Indy Park Named For Author Dan Wakefield

INDIANAPOLIS -- A small neighborhood park north of downtown Indianapolis was renamed Wednesday for author and Indy native Dan Wakefield.

Speakers at the ceremony in the park -- near the intersection of 61st and Broadway streets  -- included Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, former U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, and the author himself.

Wakefield is an author renowned for his 1970 book “Going All the Way,” which told the bleak story of two Korean War veterans returning to their homes in Indianapolis.

Lugar went to high school with Wakefield, and said he often found himself in the young writer’s shadow. He said Wakefield has grown to become a spiritual and literary guide for young people in the city.

“How exciting it is to drive up to this beautiful park, where children have played with parents for so long, in a beautiful neighborhood, and to see the sign ‘Dan Wakefield Park,’” Lugar said.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett also spoke, saying writers like Kurt Vonnegut, Booth Tarkington and Wakefield have made the city a literary center. Wakefield thanked his friends and colleagues who made the trip to honor him.

Students from Indianapolis Public Schools ended the ceremony with a rendition of “I’ll Be Seeing You,” one of Wakefield’s favorite songs.