A guide to 200 years of residential architecture in Indiana - Indiana Landmarks
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A guide to 200 years of residential architecture in Indiana SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
F R OM THE PRES ID ENT STARTERS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS Gregory S. Fehribach The More
You Know
Indianapolis
Hon. Randall T. Shepard
Respect for the Rural
Honorary Chairman Tracy Haddad
Columbus
Parker Beauchamp
Chairman David A. Haist
James P. Fadely, Ph.D.
Culver POPULAR IN INDIANA
BACK IN THE 1980S, HISTORIC preservation was widely
Past Chairman Judith A. Kanne from 1860 to 1885, Second
Rensselaer
Sara Edgerton Empire style was often
perceived as an urban movement. Indiana Landmarks recog- Vice Chairman Christine H. Keck
Evansville associated with “new
nized the need to expand our relevance in rural Indiana, so Marsh Davis
Matthew R. Mayol, AIA
President money,” as the nouveau
we embarked on a crash course in rural heritage preservation. Doris Anne Sadler
Indianapolis
Sharon Negele riche sought to emulate
To lead us, we turned to an esteemed authority on rural life in Secretary/Assistant Treasurer
Attica
Thomas H. Engle the sophistication associ-
Indiana, Eleanor Arnold of Rush County. Cheryl Griffith Nichols
See-Worthy
Assistant Secretary
Little Rock, AR ated with nineteenth-cen-
In those days, most of us couldn’t tell a smokehouse from an Brett D. McKamey
tury Paris. John Morris,
T
Treasurer Martin E. Rahe
outhouse. But under Eleanor’s tutelage, we learned to under- Judy A. O’Bannon
Cincinnati, OH
stand elements of the historic rural landscape, and we gained Secretary Emerita James W. Renne o admire Dearborn County’s newest National Register-
Newburgh
listed landmark, you might need to develop sea legs.
an appreciation for the perspective of Indiana’s farmers who DIRECTORS George A. Rogge
Gary The Elizabeth Lea, a towboat constructed in 1939,
are, after all, the stewards of so much of our rural heritage. Hilary Barnes
Sallie W. Rowland
Indianapolis recently earned listing on the merit of its engineering attri-
Eleanor helped us establish a Rural Preservation Council Edward D. Clere
Indianapolis
butes and contribution to maritime history. Built in Minnesota
to connect us to key institutions, such as Purdue Extension New Albany Peter J. Sacopulos
Terre Haute and originally called Joseph Throckmorton, the 42-foot-
and Indiana Farm Bureau, and initiate such programs as Ellen Swisher Crabb
Indianapolis Robert L. Santa
long tug once dredged the upper Mississippi, providing a
Barn Again! in Indiana and the John Arnold Award for Rural Cheri Dick
Bloomington
Zionsville Charlitta Winston deeper riverbed channel for commerce and transportation.
Preservation that continue after more than 25 years. Olon F. Dotson
Indianapolis
Indiana’s Richardson family—Aaron, Karen, Lily, Paul and
Indiana Landmarks created the Arnold Award in memory Muncie John D. Zeglis
PHOTO © RICHARDSON FAMILY
Culver Renee—acquired the tug in 2004 and embarked on a 10-year
of Eleanor’s son, John, who was killed in a tragic farm accident Jeremy D. Efroymson
Indianapolis Beau F. Zoeller restoration, with plans to use the Elizabeth Lea as a traveling
in 1991. The award honors farmers who, like the Arnold family, Indianapolis
museum boat, conducting educational tours at special events
embrace preservation in the context of modern agriculture. in river towns in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Read more
The 2019 winners, the Mears Family of Carroll County (see pp. OFFICES & HISTORIC SITES about the boat on our website, indianalandmarks.org/news.
6-7), set an inspiring example. Headquarters Southeast Field Office
This year Eleanor celebrated her 90th birthday. To the Indiana Landmarks Center Aurora
1201 Central Avenue 812 926 0983
extent that Indiana Landmarks has been effective in our work Indianapolis, IN 46202 Southwest Field Office
in rural Indiana, much is due to Eleanor Arnold, a living testi- info@indianalandmarks.org Evansville builder of Indiana
317 639 4534 812 423 2988
mony to the positive impact one person can have on an organi- 800 450 4534 Landmarks’ Second
Western Regional Office
zation and, indeed, an entire state.
Northwest Field Office Terre Haute Empire-style Morris-Butler
Gary
219 947 2657
812 232 4534
House in Indianapolis,
Huddleston Farmhouse
Central Regional Office Cambridge City only occupied the home
Indianapolis
317 639 4534
765 478 3172
13 years before declaring
Morris-Butler House
Eastern Regional Office Indianapolis bankruptcy. Ironically, he
Cambridge City
765 478 3172
317 639 4534 sold the house to Noble
Marsh Davis, President Veraestau years Indianapolis’s four-
Northern Regional Office Aurora Chase Butler, a bankruptcy
South Bend
574 232 4534
812 926 0983 attorney. Learn more about generation Bohlen archi-
Northeast Field Office
French Lick and West
Baden Springs tours residential architectural tectural firm operated
Wabash
800 450 4534
866 571 8687 (toll free) styles (and other intrigu- in Indiana, designing a
812 936 5870
PHOTO BY PAIGE WASSEL
Southern Regional Office ing conversational tidbits) multitude of buildings
New Albany
Fancy yourself a house style expert or want to become one? A new 812 284 4534 on pp. 8-13 and in the that remain in service
guide on our website will help you hone your architecture acu- new Historic House Styles today. Learn more about
On the
Cover
men, aided by Indiana examples including Attica’s Rohlfing House
©2019, Indiana Landmarks; ISSN#: 0737-8602 guide on our website, the family’s legacy at a talk
(cover), an Italianate that underwent a Neoclassical remodel in the
early 1900s. Learn more on pp. 8-13. P HOTO BY CO RY PH I L L I PS
Indiana Landmarks publishes Indiana Preservation bimonthly indianalandmarks.org. in Indianapolis on October 3.
for members. To join and learn other membership benefits,
visit indianalandmarks.org or contact memberships@ See p. 15. Indianapolis City Market
indianalandmarks.org, 317-639-4534 or 800-450-4534. To
PHOTO BY LEE LEWELLEN
offer suggestions for Indiana Preservation, contact editor@
indianalandmarks.org.
