Peace & International Friendship Monuments in Indiana (USA)

Click here for PowerPoint pressentation entitled "War Memorials of Indiana" by Glory-June Greiff. Also see her book, Remembrance, faith and fancy: Outdoor public sculpture in Indiana."

Right click image to enlarge.

1826 - Levi Coffin House, Fountain City, Indiana (USA). Unintentional monument. "It is speculated that 2,000 fugitive slaves had been at the house from 1826 to 1847. Levi & Catherine Coffin moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to open a warehouse that supplied free labor businesses, at the request of fellow abolitionists. The state government of Indiana acquired the house in 1967 & opened it to the public in 1970 after restoration."

1893 - "The Underground Railroad," Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio (USA). "Just as the nadir of race relations was beginning in the early 1890s, some artists such as Charles T. Webber [1825-1911], continued to show race unity & interacial solidarity. This painting shows some famous abolitionists & activists who were conductors on the underground railroad. That’s Catharine White Coffin standing in the center with the elderly gentleman using a walking stick. Her husband Levi Coffin [1798-1877] is up high on the cart at the right. The Quaker abolitionist Hannah Haydock is on the far left with the children."

About 1913 - "Japanese Pagoda," Sunset Park, Ohio River, Evansville, Indiana (USA). Built for picnics and concerts "when America was fascinated by all things Eastern." Design came from a model displayed at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Survived the flood of 1937 but eventually fell into neglect and became a museum storage shed. In 1995, at a cost of more than $1.5 million, the building was restored, retaining its original Japanese design. Now serves as city visitors center. Visited by EWL.

October 30, 1913 - Peace Monument, SW corner, Courthouse Square, Decatur, Adams County, Indiana (USA). Designed by Charles T. Mulligan [1866-1916]. Statue of "Peace" 12 feet 3 inches tall modeled by Margaret McMasters Van Slyke, "said to be Chicago's most perfectly formed woman" (local winner of Bernarr Macfadden's 13-city "best and most perfectly formed woman" contest in 1903-1904?). Side panels bear names of 1,276 Adams County veterans: Five of the War of 1812, eight of the Mexican War, 1,152 of 1861-1865 [sic], and 111 of the Spanish-American War. "The world's first monument dedicated exclusively to peace" (according to Wikipedia). Rededicated on August 24, 2013. Left photo by EWL 29Jul09. Right photo from 1935.

October 30, 1913 - Tribute to Women, back side of Peace Monument (qv), SW corner, Courthouse Square, Decatur, Adams County, Indiana (USA). Has bas relief sculpture of a nurse bandaging a wounded soldier, above a fountain (waterfall) behind which was mounted a fragment of the USS Maine (sunk in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898). Inscription: "To the women of our nation, as a tribute to their courage, devotion and sacrifice." Left photo by EWL 29Jul09. Right photo from 1935.

November 11, 1918 - "International World War Peace Tree," Evansville, Indiana (USA). Caption: "Charles and Beth Skeels stand under a shady linden, designated the 'peace tree' by German immigrants who planted it as a seedling on her family's property north of Evansville at the end of World War I."

May 30, 1932 - Seated Lincoln Monument, Wabash County Courthouse, Wabash, Indiana (USA). By American sculptor Charles Keck [1875-1951] who sculpted an immense Angel of Peace (qv) for the 1930 Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Ontario (Canada). An identical Lincoln statue will be dedicated in Hingham, Massachusetts (USA), on September 23, 1939.

1936 - International Friendship Gardens, US Highway 12, Michigan City, Indiana (USA). Permanent spinoff of the "Old Mill Garden" at the Chicago World’s Fair (“A Century of Progress International Exposition.”) in 1933-34. Theme of the "Old Mill Garden" was "Peace and Friendship To All Nations."

1936? - Peace Bell, International Friendship Gardens, US Highway 12, Michigan City, Indiana (USA). Before & after deterioration of the frame holding the bell. Second photo by EWL.

1936? - Rotary Peace Garden, International Friendship Gardens, US Highway 12, Michigan City, Indiana (USA). Rotary International logo at left, peace pole in center. Photo by EWL.

S H R I N E

About 1940 - "Peace," Indiana World War Memorial, Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). One of six allegorical figures on the exterior of the memorial. (The other five are Courage, Memory, Victory, Liberty & Patriotism.) Construction of the immense 210-foot tall memorial was undertaken by the State of Indiana in 1921 as an inducement to persuade the American Legion to move its headquarters from New York City to Indianapolis. Huge interior "Shrine Room" contains paintings (right image) by Walter Brough [1890-1978] of the commanding generals of France, America, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy & Serbia.

