MARCH/APRIL 2020 Unsinkable! Naval Armory’s New Commission as Riverside High School Wins Cook Cup

INDUSTRIAL EXTRAORDINARY HERITAGE WOMEN South Bend hosts Looking at landmarks statewide conference of trailblazers FROM THE PRESIDENT STARTERS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS Olon F. Dotson Muncie Hon. Randall T. Shepard Honorary Chairman Jeremy D. Efroymson Marking Parker Beauchamp Chairman Melissa Glaze Roanoke Telling Our Story James P. Fadely, Ph.D. Milestones Past Chairman Tracy Haddad Columbus SIXTY YEARS AGO, A GROUP of business leaders gath- Sara Edgerton 2020 MARKS A CENTURY Vice Chairman David A. Haist Culver since the adoption of the ered to incorporate a new organization dedicated to preserving Marsh Davis President Bob Jones 19th Amendment to the ANNE EVANS © CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE CENTER Evansville historic places for future generations. Anniversaries marking Doris Anne Sadler U.S. Constitution granted Secretary/Assistant Treasurer Christine H. Keck decades often provide reason to reflect and celebrate. Such is the Evansville women the right to vote. To Thomas H. Engle Assistant Secretary Matthew R. Mayol, AIA recognize the milestone, The purpose of a new book: Indiana Landmarks Rescued & Restored. Indianapolis Brett D. McKamey National Collaborative for Windy City Wonders This project was inspired and driven by the indominable Treasurer Ray Ontko Richmond Judy A. O’Bannon Women’s History Sites cre- AT INDIANA LANDMARKS’ Sallie Rowland, a great preservation champion and civic leader Secretary Emerita Martin E. Rahe ated the National Votes for , OH Rescue Party on April 25, who serves on Indiana Landmarks’ board of directors. Sallie, a DIRECTORS James W. Renne Women Trail, a database of we’ll auction one-of-a-kind keen observer of the positive impact of historic preservation, Hilary Barnes Newburgh over 1,000 sites that help tell experiences around Indiana Indianapolis George A. Rogge the story of for all and beyond, including a encouraged us to tell the story of Indiana Landmarks through The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Gary Baskerville-Burrows Sallie W. Rowland women. One project includes private tour for two of a book featuring some of the places we had a meaningful role in Indianapolis Indianapolis an interactive map highlight- Chicago landmarks with Candace Chapman Peter J. Sacopulos Mark Stoner, a preservation saving. And nothing tells that story better than “before and after” Evansville Terre Haute ing places where noteworthy architecture specialist from photographs, aided by a lively text. Edward D. Clere Robert L. Santa New Albany Bloomington RATIO’s office in the Windy The 56 places depicted in Rescued & Restored represent Mike Corbett Charlitta Winston City. The getaway includes Noblesville Indianapolis GEORGE ROGGE the three points of Indiana Landmarks’ mission: Revitalize, Ellen Swisher Crabb John D. Zeglis a stay at a private condo Indianapolis Reconnect, Save. They also attest to the challenges we face and Culver in the heart of the city Cheri Dick Beau F. Zoeller and cocktails with Indiana Zionsville Indianapolis partnerships we enjoy in fulfilling the intent of our founders. Landmarks President Marsh Davis at Cliff Dwellers, a private Indiana Landmarks Rescued & Restored will be available for OFFICES & HISTORIC SITES gathering spot for Chicago artists and intellectuals including Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, Gertrude Kerbis, Carl Sandburg, purchase starting May 1. But you can be among the very first to Headquarters Southeast Field Office Indiana Landmarks Center Aurora and Roger Ebert. Don’t miss your chance to bid! Get tickets to obtain a copy of the book when it is unveiled at Rescue Party on 1201 Central Avenue (812) 926-0983 the party at indianalandmarks.org/rescue-party-tiki-time. Indianapolis, IN 46202 Southwest Field Office April 25. I encourage all to attend Rescue Party—not only to buy [email protected] Evansville (317) 639-4534 (812) 423-2988 our hot-off-the-press book (or several)—but because it supports (800) 450-4534 Western Regional Office Northwest Field Office Terre Haute events happened in each our core mission of saving and revitalizing historic places. It’s Gary (812) 232-4534 years of revitalizing (219) 947-2657 state. In Indiana, the trail also a blast. Huddleston Farmhouse communities, recon- Central Regional Office Cambridge City includes historical markers Indianapolis Please join