2 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 3
RU R AL PRES ERVATION
Maintaining the farms’ heritage is a family priority, so
following Sherry’s and Lois’s deaths, their children and grand-
children took steps to make sure both properties remain in
the family. John and Mary inherited the 80-acre farm and
purchased part of the homestead where John grew up, while
their son Benjamin and daughter-in-law Taylor acquired the
homestead’s farmhouse and its immediate outbuildings. John’s
brother Martin and his wife Nancy own the homestead farm’s
woods and tillable farmland. John, who is also a postal worker,
leads farming operations at both properties, assisted by his Leading by barns and their construction during
children and brother. example, the Mears an ArchiCamp organized by Indiana
open their farms for
Today, Mears Farms primarily produces cash crops, storing events that teach
Landmarks and Delphi Preservation
farming equipment in mid-twentieth-century buildings, while others about the Society. The Mears hosted a Barn
the historic barns house smaller equipment and supplies, hay, value of preserv- Again! workshop in 2012 and
and John and Mary’s horses, as well as an antique springboard ing rural heritage, recruited extended family members
including hosting
wagon and buggy. Tools and small equipment are stored in an ArchiCamp to open their historic barns for a tour,
the corn crib and poultry sheds. As the family stopped raising where kids learned demonstrating how such structures
as much livestock, they converted the concrete block building about historic barns can be used in modern farming opera-
(above). John and
into a semi-rustic space fondly called The Blockhouse for fam- tions and be repurposed.
Mary Mears live
ily gatherings, receptions, and small events. in a nineteenth- “We feel like if we don’t preserve
Ongoing maintenance ensures the preservation of their century farmhouse these buildings, they’re not going to
landmark buildings. The family recently repaired masonry on (left), while their be saved. There are too many that
son Benjamin and
the Sweitzer barn’s fieldstone foundation and constructed a daughter-in-law
are torn down,” says Mary Mears.
new earthen ramp with concrete retaining walls leading to the Taylor occupy an “We’ve really been blessed to have
west threshing bay, ensuring full access to the barn. They plan 1852 Greek Revival so many structures on both of the
to have the white frame barn repainted this year. farmhouse (right) farms that we can work with and
Preserving Historic Farms Is a Family Affair
on the homestead.
The Mears family leads by example, not only preserv- PHOTOS BY TOMMY
renovate for more modern uses. We
ing their historic farms but using them to champion rural KLECKNER
wanted our children to grow up with
heritage in Carroll County and beyond. When the nearby the same priority to save them, and I
FOR THE MEARS FAMILY OF CARROLL COUNTY, Three generations “My mother played a big role in Wilson Bridge over Deer Creek was threatened with replace- think they have.”
the operation and stewardship of not just one, but two his- of the Mears fam- saving the historic barn and making ment in the early 2000s, the Mears built critical local support See more photos of the Mears Farms
ily maintain Mears
toric farms near Delphi is an enterprise spanning decades and Farms in Carroll
sure it was preserved along with the for rehabbing the c.1898 span. In 2009, the farms provided on our website, indianalandmarks.
generations. Recognizing their extraordinary commitment, County, encom- house,” says John Mears. “We’ve all a dynamic setting for kids ages 8-12 to learn about historic org/news.
Indiana Landmarks and Indiana Farm Bureau presented the passing two historic followed in those footsteps.”
Mears family with the 2019 John Arnold Award for Rural farms and several In 1966, Sherry and Lois bought
vintage agricultural
Preservation on August 15 at the Indiana State Fair. buildings, including the 80-acre historic Royster Farm just
The Mears Farms are in the Deer Creek Valley, a natural area a c.1880 Sweitzer down the road across Deer Creek, where
and rural historic district known for its scenic beauty, where barn. The family’s their son John and daughter-in-law
stewardship and
shale bluffs, woods, creeks, and rolling terrain blend with his- Mary made their home and raised their
commitment to
toric farms, bridges, cemeteries, and other rural features. the county’s rural children in the nineteenth-century farm-
Sherry and Lois Mears purchased the 275-acre family heritage earned our house. A c.1880 English barn, 1920s
homestead, the historic McCain Farm, in 1949 as relative 2019 John Arnold poultry shed, and c.1950 concrete block
Award for Rural
newlyweds. Over the next more than 60 years, they raised six Preservation.
equipment building dot the property.
children there, along with cattle, hogs, and chickens, and corn, PHOTO BY TOMMY The wealth of historic agricultural
KLECKNER
soybeans, wheat, hay, and tomatoes. The family lived in the structures on both farms played a role in
farm’s picturesque 1852 Greek Revival farmhouse and used the their listing in the National Register of
c.1880 Sweitzer barn and an early twentieth-century poultry Historic Places as part of the Deer Creek
house, garage, and corn crib in farming operations. Valley Rural Historic District in 2002.
4 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 5
AWA RD W INNERS
to figure out how to equip the house
with self-guiding tour technology.
