If someone blindfolded you, put you on a plane, and took you to this field before taking off the blindfold you might say ‘are we in Rome – what ruins are those?’.
Needless to say they would be very surprised to find they are in the middle of Indianapolis.
Surrounded by columns it is an impressive sight.
But this structure is not a thousand year old Roman ruin. It is not even from Indiana. These are the remains of what is considered New York City’s first skyscraper – the St Paul Building.
Built in 1898 at 220 Broadway by Karl Bitter, a well known architect of the day.
The building had three large statues made of Indiana limestone. These statues were called ‘The Races of Man’ and represented African American, Asian and Caucasian laboring together to hold the skyscraper up.
By the 1950s it was decided to tear down this building to build a new, boring, glass and steel skyscraper. The owners of the building held a competition to find a new home for the sculptures, and Indianapolis won.
The sculptures were relocated to Indiana and included in a reproduction of the facade. Over the years there were various modifications, and eventually the ruins, somewhat ironically, fell into disrepair.
For almost 20 years they were roped off from the public.
Fortunately in 2015 a restoration project began.
Today they stand proud in a promenade with other pieces including these 3 large stone ones with a portion of the declaration of independence carved into them.
Holliday Park in Indianapolis is now a beautiful place to spend some time amongst the ‘ruins’.