The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Memorial Plaza

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Memorial Plaza, University of Evansville

Institution Name: University of Evansville
Original/Historic Place Name: Memorial Plaza
Location on Campus: behind Administration Building
Date(s) of Construction:

1978	original construction Knapp, Given & Condict

Designer: Knapp, Given & Condict
Type of Place: Landscape site
Style: (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, engineering, landscape
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Function:

ca. 1978-present (2006)

memorial site

Narrative:
In 1977, a plane taking off from the Evansville airport crashed, killing all those aboard. The basketball team and other University related people were on board. A Memorial was designed and placed behind Olmsted Administration Building. The finished product includes a beautiful brick plaza with stone benches circumvented by trees and flowers. The focal point of the plaza is the memorial itself: a fountain shaped like a basketball appears to weep. Two giant stone walls flank its entrance bearing the names of the crash victims. The Memorial was dedicated in 1979.

References:

Klinger, George. We Face the Future Unafraid: A Narrative History of the University of Evansville. Evansville, IN: University of Evansville Press, 2003.

Olmsted, Ralph. From Institute to University. Evansville, IN: University of Evansville, 1983.