"The Ruins" are the remains of the St. Paul building in New York City designed by Austrian born architect, Karl Bitter. It was a 26 story skyscraper built in 1899 and demolished in 1958. The facade of the St. Paul building was disassembled and shipped to Indianapolis where they stand today.
The Ruins were designed by Elmer E. Taflinger, a graduate of Manual High School. He studied art at the New York Art Student's League and continued his studies in Florence Italy. He returned to Indianapolis in 1928 and had a studio at 158 E 14th Street in Indianapolis, Taflinger also taught at the Indianapolis Art League.
The following are some pictures taken of the statues, known as "The Races of Man", the summer of 2006, as well as a picture of the St. Paul building prior to demolition.
Information obtained from:
http://www.indianahistory.org/library/manuscripts/collection_guides/sc2585.html
2 comments:
The Ruins at Holliday Park are definitely worth seeing. Thank you for posting this information. My boyfriend and I have recently gotten into trail hiking and photography and went there to take some nature shots and enjoy a good hike. Finding the ruins was a wonderful added bonus! It was incredibly disappointing that nothing was posted around the site or at the nature center that explained it's presence or why it was not functioning. I am sure it is even better with the water running. I hope the city will get around to fixing it soon.
Here is a photo I took back in 1989 when the ruins fountain was working and looked remarkable! I hope people write the Indy Park board to restore this great piece of art.
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