Indianapolis War Memorials: Two Monuments, Two Dedication Dates

Indianapolis hosts two major war memorials downtown, each with distinct origins and dedications:

Indiana War Memorial Plaza

Dedicated: November 11, 1927 (Armistice Day). Honors Hoosiers who served in World War I. The plaza includes the Indiana War Memorial Museum (modeled on the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus), the Cenotaph Square, and the American Legion Mall—a 5-block ceremonial landscape.

Indiana World War Memorial

Dedicated: May 30, 1931 (Memorial Day). Honors Hoosiers in both World Wars I and II. This is the museum building within the plaza—often confused with the plaza itself. Its Shrine Room lists names of Indiana's WWI dead; later additions honor WWII, Korea, Vietnam.

Clarifying the Distinction

The Plaza is the entire complex (dedicated 1927). The Memorial is the specific building/museum (dedicated 1931). Together they form one of the nation's most impressive veterans' memorial landscapes—headquarters of the American Legion since 1919.