1944 - Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana (USA). Lincoln lived here 1816-1830. "The centerpiece of the memorial is an one-story limestone ashlar memorial building completed in 1944 that features five sculpted murals of the different phases of Lincoln's life." Image shows reproduction of Lincoln's boyhood cabin.

1962 - Statue of Mary Dyer, Stout Meeting House, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana (USA). "The Massachusetts legislature enacted a law that every Quaker in its jurisdiction should be banished on pain of death. Mary Dyer [c1611-1660] was hanged in May 1660 for re-entering that colony, rather than abandon the principles of freedom of speech and conscience." Original of this statue is is Boston, Massachusetts; another copy is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1970 - LOVE Sculpture, Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). 3-ton sculpture made of Cor-ten steel, 12-feet high, 12-feet wide and six-feet deep. Completed in 1970 and acquired by IMA in 1975. Examples in many other cities. Indiana native Robert Indiana first conceived the idea of LOVE during the Vietnam War [1959-1975], and his work became a symbol of peace.

1976 - LOVE Statue, JFK Park (nicknamed "LOVE Park"), 16th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadephia, Pennsylvania (USA).

January 26, 1973 - LOVE Stamp (USA). "The 330 million US postal stamps issued in the 1970’s are one of the more popular examples of the great appeal of this iconic image."

1976 - Four Freedoms Monument, Sunset Park, Ohio River, Evansville, Indiana (USA). Next to "Japanese Pagoda" (qv). A US Bicentennial project. Designed by local engineer Rupert Condict. Has four columns from depot of the former Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad (right image) plus separate stones for each of the 50 states. President Franklin D. Roosevelt [1882-1945] announced the Four Freedoms on January 6, 1941 Click here for other Four Freedoms monuments.

May 30, 1979 - "Congregations for Peace", Monroe County Courthouse, Bloomington, Indiana (USA). Statue of female "Peace" holding a dove and a book inscribed "BLESSED are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called Children of GOD" (from Matthew 5:9). Sculpted from local oolitic limestone by William T. Dahman. Visited by EWL.

1981 - Broken Shield, central quadrangle, Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana (USA). Sculpture by John Mishler. "One of his first metal pieces, Broken Shield became a part of the college, which used it in its advertising. It has been covered in tinfoil, a student made a papier mache figure and posed them together for his senior show and other students turned it into a flag." Goshen is a Mennonite college with the slogan "Healing the World, Peace by Peace."

I N S T

1986 - Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana (USA). Financed by $50 million bequest from Joan B. Kroc [1928-2003]. According to Wikipedia, this is "America’s leading 'Peace' institution" & was "established & endowed by Kroc herself. She preferred to give donations anonymously, but recipient organizations often insisted on publicizing her gifts, hoping to attract new donors."

1986 - War Memorial Fountain, Fieldhouse Mall (south end of North Quad), University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana (USA). Eight immense monoliths & four lintels, one of which is inscribed "Pro Patria et Pace." Also called "Clarke Peace Memorial" and "Stonehenge." Designed by Notre Dame trustee John Henry Burgee & Philip C. Johnson [1906-2005]. Inscription on adjacent plaque: "War Memorial Fountain erected through the generosity of Maude C. and John W. Clarke Chicago, Illinois. In memory of the Notre Dame men who gave their lives in World War II, Korea, Vietnam. May they rest in peace" Inscription on second plaque: "About 500 Notre Dame alumni gave their lives for their country and peace in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. In memorializing them, we join our prayers to their supreme sacrifice as we inscribe this column Pro Patria et Pace. For Our Country and Peace. This is our prayer that all living Notre Dame men and women dedicate themselves to the service of their country and world peace. -- Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., President, University of Notre Dame, 1986 A.D." Visited by EWL 29Jul09.

1987 - Jangchub Stupa, Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, 3655 South Snoddy Road, Bloomington, Indiana (USA). Entry #295 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1987 - Pan American Plaza, Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). Built in commemoration of the 1987 Pan American Games held in Indianapolis. Site of the Pan American Skating Arena, now the Indiana/World Skating Academy (I/WSA).

1988 - The Arch, New Harmony, Indiana (USA) . Coil-built stoneware arch in front of the Roofless Church. Executed in 1971 by East Coast artist Bruno La Verdiere & installed in New Harmony in 1988. It was moved to its current location in 1993. The inscription at the base of the sculpture reads: "This gateway is for all the innocent victims of war and oppression throughout the ages and particularly for all the young who died too soon in this century." /// On-line caption for left image is "Bruno La Verdiere, Arch, 1970, 8 ft." (location unknown).