“It’s really the type of architecture
that appeals to children of all ages,”
notes Dr. Heidi Strobel, curator at the
house. “For the elementary students,
it’s on their scale. For students head-
ing to college who are environmentally
engaged and like the idea of leaving a
small footprint, it resonates with them and rehabilitation at its annual Quality Richmond house at 209 North 10th and making repairs before selling it to
as well.” of Place Conference each September, Columbian a preservation-minded buyer. Just down the street, RCP used its
Properties earned
Richmond Columbian Properties tackling important topics including a Servaas Award
influence to convince a local bank to forgive a loan on a historic
(RCP) earned the 2019 Servaas blight elimination and preservation’s for its preser- duplex and donate the property to Indiana Landmarks, which par-
Memorial Award in the nonprofit economic impact. Recordings of vation work in tially rehabbed the property before putting it back on the market.
category for its work in Richmond’s the talks are available on the group’s Richmond’s Starr “We’ve tried to put preservation in the mainstream of commu-
Historic District,
Starr Historic District. website, which also includes histories nity planning and be an example by preserving and protecting one
Work Worth Celebrating
including the
Since 2012, RCP has hosted discus- of Richmond’s National Register-listed rescue and sale of of the most important buildings in the Starr Historic District,”
sions about preservation, reinvestment, historic districts, and links to self- an Italianate-style says Matt Stegall, a RCP board member, who will accept the
house on 10th
guided walking tours showcasing the $2,000 Servaas Memorial Award at the annual meeting.
Street (above).
AT JUST 552 SQUARE FEET, Before the city’s architecture. Jean Gernand For more than four decades, Jean Gernand has worked to
Evansville’s Peters-Margedant House is Peters-Margedant Along with educating the commu- (opposite, left) raise awareness of Huntington’s heritage, building partner-
House was won the 2019
a small but significant setting to explore moved, archae-
nity, RCP has shown a willingness to ships to save character-defining landmarks including the
Williamson Prize
architecture and history. Built in 1934 by ology students tackle abandoned and neglected build- for decades of
Chief Richardville House, the Hotel LaFontaine, Horace
Frank Lloyd Wright’s apprentice William and members of ings in its own backyard. The organiza- advocacy that Mann School, and two historic houses. For her tireless efforts,
Wesley Peters, the compact house served the University of tion owns the 1885 William G. Scott have helped save Gernand received the 2019 Williamson Prize for outstanding
Evansville’s Sigma many Huntington
a family of six in its early years. Today Epsilon fraternity House, where it hosts workshops, individual leadership in preservation.
landmarks,
the house provides an engaging space for dug up original special events, and community gather- including the
“In the beginning, there was apathy. We’ve come a long way
students and the community to discuss flagstones, quar- ings. Rental income from events held at Hotel LaFontaine from apathy,” Gernand notes.
ried by architect
Peters’ design and housing legacy. the house fuels the property’s ongoing (below). In the 1970s, she helped form local preservation organiza-
Wes Peters, for PHOTOS BY J.P. HALL,
Recognizing success in using the reuse at the restoration and upkeep. ALYSSA REYNOLDS, AND tion Huntington Alert, working to educate the community
EVAN HALE
house to interest the next generation house’s new site The organization also developed by organizing slide shows, writing newspaper articles, and
in preservation and history, Indiana on campus. a rehabilitation plan for North 10th coordinating home tours. In 1981, Gernand rallied with other
PHOTO © FRIENDS OF
Landmarks awarded the Friends of the PETERS-MARGEDANT Street, using a loan from Indiana citizens to save the vacant 1925 Hotel LaFontaine, forming a
HOUSE
Peters-Margedant House the 2019 Servaas Landmarks to buy an Italianate-style nonprofit that devised a plan to turn the landmark into senior
Memorial Award for outstanding achieve- apartments. The group recruited service clubs, businesses, and
ment in preservation in the youth-serving city officials to lend their vocal and financial support for the
category. Jim Renne, a member of the hotel’s preservation and secured a $2.5 million HUD loan for
friends group, will accept the Servaas the project. Now one of the crown jewels of downtown, the
sculpture and $1,000 prize at Indiana hotel’s transformation earned a National Preservation Honor
Landmarks’ annual meeting in September. Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Peters-Margedant House landed “Jean has been a driving force in advocating preservation of
on Indiana Landmarks’ 10 Most Huntington’s most important historic buildings for decades.
Endangered list in 2014, setting in Without her, the city’s historic downtown would not be as rich
motion a plan to move the tiny home for in character as it is today,” says Indiana Landmarks President
use as a learning lab at the University of Marsh Davis, who will present the award.
Evansville. Now restored, the house hosts “Reid was one of my best friends, so receiving this award
regular guided tours. This year, a semester- named for him has special meaning to me,” says Gernand. “He
long course will challenge college students was larger than life. I always called him the king of preservation.”
6 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 7
HISTORIC HOUSE STYLES
A GUIDE TO 200 YEARS OF RESIDE NTIAL ARCHITECTURE IN INDIANA
As you travel along
city streets and country roads, you can learn
from humble structures known as vernacular
architecture built by craftsman, contractors,
In t h e B e g i n n i n g
When you think of Indiana’s earliest houses, you likely
tal log construction techniques brought by central European
immigrants. In the fourth grade, your teacher may have called
a lot about historic houses by looking at their and do-it-yourselfers to high-style, architect- picture rustic log homes. Non-Native American vernacular them cabins, but hewing logs into square shapes and notching
shape, decorative details, rooflines, and windows. designed houses. You’ll get the background story forms in Indiana began with simple log structures built by the corners into dovetails required time and skill that surpassed
All can offer clues to a home’s architectural style on how styles and forms evolved, and the cul- early nineteenth-century pioneers who used materials at hand the temporary cabins settlers built of round logs, making these
and tell you how old a property might be. tural events and technologies that shaped them, in what was then a heavily-forested region. While some early labor-intensive structures worthy of being called log houses.
