The Indiana World War Memorial was modeled after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the seven wonders of the world, and was designed to embody Hoosier valor and the sacrifices made during World War I. Acclaimed by the American Institute of Architects as "The Most Significant Piece of Architecture in Indiana," construction began in 1926, its cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1927 by General John J. Pershing, and although it was nearly complete in 1928, funding delays kept it from being fully finished until 1965. Rising 210 feet above ground level, it features surrounding plaza- and promenade-level vistas, a colonnade, statues, a stepped ziggurat roof, and a symbolic blue-accented beacon. Inside are the Grand Foyer, administrative offices, meeting rooms, the 500-seat Pershing Auditorium, a lower-level Military Museum on Indiana's veterans, and the Shrine Room, which expresses peace and unity following World War I. Its exterior includes bronze entries, monumental cast-bronze Shrine doors weighing more than 6000 pounds, Indiana limestone inscribed with part of the law that created the Indiana War Memorial Plaza, south stars leading from the sidewalk to the promenade level as the backdrop for Pro Patria, sculpted limestone urns and guardian hand at the corners and grand stair, and promenade views across the plaza toward the Marion County Public Library, University Park, and the United States Courthouse.