1988 - Peace House & Gladdys Muir Peace Garden, Manchester College, North Manchester, Indiana (USA). Peace House established in 1988, and Peace Garden added in 2001 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the college's Peace Studies Program (the first at any college or university in the USA -- and first of any in the entire world?). Named for Gladdys Muir, founder of the Peace Studies Program. Entry #311 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

October 29, 1989 - Peace Pole," Miami Memorial Garden, Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters (OLVM), Victory Noll Center, 1900 West Park Drive, Huntington, Indiana (USA). Honors the Miami Indians "who once claimed Indiana as their homeland." "Carved by Sr. Mary Joan Ginsterblum, OLVM, from a large blue spruce topped during a wind storm. Base of the pole depicts the Wabash River with fish and cattails. The leaves of the oak, tulip, and sycamore trees and the grapevine are all native plants. The turtles, otter tails (thin diamond shapes around the top) and the head and neck of the crane are clan and tribal symbols. The peace prayer is in English and Spanish. “PEHKOKIA,” the Miami word for peace, is inscribed around the top of the pole. The rock on top of the pole was found on the grounds of Victory Noll."

January 15, 1991 - Peace Monument, Harrison County Courthouse, Corydon, Indiana (USA). Conceived by Mark Stein to balance seven war memorials on all other sides of the courthouse. Simple stone slab with a dove & inscribed only "Dedicated to the Peaceful Resolution of Conflict", plus this quotation: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone, it is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower [1890-1969]." Dedicated on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. Visited by EWL 09Aug09.

Date? - Dove of Peace Window, Abundant Grace Church, 2425 South Emerson Avenue, Greenwood, Indiana (USA).

1996 - "A Landmark for Peace," MLK Park, one block west of 17th Street & College Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). Marks the spot where presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy [1926-1968] announced on April 4, 1968, to a large, mostly Black audience that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [1929-1968] had just been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. (Kennedy was assassinated on June 6, 1968.) Designed by Indiana artist Greg Perry, the monument includes busts of King & Kennedy sculpted by controversial artist Daniel Edwards from handguns melted down after a police buy back program. Click here for a description by Rev. Chris Buice of Knoxville, Tennessee, including text of Kennedy's speech which helped prevent race riots as occured in at least 110 other US cities. Click here for a 2009 video about the event and monument. Click here for air view of the park & monument. A plaque credits Diane Meyer Simon and various Simon family interests as major contributors. The plaque also says that the monument is "Dedicated to the memory of Larry Conrad" but says nothing about Conrad (a local lawyer and Democratic politician who died in 1990). Visited by EWL 08Aug09. /// Bottom image shows former US Attorney Joe Hogsett announcing his candidacy for Indianapolis mayor on Nov. 12, 2104.

1997 - Plaque & Photo, Manchester College, North Manchester, Indiana (USA). Commemorates speech which Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered at Manchester College on February 1, 1968, shortly before his death on April 4, 1968. Entry #312 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1997 - Peace Learning Center (PLC), Eagle Creek Park, 6040 Delong Road, Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). "At the former Eagle Crest Estate of J. K. Lilly, Jr. [1893-1966], brother of Eli Lilly. Founded by Tim Nation, PLC’s current Executive Director, & Charlie Wiles, who is currently Executive Director of the Center for Interfaith Cooperation... It all started with a few people concerned about neighborhood & family violence in Indianapolis & grew to a community educational institution promoting peace-building & conflict resolution with programs replicated in eight US cities & five countries."

September 19, 2004 - Indianapolis Peace House, 1421 North Central Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). A project of three historic peace church colleges -- Earlham (Quaker), Goshen (Mennonite) and Manchester (Brethren) -- known as the Plowshares Peace Studies Collaborative which was founded in 2002 by a grant from the Lilly Endowment.

June 30, 2010 - Glick Peace Walk, Walnut Street (between Meridian Street & Capitol Avenue), Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). Adjacent to Scottish Rite Cathedral and within sight of American Legion headquarters building. Has 12-foot illuminated steel-and-glass scuptures honoring Susan B. Anthony, Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Franklin D. & Eleanor Roosevelt, Jonas Salk, Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington, and the Wright Brothers. From article dated June 26, 2009: "Indianapolis real estate mogul Gene Glick always wanted to build an homage to peace in a city whose icon is the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument." The Peace Walk will be a segment of the 8-mile, $55 million "Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick" which is now under construction and toward which Glick donated $15 million. Visited by EWL 08Aug09.