Photo by John Whalen
LIKE SO MANY Hoosiers, Lisa Hendrickson loves seeing the Soldiers & Sailors Monument lit up for the holidays in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. But instead of joining the tens of thousands who pack Monument Circle the day after Thanksgiving for the official lighting, Hendrickson, 65, prefers taking it all in on a quiet weeknight. “I love the leisurely vibe,” she says, “just walking around the Circle and seeing how the tradition has evolved.”
Chances are pretty good the Indianapolis woman knows how it all began better than anyone else. That’s because her Grandpa Ed, or Edward Pierre, was behind it. Pierre (who died in 1971 at age 81) was a renowned architect, part of the Indianapolis-based Pierre & Wright architecture firm. His portfolio includes the Indiana State Library and the old Bush Stadium. He also designed more than 200 homes, most of them in Meridian-Kessler, Butler-Tarkington, and Irvington, as well as the first homes built in Williams Creek.
“He was a very creative and idealistic man,” Hendrickson says. “And he was always thinking, What can I do to make our city a better place?”
In this case, improving the city involved creating a treasured holiday event that would live on for generations to come. Hendrickson says it was an idea conceived one Christmas Eve in 1937 as Pierre did his customary last-minute shopping downtown. He couldn’t help but notice the contrast. The stores on the Circle were lit up and filled with shoppers, “but the Circle itself was gloomy and dark,” Hendrickson says. “And he thought, We need to do something to celebrate the holiday and make the center of Indianapolis a more vibrant place during the holiday season.”
After another shopping excursion the following Christmas, he committed to making it happen. Pierre reached out to his American Legion post and other groups for support. Hendrickson says he wrote that his goal “was to create a symbol of the season that would be reverently beautiful and inspiring.” While city leaders quickly jumped on board, the project came to an abrupt halt when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, thrusting the United States into World War II.
“It looked like the end of a perfect dream,” Pierre said at the time.
Fortunately, his idea was only put on hold for a few years. Just nine days after the Japanese surrendered and World War II ended, a Christmas committee met and agreed to move forward with plans to decorate the Circle. As Pierre wrote, “If we wished to live in a world of peace, we had to encourage it in our community.”
Three months later, on December 18, 1945, several choral groups kicked off the holiday celebration amid a festive setting. Evergreen boughs were draped around light poles and shaped into Christmas trees with lights and garlands. The following year, the program grew to 91 singing groups and nearly 6,000 singers. The setting initially included a manger scene. “It definitely began as a Christian tradition,” Hendrickson says, noting her grandfather was “a devout Catholic.” (The manger would later find a new permanent home at Christ Church Cathedral across Monument Circle.)
A significant change occurred in 1962 when lights were strung from the top of the monument in the shape of a Christmas tree, soon dubbed “the world’s largest.” The Indianapolis Star estimated that 10,000 onlookers came from “widely scattered parts of Indiana,” for the inaugural lighting, with the ensuing traffic jam taking several hours to clear.
Hendrickson says people are often surprised to learn her grandfather initially opposed the lighting of the monument. He worried it would become “too garish or commercial,” but he soon came to embrace it.
In 1968, Pierre was invited to flip the switch. Hendrickson was 9 years old at the time. She recalls the wonder of the moment. “Seeing him turn on the lights with the crowds and music was exciting,” she says. “There was a connection there which was beautiful.”
While she describes her Grandpa Ed as “a man of few words,” his message on that late-November evening captured his hopes and prayers. He told the thousands gathered, “May the light of peace that was shining through the first Christmas star shine again through these sparkling lights into our own hearts.”