us. (765) 478-3172 necting people to their (317) 639-4534 and still-standing landmarks Morris-Butler House heritage, and saving Eastern Regional Office Indianapolis such as the Lafayette home Cambridge City (317) 639-4534 meaningful places since (765) 478-3172 of Helen Gougar (above). A Veraestau Indiana Landmarks’ Northern Regional Office Aurora lawyer and women’s rights South Bend founding in 1960. You (812) 926-0983 (574) 232-4534 advocate, Gougar filed suit can learn more about Marsh Davis, President French Lick and West Northeast Field Office Baden Springs tours against the county elec- Wabash the places we’ve helped (866) 571-8687 (toll free) tions board after being (800) 450-4534 (812) 936-5870 along the way in our Southern Regional Office denied the right to vote in soon-to-be-released cof- New Albany (812) 284-4534 1894, eventually arguing fee table book Indiana For its top-to-bottom conversion of Indianapolis’s 1938 Naval her case before the Indiana Landmarks Rescued & Armory into Riverside High School, Indianapolis Classical Schools On the ©2020, Indiana Landmarks; ISSN#: 0737-8602 Supreme Court. Learn more Restored. Learn more earned Indiana Landmarks’ 2020 Cook Cup for Outstanding Cover Indiana Landmarks publishes Indiana Preservation bimonthly about the trail at ncwhs.org/ Restoration (see p. 6). PHOTO BY EVAN HALE for members. To join and learn other membership benefits, about how you can get visit indianalandmarks.org or contact memberships@ votes-for-women-trail. your copy on p. 17. indianalandmarks.org, 317-639-4534 or 800-450-4534. To offer suggestions forIndiana Preservation, contact editor@ indianalandmarks.org. 2 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 3 STATEWIDE CONFERENCE

Cab Calloway, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. After declining attendance forced the Palace to close in 1955, local philanthropist Ella M. Morris bought the theater and sold it back to the city for $1, which repaired and reopened the landmark as Morris Civic Auditorium. Restored a second time in the late 1990s, the expanded and refreshed theater reopened as the Morris Performing Arts Center, incorporating the neighboring Palais Royale building and ballroom, which hosts the conference dinner. The conference now houses the Civil Rights Heritage Center. The stroll ends Today, South Bend and St. Joseph kicks off on April with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar at , Clem 14 with a recep- County count nine local historic tion at The Lauber Studebaker’s grand home turned restaurant, where attendees districts and approximately 200 local Kitchen & Bar, can explore nearly all 24,000 square feet of the Romanesque landmarks, as well as several National a manufactur- Revival-style mansion. LaSalle Avenue in 1900 and expand- Register-listed historic districts. ing facility turned Just outside the city, the conference closes on April 17 at gastro pub (top). South Bend Showcases the ing into a multi-building complex Along West Washington Street, a The 1920s ball- the University of Notre Dame with an architectural tour of before the business closed in 2015. local and National Register district, room of the Palais the National Register-listed campus, followed by a plenary Power of Preservation Developer Frank Perri saw the site’s grand homes of early industrialists Royale building talk in the 1963 Carey Auditorium in the Hesburgh Library potential, spearheading its redevelop- Studebaker and Oliver still stand, (below left) hosts by Paul Edmondson, president of the National Trust for dinner on April 15. NAMED FOR ITS LOCATION ALONG THE Located on the St. ment to reinvent the space as a gastro repurposed as a restaurant and local Attendees can tour Historic Preservation. southernmost bend in the St. Joseph River in northern Joseph River, South pub and liquor store. Taking cues history museum. A walking tour for the University of The Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Bend’s long track Indiana, the city of South Bend rose as an industrial and from its industrial past, The Lauber conference attendees on April 16 Notre Dame’s archi- Archaeology, Indiana Landmarks, and Indiana University stage record of adaptively tecture, including manufacturing center in the late nineteenth and early twenti- repurposing historic Kitchen & Bar utilizes work tables, offers a peek at these landmarks, as the 1963 Hesburgh the annual Preserving Historic Places Conference, with support eth centuries. Though