The late Sen. Richard Lugar’s political career spans several decades, starting as a school board commissioner during the desegregation of Indianapolis schools and including his work in Congress dismantling weapons of mass destruction. Photos from Getty Images and Wikipedia. Illustration by Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANA — A cadre of state and national officials unveiled a statue and monument Tuesday, Sept. 3, honoring Indiana’s longest-serving U.S. Senator, the late Richard Lugar in Indianapolis. Lugar’s decades of public service touched millions of lives, whether through his work on nuclear nonproliferation or reimagining downtown Indianapolis.

The monument will be placed in Lugar Plaza, outside of the Indianapolis City-County Building. Planning for the honor began years ago under the leadership of civic leader Jim Morris, who died in July. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Indianapolis.

“Of course, the career of Dick Lugar spanned over half a century. And because of that expanse and impact, we had to … make sure it’s part of the monument,” said Charlie Richardson. “It comprehends his entire career: a Rhodes scholar, naval officer, school board member, mayor (and) United States senator … the celebration is of that entire arc and the example it sets for the future.”

Richardson, a retired attorney, said he first saw Lugar when he addressed Richardson’s college fraternity in 1967, the year he was elected to be mayor of Indianapolis. Richardson was so moved he decided to work with Lugar’s administration for two consecutive summers.

Lugar died in 2019 shortly after his 87th birthday and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. One of Lugar’s most lasting impacts was a program to secure and disarm weapons of mass destruction, which deactivated thousands of warheads and destroyed hundreds of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“We all wanted to not only remember him, but make sure that people 50 years from now remember the example of Dick Lugar,” said Richardson, who is a member of the executive planning committee for the monument.

Funds for the monument and celebration were raised privately from hundreds of donors, Richardson said, and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be the keynote speaker.

Design Elements

Jonathan Hess, a board chairman with Browning Day, recalled Morris’ ask two-plus years ago to memorialize Lugar’s legacy, which would draw from several stages of his life.

“I’m an architect; I’ve never done a monument before,” Hess said. “So my process is really one where you do your research and you listen carefully.”

Prior to his 36 years in the U.S. Senate, Lugar was Indianapolis’ mayor from 1968 to 1976 and a school board member. He also served in the U.S. Navy and was a Rhodes Scholar. Capturing those years, including his post-Senate career in foreign policy analysis with the The Lugar Center, would be a challenge.

For Hess, designing the statue that is the centerpiece of the monument started with a photo of Lugar after winning a reelection campaign early in his Senate career. The chest-up photo showed a “relaxed and affable” Lugar leaning on a balustrade in the U.S. Capitol Building.

To craft the statue from the waist down, Hess found inspiration closer to home: Lugar’s family farm.

In the final design, Lugar leans on an abstracted column. From the ground, a walnut trunk — which was molded with real tree bark from the grove — grows and transitions into an ionic column, the sort of structure one traditionally sees on government buildings.

Contained within the top portion of that column is a globe.

“(The committee) wanted this to be not just about Indiana, but the global reach that Sen. Lugar had,” Hess said.

Lugar stands atop a five-sided platform that extends outward, with plaques engraved with some of his most memorable quotes and other information. The inspiration for the pentagonal shape comes from the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the country, which former President Barack Obama awarded Lugar in 2013.

Indianapolis metalworker Ryan Feeney did “a magnificent job in crafting the likeness,” Hess said, allowing the architect into his workshop to see the process.

The bronze and steel statue is seven feet and over 800 pounds. The base and five other plaques — which surround the central statue and detail Lugar’s life — weigh in at 1,100 pounds and add another 18 inches in height. Due to the flatter design of the five-sided base, the statue is around 12 feet in diameter.

Summarizing A Legacy

Richardson said Lugar served as a mentor and example to him for more than 50 years, especially after Richardson moved to D.C. for his career in 1999. By then, Lugar had been in Congress for more than two decades.

Lugar’s political career came to an end after he lost a primary race in 2013 to Richard Mourdock, who then lost to Democrat Joe Donnelly.

Following that loss, the politician turned his attention to founding The Lugar Center, an institute with a focus on the foreign policy issues that influenced much of Lugar’s career. The site touts its expertise in addressing issues such as global food security, nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, aid effectiveness and bipartisan governance.

Lugar was also a known human rights champion, leading the effort to override a presidential veto from former President Ronald Reagan on legislation to impose economic sanctions on apartheid South Africa.

Back home, Lugar is known for both the Lugar Series — which seeks to train female Republican leaders — and Unigov, which combined the governments of the city of Indianapolis with Marion County. Lugar referred to the latter as his most important achievement as mayor, according to an Indiana University’s collection of Lugar’s papers.

While all of these achievements, and more, will undoubtedly be documented in the monument, Richardson had a more concise takeaway for the passersby who will see the statue for generations to come.