout the 1990's, three monuments were added to the mall to honor Indiana veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Indianapolis city (balance), Indiana · United States