much of the early industry is gone, new buildings makes tools, and other artifacts from the well as Indiana Landmarks’ renova- Library (below from the and the City of South Bend. enterprises occupy the historic factories, showrooms, and office it an ideal host sheet-metal company in its decor. tion-in-progress at the Queen Anne- right), which hosts Registration costs $175 per person, $100 per student and city for Preserving buildings. It’s an inspiring setting for exploring the future of Steel window frames hung from style Kizer House and the former the closing plenary. includes all education sessions, a reception, a luncheon, and Historic Places: PHOTOS BY JERRY PALIGA; preservation at Preserving Historic Places: Indiana’s Statewide Indiana’s Statewide the ceiling provide a visual divider , a once- BRANDON BARTOSZEK; two dinners. Register and get the full conference schedule at LEE LEWELLEN Preservation Conference on April 14-17, 2020. Preservation between the bar and family dining segregated swimming facility that indianalandmarks.org/preserving-historic-places-conference. City and community leaders took an early lead in the pres- Conference on April section. Garage doors open onto a 14-17. Education ervation movement by adaptively repurposing several historic sessions, field trips, patio and outdoor dining area. It’s a buildings. In the 1980s, a power plant constructed in 1901 for talks, and other great setting to enjoy cocktails and the Indiana & Michigan Electric Company became Commerce events offer confer- craft pizza. ence attendees Center, an office complex that took advantage of its industrial opportunities A dinner for conference attendees vibe in the design. In the ’90s, Stephenson Underwear Mills, to explore local on April 15 highlights one of the city’s a 1916 textile mill that made union suits and ladies’ undergar- landmarks. early building saves. Chicago archi- PHOTO © VISIT SOUTH BEND ments, and the 1913 Central High School both found new use MISHAWAKA tect J.S. Aroner designed the terra as apartments. The 1868 Second St. Joseph Hotel, the oldest cotta Palace Theatre and neighboring masonry building in downtown, became a foodie’s paradise, Palais Royale building in the Spanish with the fine-dining restaurant LaSalle Grill on the lower level Renaissance Revival style. Both and LaSalle Kitchen and Tavern above. opened in 1922, the Palace as a vaude- The conference’s kickoff reception on April 14 showcases ville venue and later movie palace, and one of the city’s most recent transformations in the East Bank the Palais Royale as a commercial cen- neighborhood. The J.C. Lauber Company began in 1890 as ter with two-story ballroom featuring a roofing and sheet-metal manufacturer, relocating to East performers such as Duke Ellington,

4 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 5 COOK CUP 2020

still hang on the gym walls. Plans call for the flood simulation chamber to house a museum recounting the building’s history. The $10 million restoration utilized a mix of new market and historic tax credits, tax increment financing dollars, and private donations. Since opening in 2018, Riverside has re-established the building’s role as a community anchor, honoring its history by hosting reunions for military groups and an annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance event. Basketball teams from nearby Marian University and a local league practice in the gym, and students take P.E. classes across the street in Riverside park. The school hosts community tours, neighborhood coffees, and small meetings and seminars. As the neighborhood’s first community high school in decades, Riverside draws students from dozens of area middle

a charter school offering a classical, updating. Dropped ceilings, worn car- Riverside High liberal arts education, located in pet, and chopped-up interior spaces School preserved Mission Accomplished the armory’s nauti- the city’s historic first Indianapolis remained from a 1970s renovation. cal elements. The IN THE MIDST OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION, Indianapolis Classical Museum of Art. Indianapolis Classical Schools former drill hall crews from the Works Progress Administration constructed a Schools won the To give Indianapolis Classical hired RATIO architects and Brandt (above)—now 2020 Cook Cup gleaming white naval armory on Indianapolis’s White River, Schools time to raise money for Construction to ensure the building’s the school gym— for Outstanding