To help hone your house-spotting skills, we’ve with drawings and photo examples from around hand-hewn log houses still exist, typically in rural areas, most From the road, it can be hard to recognize a log house, since
published a new historic house style guide on the state. Plus you’ll find interesting and amusing were lost long ago to urbanization and homeowners’ desires many were covered in siding. While people think the siding
our website, spanning 200 years of residen- trivia related to each style. Check it out for your- to adopt newer, more convenient styles and materials. must have come later, similar to an 1880s house covered in
tial architectural in Indiana. This rich resource self at indianalandmarks.org/resources. Like the country itself, hewn-log construction is a melting 1950s aluminum siding, log houses often got wood siding
explores homes both modest and sophisticated: pot of traditions, combining British house forms with horizon- shortly after construction to protect the logs and chinking from
8 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 9
deterioration, and to add an extra layer of insulation—a clever
practice called weatherboarding.
At Indiana Dunes National Park, the evolution of log
construction is evident at the Bailly Homestead, a National
Historic Landmark and home of fur trader Honore Gratien
Joseph Bailly de Messein (1774-1835), who set up a post on
the northern branch of Sauk Trail in 1822. Bailly quickly
replaced his original simple log house with a larger residence.
Constructed around 1834 of hewn logs and weatherboard-
That’s
ing, the house was expanded and modified in later decades by
Bailly’s descendants. The homestead also includes log structures
dating to the 1860s and ’70s built out of logs salvaged from
Amoré!
older buildings, including a log chapel and two-story log build- In Markle, a con- Michael Shymanski that the property
ing made from remnants of a dairy house and tool shed. tractor prepping a was available for lease in 2010. In
house for demoli-
Beginning in 1850, Bailly’s son-in-law Joel Wicker recruited tion uncovered an
rehabbing the house, the Shymanskis
Swedish workers from Chicago—at one time the city with the 1850 cabin (below). uncovered its layers of history, remov- INDIANA’S LOVE
highest Swedish population outside Stockholm—to operate a In the Indiana ing siding on an interior kitchen wall FOR ITALIANATE
sawmill, drawing timber workers and farmers to settle in the Dunes, Patricia and to expose the original log structure,
Of Indiana’s many
Michael Shymanski
region. Several log houses believed to have been built in the exposed the origi- with distinctive dove joints that point of early European architecture. Perhaps best
With its symmetrical
1860s for these workers remain on nearby farms, once part of nal log cabin hid- to its Swedish roots. It’s a feature they architectural house styles, façade, square cupola, known for his Gothic Revival designs, A.J.
Bailly’s homestead. den beneath plaster enjoy showing to visitors who see and brackets along the
in their kitchen
perhaps none is so well rep- Downing’s pattern books also depicted homes
Elsewhere in the park, Swedish immigrant Charles Johnson the property on our annual Logs to cornice, Valparaiso’s
(above). resented as Italianate, and for c.1875 Josephus inspired by Romantic country villas of the Italian
built an oak hall-and-parlor log cabin around 1870. He PHOTOS BY TODD ZEIGER Lustrons tour each May. good reason. Popular around Wolf House (top) is a Renaissance. Downing’s villas often included
(ABOVE) AND BRIAN
expanded the house around 1908 by raising its roof, adding a ZUERCHER (BELOW) In 2016, a contractor prepping a the state from 1855 to 1890, superb example of the a tower or cupola to add drama and proclaim
rear wing and interior plaster walls. An ad on the back of Old non-descript old house for demolition Italianate architecture emerged Italianate style in Porter
wealth and status.
House Journal magazine alerted Chicago retirees Patricia and in the small town of Markle made a County. In Indianapolis’s
as Indiana experienced a popu- Old Northside neigh- American Italianate houses tend to follow two
surprising discovery when he uncov- lation boom, swelling by over borhood, the 1873 broad trends: the picturesque and informal build-
ered hand-hewn logs under layers of one million people between Cosby-Lauter House ings inspired by rural Italian villas and farmhouses,
siding. Research by members of the offers another interpre-
1850 and 1890. As a result, you’ll and the formal symmetrical buildings modeled on
tation of the style, its
Markle Historical Society determined find examples of the style in the principles of urban Italian Renaissance design.
basic Italianate profile
that the sturdy structure had been urban, suburban, and rural set- embellished with the Around Indiana, you’ll find Italianate houses con-
erected around 1850. With advice tings all over the state. addition of a porch. structed in brick and clapboard, and even vernac-
from Indiana Landmarks, the society The Italianate style reflects
PHOTOS BY TIFFANY TOLBERT
(ABOVE) AND PAIGE WASSEL ular forms such as gable-fronts and I-Houses that
bought the log house and moved it Americans’ continued love
(BELOW)
incorporate Italianate details.
to a new site in Mill Park, where it is To spot an Italianate building, look for brack-
currently being rehabbed to showcase ets along the cornice, a defining hallmark of the
early settler life. style. While they may look like they support the
In the early twentieth century, round roof, they are merely decorative. The roof is typi-
logs enjoyed a rustic revival, thanks to cally low-pitched and hipped, although gable-
toys like Lincoln Logs and a romantic front forms also appear. Decorative window
nostalgia for pioneer life. Today you can hoods cap tall, narrow windows that often stretch
still find examples of these log cabins from floor to ceiling on the first floor. Lunettes,
being used as museums and educational also known as eyebrow windows, sometimes
sites in Indiana’s state parks, such as the show up near the roofline, shedding light into an
Lieber Cabin at Turkey Run State Park. attic. The half-moon shape ties the design to its
Italian roots (think of the Roman arch).
Now that you know what to look for, don’t be
surprised if you see Italianate houses popping up
everywhere!
