Stairway – World War Memorial – Indianapolis
An interior stairway of the World War Memorial, leading to the shrine room. The Indiana World War Memorial was built in 1924, as the centerpiece of a five city block plaza intended to honor the veterans of World War I. The construction of the plaza was in part intended to draw the newly formed American Legion, a non-profit organization dedicated to US war veterans, to establish its permanent headquarters in Indianapolis.
The World War Memorial was modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the original seven wonders of the world, located in Anatolia (now Turkey). The modern use of the term mausoleum comes from this tomb, and the ruler it was built for, Mausolus.