retains the naviga- where U.S. Navy and Marine recruits trained for decades. Two Restoration for the armory’s adaptation, Indiana original architectural features and nauti- tion bridge with years ago, the armory embarked on a different educational repurposing the Landmarks petitioned the city to give cal charm were restored and preserved signal lamps and a Indianapolis Naval naval emblem on mission as Riverside High School. At our Rescue Party on Armory as Riverside us the building. as the armory was adapted. Much of April 25, Indiana Landmarks will honor Indianapolis Classical Though the armory was structur- the building’s layout easily lent itself the floor, adapted High School. Above to reference the the entrance rotunda, Schools’ remarkable adaptation of the 1938 armory with the ally sound, water infiltration had to new use—the drill hall serves as a school. Students workers reopened 2020 Cook Cup for Outstanding Restoration. damaged concrete and corroded gymnasium, the mess hall became a eat in the former the library to its officers’ mess hall Architects Ben Bacon and John Parrish designed the stream- double-height dimen- rebar. The lower level near White cafeteria, and classrooms and offices still (right), illuminated sions, creating a spa- lined concrete building as a Naval Reserve training center River was prone to flooding, and serve their original purposes. Workers by historic ship’s cious music room. incorporating simulated features of a ship, including a naviga- antiquated mechanical, plumbing, removed dropped ceilings to showcase wheel chande- PHOTOS BY EVAN HALE; tion bridge with signal hoists, magazine, boiler room, radio BRIAN PAUL and electrical systems all needed the original tall ceilings and tore out liers and anchor communication room, ship’s ladder, and galley. carpet to expose original terrazzo floors sconces. schools. Next year, Riverside will enroll its fourth freshman PHOTOS BY BRIAN PAUL Commandeered by the Navy to train radio operators and underneath. In the second-floor library class, bringing the student body to around 600. yeomen during World War II, the armory’s tucked-away loca- above the entrance rotunda, workers “Students are coming to us that have not had a college-prep tion on a non-navigable river in the middle of the country removed interior walls and dropped ceil- experience and we are really asking them to work harder than gives credence to stories that it also served as a location for ings to reveal the semi-circular, double- they ever have before, to appreciate and strive for something top-secret planning for important battles. The building func- height space, exposing excellent acoustics that might not have been within their aspirations up to this tioned as a Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center until it was that made it a perfect music room. point,” says Katie Dorsey, head of school. “When we can do decommissioned in 2015. In the cafeteria, anchor sconces, that in a space that also inspires and has a really powerful story State officials offered the armory to other state agencies, but ship’s wheel chandeliers, and rare globes to tell, it makes it that much easier for me.” with no takers the state transferred ownership of the building to etched with a map of the world— “Riverside is doing everything we hoped for, becoming the City of Indianapolis, which similarly saw no use for the white rewired during the restoration—still a top-rated high school in an area where there weren’t those behemoth. Around the same time, Indianapolis Classical Schools illuminate the space. Classrooms retain opportunities for kids before,” says John Watson, Indianapolis had its eye on the building as the perfect site for a second high porthole windows, and intricately knot- Classical Schools board president. “For us, it’s mission accom- school. With a long wait list for admission, the institution looked ted rope still wraps stairwell handrails. plished regarding the building, and now we are doing the work to replicate the success it already had in Herron High School, WPA-era murals depicting naval battles of educating everyday.”

6 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 7 In the early twentieth century, several Indiana women gained national acclaim in the world of decorative arts, earning accolades and demand for their stained glass, textiles, pottery and quilts. Today, historic churches and two restored houses showcase their work, and tell revival stories of their own.