10 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 11
with the outdoors, sleeping rooms upstairs for privacy, and
utility and recreational space in the partial basement, the least Small
expensive area.
but Stylish
Wrigh tian Hous e (1950s -PRESENT)
Following the Great Depression,
The horizontal emphasis, flat roofs, and wide eaves of Frank if you wanted a federally backed mortgage, you
Lloyd Wright’s early twentieth-century Prairie designs inspired had to play by the Federal Housing Administration’s
architects working from the 1950s through the present to (FHA) rules. The FHA preferred the American
incorporate the master’s organic philosophy. The idea that Small House, a standard that shaped residential
a building would blend in with nature fit perfectly with the streetscapes nationwide from the 1930s through the
growing environmental movement. 1950s and inspired the 1962 folk song “Little Boxes.”
Typically, the one-story houses included a liv-
Sh ed Hous e (1960-1980s) ing room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and at least
In the 1970s, Americans stopped throwing litter from their one bathroom. Their practicality and affordability
car windows, established Earth Day and the Environmental answered the needs of returning GIs and families
Protection Agency, and learned about the evils of DDT and moving to cities for World War II production jobs.
paving paradise, all to save the Spaceship Earth. Shed designs Muncie’s Kenmore Addition retains a particularly
were a passive solar energy response to the oil crisis. The style attractive American Small House built in 1950 for
Contemporary began in an architect-designed community of vacation homes Charles and Margaret Benham from plans designed
Columbus north of San Francisco and appealed to back-to-nature fans. by Michigan architect Walter Anika, a 1,135-square-
GARRY CHILLUFFO Though the environmental movement continued, the style foot residence clad in brick with painted redwood
faded from popularity in the 1980s. siding, constructed for $16,000.
The house caught the eye of Steve Austin in
Living the Dream Lu str o n (1948-1951)
Company owner Carl Strandlund saw his design as the answer
to the post-World War II housing crisis. From 1948-1950 the
1991. A former realtor, Austin was looking for a
home of his own when he saw the tucked-away
gem, knocked on the door, and asked then-owner
AS GIs RETURNED FROM WORLD WAR II, THE Lustron Corporation created over 2,498 homes in a former Dr. Barbara Alverez if she would consider selling.
federal government provided low-interest mortgage loans that Columbus, Ohio, aircraft factory. Made of porcelain-coated By the time he got home, the phone was ringing.
financed modern practicality. The FHA, which backed GI steel panels, the distinctive houses are easy to spot—one-story Within two weeks, Austin had closed the deal and
mortgages, favored solid, architecturally conservative designs houses clad in square panels in pastel colors such as “surf the house belonged to him.
“It just had a clean look, and it’s so small I live
worthy of a long-term investment. Styles such as the Ranch blue” and “maize yellow.” Lustron constructed 159 homes in
Split-Level House in all of it,” says Austin. “I’m wild about the living
and the American Small House (see sidebar) fit the bill and Indiana, many of which remain. See one for sale on p.17.
room with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide
were easily mass-produced to fill new suburbs. Today, these
views of east and west. It’s loaded with light.”
houses offer a picture of post-war American society. Ra nc h (1940s-1960s) Contemporary (1950s -PRESENT)
Austin, who works in real estate and government
Post-World War II prosperity meant more people could afford Since architectural historians name styles in hindsight, names
affairs for Red Gold, Inc., has taken care to maintain
cars, spawning suburbs that allowed for bigger houses and lots. for building styles created after the 1960s are still undecided.
the home’s vintage features or find updates that
Enter the rambling Ranch house. Central air conditioning’s For now, we’re giving the name Contemporary to many
match the original furnishings. It’s a comfortable,
arrival contributed to the decline of front porches and the rise mid-twentieth-century houses, typically architect-designed
small house he’s proud to call home.
of private backyard patios. Attached garages, first one-car and and custom-built. The style displays the horizontal empha-
later two-car, reflect the auto-centric lifestyle of the suburbs. sis of its Ranch kin but offers a more futuristic appearance
with placement of windows in non-traditional locations just
Spli t- Level Ho u se (1950s-1970 s) below the roofline, flat or very low-pitched roofs, and large
The Split-Level house developed in the ’30s but saw a surge in stretches of walls with no openings. Large expanses of glass
popularity in the ’50s through the ’70s. In the 1950s, the Small on the rear of the house bring the outside in. Elements like
House Council at the University of Illinois used scientific the projecting roof rafters reveal the post-and-beam structure
Wrightian House surveys to identify the living habits of families and determined of most Contemporary houses. You can see great examples of
Muncie
that the Split-Level met the needs of the modern family by Contemporary houses on our annual Back to the Future tour
GARRY CHILLUFFO
providing ground-level living spaces that were well-integrated each summer.
12 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 13
M E M B ER PROF ILE AR C HI T EC T U R E TALK
marked the start of his support for where he curated decorative arts and
preservation. furniture, reviewing the furnishings
Just a year after moving to Terre and helping with exhibits and inter-
Haute, Indiana, in 1993, Buchanan pretation at state historic sites. As
became a member of Indiana Indiana Landmarks’ Morris-Butler
Landmarks. Living in an 1893 Queen House transitioned from Victorian
Anne in the city’s historic Farrington’s museum to an event venue, Buchanan
Grove neighborhood, Buchanan shared his expertise, advising us on
partnered with Indiana Landmarks how to deal with furnishings in the
to try to save another historic house house’s collection.
threatened with demolition, deepen- In retirement, he plans to split his
ing his commitment by later serving time between Indiana and Colorado,
on our affiliate council. He remained renting his Italianate when he is
a supporter when he moved to out West. Buchanan will remain an
Indianapolis to take a position as
curator at the Indiana State Museum
and Historic Sites.
Indiana Landmarks member and is
including us in his estate plans.
