Indianapolis has some hallowed ground. Here’s a couple places to “unearth” some cool facts about Indy.
“Where’s John Dillinger buried?” “How big is this place?” These are probably some of the more common questions that visitors to Indianapolis’s Crown Hill Cemetery might ask. (John Dillinger is buried in section 44 – ask for a map – and Crown Hill spans over 555 acres.) Other famous residents include the 23rd President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison; poet James Whitcomb Riley; writer Booth Tarkington; founder of Eli Lilly and Company, Colonel Eli Lilly; founder of Butler University, Ovid Butler; and three United States Vice Presidents: Charles W. Fairbanks, Thomas A. Hendricks and Thomas R. Marshall. Over 200,000 graves are located in Crown Hill Cemetery, making it the third-largest non-government cemetery in the country. However, 1.4 acres are designated as a national cemetery, interring over 2,100 soldiers from the Civil War through the Vietnam War.
Getting back to Dillinger, he certainly owed some of his reputation to a famed Indianapolis invention. Richard J. Gatling invented the rapid-fire machine gun in 1862 in Indianapolis. Gatling is also buried in Crown Hill.
Trivia: Of all the famous eternal residents of Crown Hill Cemetery, which one has the best real estate? Hint: It’s not the former president. (Answer below.)
Directly across the street from the northwest corner of the cemetery resides a sculpture known worldwide. Its colorful rendition in Philadelphia’s Kennedy Plaza is a popular photo spot, but it’s only a copy. Same goes for New York City’s. The original LOVE sculpture, by Hoosier Robert Indiana, has its home in its creator’s
namesake. Though the sculpture has been recreated and reproduced many times in many famous places, Robert Indiana’s original steel sculpture is located on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Trivia: What other Robert Indiana sculpture faces LOVE on the IMA’s grounds?
These are the easy ones…they’re planted in the ground. Stay posted in the coming weeks for more Indy trivia, facts, and hidden gems.
Trivia answer: James Whitcomb Riley’s tomb is located on the highest point in the city of Indianapolis. Though a couple miles away, the rise gives beautiful views of downtown.
Trivia answer: Numbers 1-0, another large-scale pop art piece.