The Ruins at Holliday Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a unique architectural and artistic landmark featuring the remains of a skyscraper.
The Ruins at Holliday Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a unique architectural and artistic landmark featuring the remains of the facade of the St. Paul Building, a historic skyscraper from New York City.
John Hampden Holliday, a civic leader, philanthropist, and journalist, founded the Indianapolis News. 1 He lived with his wife Evaline and their seven children at 1121 North Meridian. In 1892, the Holliday family purchased an 80-acre farm as a retreat from city life.
In 1916, John and Evaline donated their estate to the city of Indianapolis to commemorate Indiana’s centennial, with the condition that the land be maintained as a public park and playground for “recreation and the study of nature.” 1
The Ruins at Holliday Park were established using remnants from the facade of New York City’s St. Paul Building. 1 2 Constructed in 1898 at 220 Broadway, the St. Paul Building was one of the city’s first skyscrapers. In the 1950s, the building’s owner, Western Electric Corporation, decided to replace it with a modern skyscraper, leading to its demolition in 1958. 2 To preserve the building’s sculptures and ornamentation, Western Electric held a competition among cities for proposals on how to display them. Indianapolis artist Elmer Taflinger won with his vision for The Ruins and spent nearly two decades working with the city to realize it. 1
The project’s completion was delayed by insufficient funding and Taflinger’s ongoing design changes. 2 As other historic buildings were demolished, their salvaged elements were incorporated into The Ruins. A horse trough from Fountain Square was placed in the reflecting pool west of the statues. Taflinger redesigned the pool to include 26 Greek columns from the Sisters of Good Shepherd Convent, which the Indianapolis Star donated. He also acquired four statues from the Marion County Courthouse after its demolition, along with capitals from Broadway Christian Church and a stone table that had served as an altar at St. Paul’s Church.
Concerns over the lack of progress led Mayor Richard Lugar to direct the Department of Parks and Recreation to expedite the project in 1970. 2 The Ruins were dedicated in October 1973.
As the nation’s Bicentennial approached, Taflinger proposed an expansion called Constitution Mall, symbolizing a panorama of American history. 2 This addition, which was mostly completed, featured a new reflecting pool east of the original statues, elaborate landscaping with English hornbeams representing each state, evergreens for the thirteen colonies, and a single columnar oak for Washington, D.C., and the Washington Monument. Giant slabs of Indiana limestone inscribed with the Preamble to the Constitution were also added. Constitution Mall was dedicated in September 1977.
The Ruins were topped with the “Races of Man” statues, which Karl Bitter from Indiana limestone sculpted. 1 These figures, representing African American, Asian, and Caucasian races, appeared to support the skyscraper on their backs. 2 The statues were transported from New York City in large containers and arrived intact. 1
In 1990, the Friends of Holliday Park volunteer group was formed to help preserve and maintain the park. 1
By the early 1990s, The Ruins had deteriorated so badly that the site was closed to the public. 3 Later, several statues of goddesses sustained damage and were removed because they had become unstable. 2 3
In 2012, Friends of Holliday Park launched a capital campaign to restore The Ruins and reopen the area to visitors. 3 After raising $3.2 million, the renovated park reopened on September 17, 2016. The new design was created by local landscape architects Eric Fulford and Ann Reed of NINEbark, with the garden’s horticultural design by Chris Turner of Utopos Gardens and construction carried out by the Smock Fansler Corporation.
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Sources
- Interpretative signage.
- “History of the Ruins at Holliday Park.” Friends of Holliday Park.
- “The Ruins.” Friends of Holliday Park.
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Add Yours →[…] time ago, my partner introduced me to one of the most intriguing parks in Indianapolis: The Ruins at Holliday Park. This unique spot combines my love of history, quirky places (though it’s not technically […]
[…] time ago, my partner introduced me to one of the most intriguing parks in Indianapolis: The Ruins at Holliday Park. This unique spot combines my love of history, quirky places (though it’s not technically […]