INDIANAPOLIS — On October 11, Mayor Joe Hogsett joined city and community leaders to dedicate the south plaza of the City-County Building as Richard G. Lugar Plaza. Senator Lugar and members of his family were on hand for the reopening, along with former Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard, Lilly Endowment President and CEO, Clay Robbins, and members of the City-County Council.
The newly-named Richard G. Lugar Plaza features an event lawn capable of holding up to 1,500 people for various community events and programs, a large shade structure with leisure swings underneath, an interactive water feature and artwork representing Indianapolis’ sister city relationships. Its user-friendly design also includes movable tables, chairs and bike racks, free public wireless Internet and new pavers and sidewalks.
Ground was broken on Richard G. Lugar Plaza in May of last year. Last November, all of the former living Indianapolis mayors came together to announce the plaza would be renamed in celebration of Lugar’s contributions to the city.
Senator Lugar was born in Indianapolis and attended Shortridge High School. In 1964, he was elected to the Indianapolis Board of School Commissioners where he served until 1967 when he was elected Mayor of Indianapolis. He served two terms as mayor, and in 1976, Lugar was elected to the U.S Senate where he served until 2013. Senator Lugar is the longest-serving member of Congress in Indiana history.
The plaza project was completed within budget and has been a collective effort by the City of Indianapolis’ Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD), the Indianapolis-Marion County Building Authority, Rundell Ernstberger Associates (REA) and Brandt Construction. REA architect Kevin Osburn was also the lead designer for two other Indianapolis landmark spaces: the Monon Trail and the Cultural Trail. A portion of the Cultural Trail runs along Washington Street, adjacent to Lugar Plaza.