“Indiana Landmarks is an amazing
Prolific Legacy
“When I came to Indy, I could see success story and even those who don’t IF YOU WERE TO COMPILE A GREATEST HITS D.A. Bohlen and Son
that where historic buildings were consider themselves preservationists of Indiana architecture, chances are good that Indianapolis’s designed landmarks
across the state,
being fixed up, it helped land values acknowledge the benefits that come Bohlen family designed several buildings on the list: including the Church
around them,” Buchanan says. “It was out of its work,” notes Buchanan. Indianapolis City Market, French Lick Springs Hotel, Shelby of the Immaculate
patently clear to me that it made more “That work needs to continue, and County Courthouse, and Indianapolis’s Murat Temple. Conception on the
sense for cities to help get buildings the only way that can happen is if Operating from 1853 to 1968 and spanning four generations, campus of Saint
Mary-of-the-Woods
restored, rehabbed, and saved.” people continue to support Indiana the architecture firm D.A. Bohlen and Son also designed near Terre Haute
Buchanan put his beliefs into Landmarks financially.” Indiana Landmarks’ Morris-Butler House in Indianapolis and (left) and the French
action by taking on his own fixer- most of the buildings for the Sisters of Providence and Saint Lick Springs Hotel
(right). Architectural
upper, an 1870 brick Italianate duplex Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute.
historian Dr. James
on South Meridian Street just blocks To better understand the prolific firm’s legacy, the two orga- Glass explores the
from Monument Circle. “It was a nizations used a Historic Preservation Education Grant from firm’s legacy in
ruin, with falling ceilings and a fur- Indiana Landmarks and Indiana Humanities to hire archi- a talk at Indiana
Like what
Landmarks Center
nace that was deadly, letting gases into tectural historian Dr. James Glass to research the Bohlens. By on October 3.
the house. The only reason no one was combing architectural archives and historic newspapers, Glass
you’ve read?
PHOTOS BY LEE LEWELLEN
hurt was probably because so many of gained new insight, findings he’ll share at two events in October.
the windows were missing glass,” says “For over 100 years, their work was of high quality,
Help Indiana Landmarks
Buchanan. involved all building types, and illustrated nearly every archi-
achieve even more by:
Having already rehabbed a series tectural style,” notes Glass.
of historic homes, Buchanan put his • Renewing your On October 3, Indiana Landmarks Center hosts Glass’s
home-improvement skills to work membership illustrated talk on the firm’s work in Indiana, featuring historic
Sharing His Expertise converting the house into a triplex, hir-
ing contractors for the tasks he couldn’t
do. “Even in rough shape, old homes
• Making a donation in
addition to membership
illustrations and photos of landmarks still-in-use and others lost,
including the English Opera House on Monument Circle. On
October 20, Glass presents a second talk at Saint Mary-of-the-
WHEN DAVID BUCHANAN TALKS ABOUT BEING A long-time Indiana have far more quality and details that • Including Indiana Woods Historic District highlighting Bohlen-designed buildings
Landmarks mem- Landmarks in your
a lifelong admirer of historic buildings, he means it. When are unaffordable for the average person at the liberal arts college. Following the talk, volunteers will
ber, Indianapolis estate plans
he was seven years old, he joined the county historian to resident and deco- now,” says Buchanan. “Everyone told conduct a tour of five landmarks, tracing the firm’s work from
picket against the demolition of the nineteenth-century rative arts expert me I was an idiot to buy that house. For more information talk to the 1894 Woodland Inn to the 1964 Rooney Library.
county courthouse in his hometown of Durango, Colorado. David Buchanan They’ve changed their minds now.” Sharon Gamble, 800-450-4534 See the calendar for more details on the talk on October 3.
has included us in or visit indianalandmarks.org
Though their efforts proved unsuccessful, the experi- his estate plans.
In August, Buchanan retired after Learn more about the October 20 talk and tour at
ence opened Buchanan’s eyes to historic architecture and PHOTO BY PAIGE WASSEL 26 years at the Indiana State Museum, smwhistoricdistrict.org.
14 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 15
W H AT W E’ RE SAV ING NOW
FOR LANDMARKS ON THE MARKET
Vice President John Pappas came across
Guggman Haus Brewing Company,
SALE see more at indianalandmarks.org
a Broad Ripple-based home-brewing
venture started by twin sisters Courtney
Guggenberger and Abby Gorman
and their husbands, Derek and Ryan.
When it became clear that renovations
on the former garage would take longer
than expected, the group focused its
rehab efforts on the house next door,
vacant for more than a decade. “The
house looked like it had been through
World War II,” says Congdon. Courtyard Inn 5638 Indianola Avenue
Workers repaired the roof, adding Front Street, Rising Sun Indianapolis
Reclaiming Race History fresh paint and a wrap-around deck
on the exterior with picnic tables for
outdoor seating. Few original features
Riverside opportunities abound at
this property dating to 1827. First
constructed as a general store, the
Own one of only 2,680 Lustron
homes built. This Westchester
Deluxe 2-bedroom model is almost
building recently held a restaurant. 100% original and awaiting its final
IN 1935, AN INDUSTRIAL BUILDING AT 1701 Rehabbed and remained inside, so the team gutted Row houses and other additions restoration. New plumbing, elec-
Gent Avenue on Indianapolis’s west side became home to reopened this and rehabbed it to a cabin atmosphere, have housed rental, hotel rooms, trical, heating, and sewer lines.
spring, a Dutch and a variety of commercial uses. Located on .23-acre lot with land-
several of the city’s premier racing teams, including one led by Colonial house
with couches, board games, and
14,858 square feet. scaped lawn and mature trees.
