<p>INDIANAPOLIS — A $6 million upgrade is starting at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis that leaders say is aimed at increasing its visibility and connections with the surrounding neighborhood.</p>
<p>The project’s plans include a new plaza and outdoor commons area for visitors to the home of the only Indiana resident elected president of the United States.</p>
<p>New signs will be installed to highlight the site to those driving through the Old Northside and an 89-foot-tall flagpole visible from nearby Interstate 65/70 will fly both the U.S. and presidential flags. Interior work on the house built in 1874-75 will include updated display cases and a new research library on the third floor. </p>
<p>Harrison Presidential Site CEO Charlie Hyde said the project will transform the grounds and allow new outdoor educational opportunities and events.</p>
<p>The Arthur Jordan Foundation and Lilly Endowment have each given $1.5 million toward the project, with organizers saying they’ve raised more than $5.5 million toward their $6 million goal.</p>
<p>Harrison was an attorney and a U.S. Army general before serving as a Republican U.S. senator from Indiana. He was elected president in 1888 and returned to his Indianapolis home after losing his re-election bid in 1892.</p>
