Indiana Tower was the proposed centerpiece of
White River State Park in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
,
Indiana, United States. Designed by
César Pelli
César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine-American architect who designed some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. Two of his most notable buildings are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur a ...
in 1980, the plan was ultimately scrapped.
Proposal
As part of the
downtown revitalization campaign for Indianapolis, the state solicited designs for a distinctive piece of skyline architecture in the tradition of the
Gateway Arch in
St. Louis or the
Space Needle in
Seattle. The Pelli tower was to be located in the new ''Indiana Landing'' area of Indianapolis (which later became
White River State Park). The Pelli design called for an
obelisk tall, with a diameter of at the base and at the peak that would "establish the Crossroads of America". As such, the design would have been taller than the Arch, the
Washington Monument, and the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
. The proposed $25 million included the rerouting of West
Washington Street to the south so that the tower could be placed on the east bank of the
White River where the street had crossed the river.
Failure
The design was met with little local support. Some residents feared it too closely resembled a
corncob
A corncob, also called corn cob, cob of corn or corn on the cob, is the central core of an ear of corn (also known as maize). It is the part of the ear on which the kernels grow. The ear is also considered a "cob" or "pole" but it is not fully ...
, which would further the stereotype of Indiana as wholly rural. Others believed the bold nature of the design would overshadow the
Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, which had been the historic focal point of the city's design. The park took shape and thrived without its vertical landmark. However, following the success of the rest of the revitalization campaign, there have been renewed calls for construction of the tower. Pelli himself remained fond of the design, insisting that if the opportunity to make the project a reality materialized, he would have done it.
References
External links
Emporis profile
Towers in Indiana
White River State Park
Unbuilt buildings and structures in the United States
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