“Umbrella Mike” Boyle, a Chicago labor leader whose success on Indianapolis’s wooden tables and chairs. The lower
in the Indy 500 led Indianapolis Motor Speedway Historian west side (after level houses brewing operations and $1,075,000 $190,000
and before, above) Brett Fehrman Sherri Roizen
Donald Davidson to dub him the “Penske of the pre-War era.” limited seating, while the main floor
found new life as Fehrman Realty Encore Sotheby’s International Realty
In recent years, however, the building tottered on the brink Guggman Haus is a tasting room, complete with a bar 812-537-1700 317-408-3045
of collapse, along with a neighboring 1916 Dutch Colonial Brewing Co., oper- forged from glazed block salvaged from
Revival-style house. This spring marked a turnaround for the ated by twin sisters the nearby garage. The Guggenbergers
Abby Gorman
site, rehabbed and reborn as Guggman Haus Brewing Co. nonprofit several Indiana Automotive and Gormans provided sweat equity
and Courtney
Just a few years ago, when city officials targeted the industrial Guggenberger and board members formed to salvage as and advised on the design.
building for demolition, members of our Indiana Automotive their husbands, much as possible of the building. Vintage Boyle Racing photos deco-
affinity group appealed to have the structure pulled from the Derek and Ryan While scouting in 2015 for a busi- rate the wall, and Guggman Haus brews
(right).
demolition list and turned over to Indiana Landmarks. In PHOTOS © GUGGMAN HAUS
ness to occupy the property, Boyle offer additional nods to racing history,
turn, we passed the former garage on to Boyle Racing LLC, a BREWING CO.
Racing Treasurer Jeffrey Congdon and including Winner’s Milk Jug, Mike’s
Umbrella Brown Ale, and Wilbur’s Prize
Pils (named for Boyle Racing’s Indy
500-winning driver Wilbur Shaw). Suzane Thomas House 2750 S. Spicewood Lane
When the garage’s renovation is 828 East Adams Street, Muncie Bloomington
KATIE GIBSON JOINED INDIANA January 1 this year—of Indiana Modernist buildings and land- complete, it will house Guggman Alfred Grindle-designed 1896 Mid-Century Modern jewel in city’s
Landmarks this spring as Heritage scapes from the 1930s-1970s on Instagram with the hashtags Haus’s expanded taproom and event Colonial Revival gem in National Spicewood neighborhood features
Experiences Manager. Gibson holds a #IndianaModern and #INModernLove. Winners will receive cash space, along with memorabilia and Register district has 5,400 square a courtyard, open living room with
bachelor’s degree in historic preser- prizes, with the top winner receiving complimentary member- feet (plus third floor and base- kitchen and nook, polished concrete
vation from Savannah College of Art ship in Indiana Landmarks and Indiana Modern. We’ll announce
vintage cars, including the Boyle
ment), original woodwork and floors, fireplace, expansive windows
and Design and previously worked the three top winners on October 7 on Indiana Modern’s Diamond T 211FF Race Car Hauler hardware, large rooms with lots of maximizing wooded views. 4 bed-
with Architecture and Community Instagram. Visit indianalandmarks.org/Indiana-modern for recovered and restored by Boyle natural light, eight fireplaces, and rooms, 3 baths. Covered car port.
Heritage (ARCH) in Fort Wayne. more info. Racing. The race car hauler and a large carriage house. 4 bedrooms, Rear addition with bonus room and
2.5 baths. Saved from exploitation, kitchenette.
Calling all photographers! Show Indiana Landmarks thanks Ball State University students Boyle Special race car will be on
BR I E F LY your love for Modernist architecture Carrie Vachon and Seth Stegall who worked in our offices display on October 19 during Boyle
and largely restored.
$318,000
NOT E D
by entering our second-annual this summer. Vachon aided our Central Regional Office in $300,000 Tya Hanna
Racing Day at Guggman Haus.
“IN Modern Love” photo contest Indianapolis by monitoring our covenant and easement prop- Frank Meeker RE/MAX Realty Professionals
underway now through October 1. erties and Stegall assisted with preservation education and Watch @GuggmanHausBrewing on 765-702-0717 812-327-5530
Share your photos—taken since events in our Eastern Regional Office in Cambridge City. Facebook for upcoming details.
16 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 17
September/October 2019
Tours & Events Annual Meeting
Sept. 14, Indianapolis
Celebrate preservation successes, applaud winners of the
FRENCH LICK &
WEST BADEN
SPRINGS TOURS
Daily April-December
Landmark Look
Oct. 6, North Vernon
See two Queen Anne-style houses in
Servaas Memorial Awards and Williamson Prize, and elect Jennings County: the Cone House
new directors at our annual meeting at Indiana Landmarks West Baden Springs rescued from the brink of demoli-
Center. Reception 2:30-3:30 p.m., program from 3:30-5 p.m. Hotel tion and nearing the end of a major
Monday-Saturday 2 &
Free with RSVP. 4 p.m. rehabilitation and the Leavitt House,
Sunday, 10 a.m. & 2 p.m. a fixer-upper full of potential and
Wine Down on the Farm French Lick Springs available for sale. 2-4 p.m. Free for
Sept. 20, Cambridge City Hotel members, $10/general public.
See painters from the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association Noon
practice their craft on the grounds of Huddleston Tours depart from our Historic Aurora
Farmhouse as you enjoy local wine and a harvest meal
Landmarks Emporium
shops in each historic
Downtown Tour
prepared by local chefs using regionally sourced ingredients. hotel on IN 56 in southern Oct. 19, Aurora
Craftsman will also be constructing willow furniture and Indiana. Combo ticket In celebration of Aurora’s bicenten-
available. Discount for
demonstrating glass blowing on site. 6-9 p.m. $35/member, nial, see historic landmarks across
members on tours and
$50/general public. in shops. Reservations the city, including private homes,
recommended. an 1850 church, a railroad depot,
Amazing Space Talk & Tour 812-936-5870. a commercial building, and a local
Sept. 26 & 29, Terre Haute Twilight Tours brewery in a historic warehouse.
