Ethos 35-foot geodesic polyhedron veterans memorial

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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Ethos is the central sculpture of the Sheridan Veterans Memorial in Sheridan Memorial Park beside the Mississippi River in northeast Minneapolis, by local artist Robert Smart. Explore Minnesota describes a 35-foot geodesic polyhedron of steel shields, dedicated in 2014.

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Ethos 35-foot geodesic polyhedron veterans memorial

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Site-level location · 45.0003° N, 93.2733° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

In northeast Minneapolis, a glowing sphere of interlocking shields is placed beside the Mississippi River as the centrepiece of the Sheridan Veterans Memorial.

Explore Minnesota calls the sculpture “Ethos” and describes it as a 35-foot geodesic polyhedron by the Minneapolis artist Robert Smart, made of interconnected steel shields and surrounded by 11 granite markers. It says the memorial was dedicated in 2014 and grew from two decades of work by a group of World War II veterans. WCCO, reporting on the opening celebration, described a steel sculpture 30 feet in diameter lit from within.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board said in 2013 that a group of veterans began looking for a site in 1995 and joined the Sheridan Neighborhood Organization in 2005 to place the memorial at what was then Water Street Park, renamed Sheridan Memorial Park. The plan called for a central sculpture on a circular plaza ringed by lawn, a perimeter walk, benches, markers and peace gardens. Ten of the markers each describe one of the ten conflicts in which Minnesotans have served; the Board said in 2013 an eleventh, empty marker would represent the ever-present threat of war. The Board announced a groundbreaking ceremony for 23 May 2013.

The Park Board, as quoted in April 2024, says Smart also made the steel and granite markers with veterans' faces cast in iron, and that a playground, picnic shelter and basketball court were added in 2019. Friends of the Mississippi River notes the park lies near the Grain Belt brewery complex and that the public is welcome. Lit from within, the sphere is described by Explore Minnesota as seeming alive in the evening.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A veterans memorial in a riverside public park with a large lit sphere of steel shields, ringed by granite markers and a perimeter walk with peace quotations. Friends of the Mississippi River says the public is welcome; the sphere is lit from within in the evening.

ACCESS

Sheridan Memorial Park, on the east bank of the Mississippi in northeast Minneapolis, run by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Friends of the Mississippi River says the public is welcome to visit.

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