Flooding from rains prompts closure of Indianapolis monument

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Flooding from days of heavy rainfall has forced the temporary closure of downtown Indianapolis' historic Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

Executive Director J. Stewart Goodwin says Thursday's closure came after rainfall caused leaks in places not previously identified in the limestone monument, which features a nearly 285-foot tower with an observation deck.

The 115-year-old monument's lower level houses the Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum.

Goodwin says staff is working to secure the monument's artifacts. The leaks have closed the museum, gift shop and the observation deck.

The monument that overlooks the city center won National Historic Landmark status in January.

Dedicated in 1902, it's the largest of more than 200 Civil War memorials in the U.S. and the only one that combines large-scale sculpture in bronze and stone.