SEPT. 26 Valparaiso University Professor Dr. Gretchen Costumed characters 10 a.m.-3 p.m. $12/member, $15/
Buggeln explores how suburban congregations thought depict famous guests general public in advance. $20/
at West Baden Springs
Modernism could help them stay relevant in a time of during its heyday in the
person on day of tour. Sponsored
Amazing Space Tour, Sept. 29 great cultural change. 6:30 p.m. Free with RSVP. ’teens and ’20s. Timed by Indiana Landmarks, Main Street
EMILY ECKARDT SEPT. 29 Tour five mid-century churches showing how tours depart at 7 p.m., Aurora, and Dearborn County
7:10 p.m., and 7:20 p.m.
modern style influenced ecclesial design and the materials Historical Society.
Sept. 14. $20/general
congregations selected for their buildings. 1-4 p.m. public, $18/member.
$5/member, $7/general public in advance; $8/member, Not-So Silent
First Friday INDIANAPOLIS TOURS $10/general public on day of tour. Learn more on Behind-the-Scenes
Tours
Halloween
Indianapolis Indianalandmarks.org/ongoing-tours-events back cover. June-December Oct. 25, Indianapolis
Our Rapp Family Gallery hosts free art shows, with an option On select Sunday
Enjoy spooky music played on
to tour our restored headquarters. 6-9 p.m. Monument Circle Quality of Place Conference afternoons, Indiana Indiana Landmarks Center’s 1892
SEPT. 6 “Perspectives” a group show by InSight Art Promotion Saturdays, 10 a.m., May-October Sept. 26, Richmond Landmarks offers a two- Sanborn organ, atmospheric light-
Free guided tours depart from South Bend Chocolate Co., Richmond Columbian Properties hosts a conference hour behind-the-scenes ing, and scary movies, including
Historic Photo Talk & Scan-A-Thon 30 Monument Circle. No reservation required. exploring connections between community engage-
tour of the West Baden
Springs Hotel, arranging a silent short and a not-so-silent
Sept. 5 & 7, Indianapolis ment, citizen leaders, and preservation. PlaceEconomics’ access to spaces not nor- horror feature. Dress as your favorite
City Market Catacombs
Indiana Album Founding Director Joan Hostetler shares Donovan Rypkema, an expert on preservation’s economic mally open to the public, movie monster and compete for
1st and 3rd Saturdays, May-October, and an additional including exclusive peeks
historic images found in attics, basements, and closets in a Saturday, October 26, 10 & 10:30 a.m., 11 & 11:30 a.m., noon, impacts, serves as keynote speaker. 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Presidential Suite
cash prizes. Snacks and cash bar
talk at Indiana Landmarks Center on Sept. 5. The non-profit 12:30 & 1 p.m. $35/person. and stunning views of available. 7-10:15 p.m. $15/mem-
collects, scans, and catalogs such photos to preserve their her- Advance ticket required. $12/general public, $6/child (age the atrium from a sixth- ber, $18/general public.
itage. The 6 p.m. talk, which is free for members, $5/general 6-11), $10/member, $5/child of a member. Bohlen Architecture Talk floor balcony. Rooms
included on the tour are
public, precedes a photo scan-a-thon at Indiana Landmarks Oct. 3, Indianapolis subject to change due
Athenaeum
Center on Sept. 7. The scan-a-thon, held 10 a.m.-3 p.m., is In an illustrated talk at Indiana Landmarks Center, archi- to availability. 2-4 p.m.
free with reservation.
2nd Saturdays, May-September, noon
tectural historian Dr. James Glass shares the story of D.A. Sept. 8 & 22, Oct. 6 & RSVP & BUY TICKETS:
Advanced ticket required. $10/general public age 12 and 20, Nov. 24, and Dec. 8. indianalandmarks.org/
up, $5/child (age 6-11), $8/member, $4 for children of Bohlen and Son, a four-generation architectural firm that $28/member, $30/gen-
tours-events
members (age 6-11). designed some of Indiana’s best-known buildings between eral public.
1853 and 1968. 6 p.m. Free for members, $5/general pub- (800) 450-4534
Indianalandmarks.org/
lic. Learn more on p.15. french-lick-west-baden
18 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 19Nonprofit Org.
PAID
U.S. Postage
1201 Central Avenue
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis, IN 46202 Permit No. 3464
AN D F INALLY
Amazing Spaces
AFTER WORLD WAR II, AMERICA’S RELIGIOUS See how congrega- September 29 on Amazing Space,
denominations moved to the expanding suburbs, spending tions embraced mod- a tour sponsored by Indiana
ern design for houses
billions on church architecture and exploring how Modernist of worship, including
Landmarks and Indiana Modern
design might help them stay relevant in a time of great cultural St. Margaret Mary exploring the intersection of
change. In Terre Haute, St. Margaret Mary Parish hired the Catholic Church ecclesial design and modern style
local firm Yeager Architects to design a church and rectory in (above), during a in the 1950s and 1960s. The tour
tour of five mid-cen-
the latest Mid-Century Modern style at the corner of Seventh tury churches in Terre also includes St. Patrick Catholic
and Voorhees streets. Finished in 1957, the flat-roofed lime- Haute, September Church, Memorial United
stone structures are connected by a two-story colonnade, giving 29. A pre-tour talk on Methodist Church, Trinity Lutheran
September 26 offers
way to an enclosed courtyard. A stone, free-standing bell tower Church, and St. Mark United
additional perspec-
rises like a vertical blade in front of the building. tive (see p.19). Church of Christ. See the calendar
Still serving its congregation, St. Margaret Mary Catholic PHOTO BY EMILY ECKARDT for full tour details.
Church is one of five mid-century churches featured
indianalandmarks.orgYou can also read
