Indianapolis unveils Richard Lugar statue
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Politicians including a former U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday said a new statue of the late Sen. Richard Lugar should remind people not just of what Lugar did but what he stood for.
The city unveiled the statue during a ceremony Tuesday morning at Bicentennial Unity Plaza next to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Republican, who died in 2019, served two terms as mayor of Indianapolis, from 1968 to 1976, before he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was the architect of the consolidation of the city of Indianapolis and Marion County under Unigov. Current Democrat Mayor Joe Hogsett said in his remarks to list all of Lugar’s accomplishments would take “longer than you want me to.”
“Abraham Lincoln belonged to both the ages and the angels,” he said, “and as I said five years ago (upon Lugar’s passing), so, too, does Sen. Richard Lugar.”
Indiana Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb recalled how a meeting with Lugar over coffee near the Gibson County Courthouse some 25 years ago influenced his own political career. He said Lugar’s values of dignity and civility marked him more than anything else. Holcomb said the new statue should remind people who see it of those values.
“Let it serve as a reminder of his virtue, of the values that Sen. Lugar held so dear,” he said. “Let it inspire us to practice civility in our everyday lives, to lead with dignity and to mentor and support those who come after us.”
Lugar served for 36 years in the U.S. Senate, carving out a key role on national security and foreign relations issues. The event’s keynote speaker, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, praised Lugar’s patience and devotion to truth-seeking when he chaired her confirmation hearings in 2005. She said Lugar’s work with Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn to create the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program after the collapse of the Soviet Union did much to make the world a safer place after the Cold War. Rice said Lugar’s influence defined his Senate career more than anything else. She said when children look at the statue, she wants them to understand the roots of his influence.
“This humble son of Indiana was also an innovator and he was a creator and he was a problem-solver. But, he was something more, and that perhaps is more of the story of his influence,” she said. “He was trusted. He was trustworthy and he was trusted.”
The monument was created by Indianapolis sculptor and firefighter Ryan Feeney. In addition to a larger-than-life statue of Lugar, it features a series of large plaques summarizing his career and accomplishments as both a city leader and a United States senator. It will be moved to Richard Lugar Plaza outside the City-County Building at a later time.