CASTING A GLOW

orn in Lafayette in 1887, Edna Browning Ruby was ated windows for First United In the early 1900s, a true Renaissance woman. A graduate of the Art Brethren Church—now gone—at Indiana women drew national notice Institute of Chicago and the Museum 704 North Park Avenue and for West in the decora- and School of Industrial Art, Ruby painted minia- Washington Street Methodist Church, tive arts, including B ture portraits, designed jewelry and textiles, fabricated metal which the minister reportedly said, stained glass artist work, and created furniture. She began working with stained “preached their own sermons.” In Edna Browning Ruby, whose work glass in 1915 at the age of 28, winning medals and acclaim, Lafayette, her work is on display at illuminated churches even though she considered the pursuit a hobby. Trinity Methodist Church, Elston in Indianapolis and In 1927, the National Federation of Business and Presbyterian Church, and Stidham Lafayette (left). Professional Women’s Clubs recognized Ruby as America’s United Methodist Church, where a In Fort Wayne, draftswoman Grace outstanding businesswoman, sending her on a tour of Europe stunning half segmental dome casts a Crosby (above) where she visited artists, designers, and manufacturers. When soft glow over the chancel. The feature partnered with Joel she died of heart disease in 1937, she was believed to be the helped the church achieve listing in Roberts Ninde to design comfort- only woman in the United States who designed, built, and the National Register of Historic able houses that installed stained glass. Places in 1992. still dot the city’s Along with creating stained glass windows for churches When the curved glass required neighborhoods. PHOTOS: EMILY ECKARDT, in Lafayette and Indianapolis, Ruby frequently designed repair a few years ago, Susan Delong, © THE FORT WAYNE their interior furnishings as well. In Indianapolis, she cre- owner of Lafayette’s Kaleidoscope HISTORY CENTER

8 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 9 Century of Progress International Quilters Hall of Fame, an organiza- Exposition in Chicago. tion established in Virginia, prepared Inspired by nature, early Overbeck to honor Marie Webster as its latest Pottery pieces were characterized by inductee. At the induction, Perry pro- muted colors and subtle glazes created posed Webster’s Marion house become by secret formulas. In later years, the a permanent home for the Quilters Hall sisters’ work became brighter in color of Fame, partnering with the organiza- and glaze. Their art pottery remains tion and a friends group to save the highly sought-after today. Colonial Revival house. Following a By the 1970s, the Overbecks’ decade-long, top-to-bottom restoration, Federal-style house teetered on the the National Historic Landmark now brink, in danger of demolition by houses rotating exhibits on the first two MICHAEL FLOWERS neglect. Jerry Mattheis, who knew floors. Upstairs, Webster’s sewing room Stained Glass, spent a year cleaning, repairing, and re-leading Edna Browning Mary Overbeck and had grown up just and studio is set up much as it would the glass. After 45 years working in stained glass, Delong has Ruby designed win- blocks from the house, couldn’t bear have been when she lived in the house. Forward Thinking dows and the half restored or rehabbed the windows of most area churches, dome in Lafayette’s to see it destroyed. He and his wife It’s a fitting tribute to the woman whose IN THE MID-1800S, social reformer Mary Birdsall brought national becoming even more familiar with Ruby’s designs and fueling Stidham United Phyllis purchased the property for their patterns continue to inspire new genera- attention to women’s rights as a writer and suffragist. Her National her interest in researching the artisan’s life. Methodist Church home and began repairs. Today, they tions of quiltmakers. Register-listed home in Richmond still stands, a reminder of her “Her windows bring serenity to a room with muted pastels (above), restored still enjoy sharing the Overbecks’ story The museum and research center in recent years to influence and a reflection of progressive ideas about house design. and balanced designs,” says Delong. “You really are swept halt bulging in the and showing the restored house by is open Tuesday through Saturday, Married in 1848, Thomas and Mary Birdsall advocated for away with calmness when you look at her windows.” curved glass. appointment. Collections of Overbeck 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Learn more at temperance, emancipation, and women’s rights. Mary’s long associa- PHOTO BY EMILY ECKARDT Pottery remain on display nearby at the quiltershalloffame.net. tion with the Indiana Women’s Rights Convention included serving FEAT OF CLAY Beginning in 1911, Cambridge City Public Library. as secretary for conventions held in Richmond in 1852 and 1853, and four Overbeck as vice-president of the national convention in Ohio. In 1859, she sisters created n 1911, just as the Arts and Crafts movement was sweeping joined other prominent suffragists Dr. Mary Thomas and Agnes Cook world-renowned PIECING IT the country, four sisters—Margaret, Hannah, Elizabeth, I art pottery at their TOGETHER ­ to become the first women to address the Indiana state legislature, and Mary