New Indianapolis statue memorializes Richard Lugar. What it looks like and where it’s going

Few Hoosier public servants are lauded more than the late Sen. Richard Lugar, who died in 2019. He lay in state at the Indiana Statehouse, has a downtown plaza named after him and, come Tuesday, he will be memorialized in the unveiling of a larger-than-life statue, christened in the company of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The Indianapolis-born Republican served two terms as mayor and 36 years as Indiana’s U.S. senator. On the national stage, he’s best known for his bipartisan work with Georgia Democrat Sam Nunn on the Nunn-Lugar Act, which launched a program to dismantle weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union ― present-day Ukraine ― after its collapse.

But perhaps more saliently today, say the civic leaders who pooled half a million dollars of private donations to make the monument possible, Lugar is a model for civility.

“He always listened. He always lifted people up. He never demeaned other people. He was always there with a keen intellect but an empathy that you had to you had to respect,” said Charles Richardson, a retired partner at Faegre Drinker law firm. “We don’t have to have a situation like we have now. We can look at the example of Dick Lugar and have a better way to think about public policy and the common good.”

The unveiling will take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Bicentennial Unity Plaza outside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where Rice will give a keynote address. The monument will later be moved to a permanent spot on Lugar Plaza outside the City-County Building, along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.

Op-ed: Richard Lugar is the single most important public servant in the history of Indiana

What is Lugar known for?

Lugar is often credited with transforming Indianapolis into a modern city and earning a national spotlight as mayor.

He was mayor during the adoption of UniGov in 1970; the ensuing economic growth propelled Lugar to the top spot on the National League of Cities in 1971.

While he’s best known for his work on nuclear disarmament during his Senate tenure, he also led efforts to override President Ronald Reagan’s veto of economic sanctions on apartheid South Africa, and he supported Democratic transitions in the Philippines and elsewhere.

After leaving the Senate, Lugar created a nonprofit, The Lugar Center, which conducts research on global issues Lugar often confronted during his time in office.

In 2013 ― the year Lugar left office ― President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Who organized the Lugar monument?

The late Jim Morris, the vice chair of Pacers Sports and Entertainment who died in July, got the ball rolling on this effort shortly after Lugar died in 2019.

He mobilized dozens of other civic leaders to raise money from private donors and asked Indianapolis architect Jonathan Hess to design a monument that would represent Lugar’s expansive career.

“When Jim would call, you always said yes,” Hess said.

What does the monument look like?

The entire monument spans 14 feet wide, including a sculpture of Lugar standing on a base, surrounded by five free-standing plaques that describe the breadth of his half-century career, from Rhodes Scholar to Navy man, from mayor to U.S. senator. Lugar himself stands 9-and-a-half-feet tall, including the base.

The figure of Lugar is leaning on a column cap that tops the base of a walnut tree. His posture is inspired by a picture of a relaxed, affable Lugar following his second Senate win, Hess said; the column is symbolic of his time in Congress; and the walnut tree represents Lugar’s favorite place in the world: the grove of walnut trees he planted on his family farm. The bronze contains some bark peeled off one of these trees.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.