The national significance of Lawrence County is twofold. Limestone from the area has been used to build some of the nation’s most famous buildings, such as the Empire State Building in New York City. Virgil Gus Grissom, the third American astronaut to travel into space, was born and raised in Mitchell in Lawrence County.

This structure depicts a distinctive spire reminiscent of the one on the Empire State Building, and is capped by a soaring spacecraft. The objects emerge from the outdoor wall and reach above the roof.

Designers Jeff Laramore and David Jemerson Young of 2nd Globe, an Indianapolis–based artistic company, designed all 92 of the county sculptures featured on the outside of the Indiana State Museum. Their designs narrate the counties’ famous natives, historically significant events, or their cultural characteristics, and were fabricated and installed by various Indiana sculptors, carvers, glassworkers, metalworkers, and other artisans.