Frances—established a ceramic arts studio at Cambridge City presenting a petition that argued women should be allowed the their Cambridge City home, changing their surname from home (below), arion resident Marie Webster same property and voting rights afforded to men. restored by Overpeck to Overbeck. The sisters won acclaim locally gained notice as a quilt Mary’s advocacy extended into her work as a writer, first as wom- Jerry and Phyllis M and abroad for their one-of-a-kind vases, pitchers, teapots, Mattheis, who open designer after Ladies Home Journal en’s editor for Indiana Farmer, and beginning in 1854, as owner and bowls and other pieces in Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. it to visitors by began publishing her patterns begin- editor of the national publication The Lily, which covered all manner Their work garnered attention at the 1915 Panama-Pacific appointment. ning in 1911. Webster’s garden- of women’s issues, from dress reform to unjust laws. PHOTO BY MICHAEL FLOWERS International Exposition in San Francisco and the 1933 inspired floral appliqué designs graced In 1860, Mary and Thomas built a home at the corner of West The national Quilters several issues of the publication. Fifth Street and Richmond Avenue. Its design echoes a plan for the Hall of Fame Public demand grew, leading to a ideal home that would be promoted by sisters Catherine Beecher partnered with Rosalind Webster robust mail-order pattern business and Harriett Beecher Stowe in their 1869 book American Woman’s Perry to rescue Webster ran from her home. In 1915, Home. Birdsall likely became familiar with these ideas while working the Marion home she published the first book on the for Indiana Farmer, where she edited an article based on Catherine of quilt designer history of quilts and began lecturing Beecher’s approach to economical and comfortable house design and historian Marie Webster. Poised on the subject. and room arrangements. for demolition in In 1988, her granddaughter Rosalind The house later became a Quaker boarding and retirement home, 1991 (top right), the Webster Perry traveled from California named Lauramoore in 1927 to honor an intermediate owner. Indiana house reopened as to Marion, seeking information for a Landmarks holds a preservation easement on the house, donated the hall of fame’s permanent home in new edition of her grandmother’s book. by the Lauramoore Friends Home, Inc., which gifted the property to 2004 (bottom right) Dismayed to find Webster’s house nearby Earlham School of Religion. Today, the property still wel- following a painstak- vacant and crumbling, Perry ended up comes friends, now as the Lauramoore Guest House and Retreat ing renovation. Center, a hospitality house offering accommodations for visiting PHOTOS © THE QUILTERS buying the property in 1991 to prevent HALL OF FAME its demolition. That same year, the students, board members, and guests of the college.

10 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 11 Towering Testament RISING ABOVE INDIANA Avenue in Indianapolis, a MAKING block-long building stands as testament to one wom- an’s extraordinary achievement. Built as headquarters for the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, THEIR the National Historic Landmark is poised to reopen as the Madam Walker Legacy Center following a $15 mil- MARK lion renovation. Born to freed slaves in 1867, Madam C. J. Walker rose to become the country’s first Black female mil- Two Fort Wayne women lionaire. Combatting her own hair loss, Walker created put their stamp on a product that became the foundation for her beauty house design business. Starting from a mail-order, door-to-door venture, it expanded into a network of trained agents that sold products around the country. A business n the early twentieth century, two women—Joel Roberts Fort Wayne resi- 1962) soon joined the business as which promoted the pair’s houses to a national audience. The mogul, shrewd marketer, and philanthropist, Walker Ninde and Grace Crosby—bucked the trend to form a dents Joel Roberts Joel’s design partner, and together magazine also shared ideas about interior design, housebuilding Ninde (below left) used her position to empower other women. She partnership that shaped several Fort Wayne neighbor- and Grace Crosby they formed their own architec- resources, housekeeping essentials, landscape design, and city moved to Indianapolis in 1910, drawn by the city’s Ihoods, where their house designs continue to be attractive and published their house ture and interior design firm. Like planning, a particular interest of Lee Ninde. position as a transportation hub and its collection of sought-after residences. designs (below other aspiring architects of the Joel Ninde’s and Grace Crosby’s “A House of Convenience,” Black businesses. right) in Wildwood An Alabama native, Joel Roberts Ninde (1874-1916) moved era, Crosby had apprenticed with published in Wildwood Magazine, embodied their design ethos When it opened in 1927, eight years after Walker’s Magazine, a publica- to Fort Wayne in 1900 soon after marrying Lee Ninde. Faced tion of the company local firms, including working as with open rooms, windows positioned to increase ventilation, death, the Indianapolis manufacturing center operated with moving into her in-laws’ dark Victorian