Gov. Eric Holcomb and other officials broke ground Tuesday on a new, $102 million state archives building that Holcomb said will help connect Hoosiers with their past and “illuminate the path forward” for Indiana.
Two centuries of government records have been stored in a warehouse not fit for its purpose for more than two decades. And lawmakers finally approved money for the new building this year.
Chandler Lighty is the executive director of the Indiana Archives and Records Administration. He said the state archives are not just the records of government leaders. They’re also about regular people.
“We preserve these records so that people can discover the past and be inspired and valued to use history in meaningful ways,” Lighty said.
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Holcomb said the new building in downtown Indianapolis will make history more available to the public.
“Think about the Supreme Court cases that will be accessible to all, or the Civil War documents or our constitutions,” Holcomb said.
The five-story building is set to open within the next three years.
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.