QuotesCosmos
Benjamin Harrison, speaking to the Commercial Club in Indianapolis, on April 13, 1897, quoting Acts 21:39 (1919-05), "No Mean City", Indianapolis Medical Journal XXII no: 5, pages: 260
• Woollen, William Watson "Marion County Bar: Reminiscences of the Early Marion County Bar", Indiana Historical Society Publications 7 no: 2, pages: 207, publisher: Indiana Historical Society
• Indianapolis mayor Charles A. Bookwalter adopted the slogan "Stand up for Indianapolis. No Mean City." and stated "I am myself, a citizen of no mean city.", in his 1905 re-election bid for mayor. On July 27, 1909, it was inscribed on the city's town hall cornerstone. Cierzniak, Libby (2013-11-02), Indianapolis Collected: The Butcher Who Saved City Hall, retrieved: 2025-09-01
• Re-adopted as a slogan in 2015/2016. Bartner, Amy (2016-09-23), "How is No Mean City doing in luring people to Indy?", Indianapolis Star section: Life, ISSN: 1930-2533
“

No mean city.

— Benjamin Harrison on Indianapolis

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "No mean city." in the context of "Benjamin Harrison, speaking to the Commercial Club in Indianapolis, on April 13, 1897, quoting Acts 21:39 (1919-05), "No Mean City", Indianapolis Medical Journal XXII no: 5, pages: 260
• Woollen, William Watson "Marion County Bar: Reminiscences of the Early Marion County Bar", Indiana Historical Society Publications 7 no: 2, pages: 207, publisher: Indiana Historical Society
• Indianapolis mayor Charles A. Bookwalter adopted the slogan "Stand up for Indianapolis. No Mean City." and stated "I am myself, a citizen of no mean city.", in his 1905 re-election bid for mayor. On July 27, 1909, it was inscribed on the city's town hall cornerstone. Cierzniak, Libby (2013-11-02), Indianapolis Collected: The Butcher Who Saved City Hall, retrieved: 2025-09-01
• Re-adopted as a slogan in 2015/2016. Bartner, Amy (2016-09-23), "How is No Mean City doing in luring people to Indy?", Indianapolis Star section: Life, ISSN: 1930-2533" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Indianapolis" (Slogans) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#Benjamin Harrison#mean#city
Benjamin Harrison

About Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison (20 August 1833 – 13 March 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States (1889–1893); he was the grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison. Before ascending to the presidency, Harrison established himself as a prominent local attorney, Presbyterian church leader and politician in Indianapolis, Indiana. During the American Civil War, he served the Union as a colonel and on February 14, 1865 was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from January 23, 1865. After the war, he unsuccessfully ran for the governorship of Indiana. He was later elected to the U.S. Senate by the Indiana legislature.