Barb Wood, the coordinator of the Friends of the Indiana State Archives and a long-time volunteer at the Archives, for several months processed the paperwork of the Indiana World War Memorial located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The paperwork consists of numerous plans and notes made by the Cleveland, Ohio architectural firm of Walker and Weeks, and are contained in 132 boxes and several roles. The paperwork dates from the early 1920s to the early 1930s.

Even though most of the exterior of the Memorial building had been finished by the time General John Pershing laid its corner stone in 1927, construction of its beautiful interior continued through the early 1930s.

The 132 boxes contain numerous artistic, detailed, hand-drawn plans for the exterior and interior of the Memorial structure and for the layout of the War Memorial Plaza. There are also many hand-written notes and instructions made by the firm’s architects, besides invoices for the material used and the work done.

by Robert F. Gilyeat, Indiana State Archives volunteer