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‘Shining a Light’ debut at Monument Circle draws crowd

Monument Circle light show debuts, will run daily for 5 years

Travis Robinson | News 8

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Monument Circle will never be the same again.

A light show called the Signature Salute premiered Saturday night and will continue to play every night for the next five years.

Every single building at the circle had some type of light or video playing on it, telling the story of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

And people loved it.

“It’s like 360,” Kelly Powers said. “You can’t stop moving your head around and looking at all the buildings. It really covers all around you.”

“I’ve never heard sound on the circle- anything like this,” Charles Bantz said. “It’s like it was in a studio! It was so good!”

“Everywhere you look, there’s something different to look at!” Chelsea Blevins said.

The $7.6 million Signature Salute project spent a year being developed and the better half of a decade as a concept. And judging by people’s reactions, Downtown Indy Inc. says it’s a success.

“When I saw it for the first time earlier this week, I wept,” Downtown Indy Inc. Senior Vice President Bob Schultz said. “Not just because this finally is here, but there’s an emotion that comes with light and with passion and with story and with music, and all that comes to bear right here as I’m sure the carvers of this stone felt when it was finally erected.”

For the next five years, every day after sundown, Indy will get an encore performance of the spectacular Signature Salute. But the new technology can also showcase other events like the Indy 500.

“The sound of the race!” Bantz said. “It’s like you were on the track! It’s was wonderful!”

As wonderful as it is, it could be distracting to drivers who take Monument Circle as the show starts.

But Saturday night’s viewers say it’s nothing drivers can’t handle and they welcome the city’s newest attraction.

“I think it’s going to be great for the city,” Powers said. “It’s going to be really cool to draw people into the circle for more than the great — the war memorial monument. It’s something added that I think is going to be really good for everybody to see.”

Downtown Indy Inc. says you’ll have to see the salute a few times to really see it all. If you missed it Saturday, or want to watch it again, you can be back out on the circle at 6:30 Sunday evening and any day after.