On December 12, faculty, students, and alumni from the IU Indianapolis History Department participated in the “topping out” ceremony for the future Indiana State Archives building.  The event was hosted by S. Chandler Lighty, Executive Director of the Indiana Archives and Records Administration, (IARA).  The Honorable Eric Holcomb, Governor of the State of Indiana was in attendance.  The ceremony marked an exciting milestone in the long-anticipated construction of the $102M facility, located on W. Ohio Street across from the Indiana State Library and along the Canal Walk.

Stephen E. Towne, University Archivist of IU Indianapolis (left), Daniella Kostroun, Chair of the History Department (center), and Lucas Lee (right), senior at IU Indianapolis.

“Topping out” is a ceremony that commemorates the placing of the last beam on the highest point of a structure during construction. The ceremony originates in Scandinavia, where buildings were traditionally built with wood. Before lowering the beam into place, it is decorated with signatures, flags, and even a pine tree.

Lowering of the beam. This marks the structural extent of the building.

In this instance, the beam was signed by workers from Pepper Construction, architects from Ratio Architects, Inc., the IARA staff, and finally, by Governor Holcomb.

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s signature on the structural beam.

Such a storied ceremony is appropriate for the new archives building, which – when completed – will house and protect the state’s records for generations to come.

Speakers at the ceremony included Dr. Rebecca Holwerda, Commissioner of Indiana Department of Administration, S. Chandler Lighty, and Governor Holcomb.  The speakers expressed gratitude for those who tenaciously advocated for the archives building over the years, those who approved its appropriation, and those who helped to design and construct the building.  Speakers also stressed the importance of preserving Indiana’s heritage and history through its archives.

The History Department at Indiana University Indianapolis was well-represented at the ceremony.  Daniella Kostroun, Chair of the History Department, thanked Governor Holcomb for his support of the state archives building. The IU Indy History Department already sends students over to the Indiana History Center and State Library to conduct research.

(from left to right) Daniella Kostroun, Chair of the History Department, Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana, Chandler Lighty, Executive Director of IARA.

Daniella Kostroun (left) and Jill Weiss (right), Program Director at IARA.

With the state archive building next door to these rich repositories, history students will have even more opportunities to dive into primary source records and produce exciting and innovative research on Indiana’s past.  Jill Weiss Simins (MA ’21) will be working in the future building in her role as Program Director at IARA.  Steven E. Towne, University Archivist at IU Indy and author of Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War: Exposing Confederate Conspiracies in America’s Heartland works with our students, particularly those interested in the Civil War. Lucas Lee, a senior in history and work-study assistant in the History Department was there to help celebrate and gather information for this blog post.