estate, Wildwood, started by Joel’s hus- a draftswoman with Fort Wayne plenty of storage, and sleeping porches that could become cozy as more than just a factory, with offices, drugstore, Ninde chose instead to design a house for her and her husband band Lee. Examples architect Alfred Grindle. Her rooms. Ninde favored unfussy designs in Craftsman, Dutch beauty salon and school, restaurant, ballroom, and on the grounds. Self-taught, Joel began designing houses in of their work remain technical expertise combined with Colonial, and Colonial Revival styles, offering options to suit theater. A $15.3 million grant from Lilly Endowment along Wildwood Inc. fueled the building’s recent renovation, which popular styles of the day for friends and family, focusing on Avenue (above right), Ninde’s big-picture vision quickly any budget. included installing new mechanical systems, AV sys- well-laid-out, affordable, attractive homes that kept the house- including one house boosted Wildwood Builders’ “They were well-thought-out designs with a sense of space. tems upgrades in the theater and ballroom, and roof keeper in mind. the Nindes lived in reputation. These are not houses chopped up into lots of little rooms,” says (above left). improvements. Joel’s budding success led Lee to form Wildwood Builders The company had its own Connie Haas Zuber, executive director of ARCH, Inc., Fort PHOTOS BY DON ORBAN; Walker’s story takes the spotlight this year as the © ARCH Company in 1910. Fort Wayne native Grace Crosby (1874- publication, Wildwood Magazine, Wayne’s area historic preservation nonprofit. subject of a Netflix series premiering in March and Wildwood Builders also published Wildwood Homes, a book a year-long exhibit, “You Are There 1915: Madam of house plans by Crosby and Joel Ninde. Their designs dot C.J. Walker, Empowering Women,” at the Indiana Fort Wayne’s early twentieth-century neighborhoods, including Historical Society. Shawnee Place and South Wayne, and in Lafayette Place and Wildwood Park, where Wildwood Builders also helped plan the street layout and landscaping. Joel Ninde died suddenly of a stroke in 1916, but Crosby continued to work at Wildwood Builders and in private prac- tice, filling the void left by male architects leaving Fort Wayne to serve in World War I. She continued working as a draftswoman and designer at various companies before retiring in 1930. Two upcoming tours by ARCH, Indiana Landmarks’ Fort Wayne affiliate, highlight Ninde’s and Crosby’s design legacy. On June 27, a tour of the historic South Wayne neighborhood offers a look at the highest concentration of Ninde-designed houses in the city. On September 19, a tour of Wildwood Park explores Wildwood Builders’ influence on neighborhood and city planning. Tickets will go on sale around a month in LEE LEWELLEN advance of the tours on ARCH’s website, archfw.org.

12 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 13 MEMBER PROFILE

FOR LANDMARKS ON THE MARKET Sally has worked for Eli Lilly, see more at indianalandmarks.org Indiana University, and Indiana SALE University-Purdue University Indianapolis, helping program and Believing network computer systems. She currently serves as an office manager in Our for the Society of Indiana Pioneers and executive secretary for the Mission Contemporary Club of Indianapolis. A history major, Fadely spent much of AS WORLD TRAVELERS his professional career as an educator who appreciate visiting places and college counselor, as well as pen- with rich architecture and stories, ning the only biography of Thomas Indianapolis residents Jim and Sally Taggart, Indianapolis mayor and Fadely found membership in Indiana chairman of the Democratic National Landmarks a natural fit. Sally cred- Committee. We tapped his expertise its Jim’s passion for history with when Indianapolis’s Taggart Memorial opening her eyes to the wonders of landed on Indiana Landmarks’ 10 places where they’ve lived and trav- Most Endangered list, recruiting him 231-233 North 10th Street eled—whether exploring the designed to head a task force focused on reviv- Richmond landscapes of New Harmony, Indiana, ing the crumbling monument. He has Spacious c.1880 Italianate duplex in Starr Historic District. South or the ruins of Pompeii. also served as chairman of our board unit with 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms is completely renovated. “He has a real sense of place, which of directors and on a host of Indiana North unit with 3 bedrooms awaits rehabilitation. Live in updated I do not have,” says Sally. “He loves Landmarks’ committees. unit while renovating the other side. 3,260 square feet. places and through his enthusiasm, it’s “I am a big believer in endowments $75,000, Jamie Clarke, Coldwell Banker Lingle, 765-598-5287 kind of sucked me in.” for institutions you care about, and Jim’s family dates to Indiana’s early for them to have viability into the years; his forebears settled in Henry future, you have to have a healthy County in 1837. Sally’s ancestors endowment,” says Jim. “Everything made their own mark on Indianapolis about Indiana Landmarks and its mis- history when her distant cousin sion and purpose resonates with me. George Langsdale raised money for We’re forever members.” construction of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Monument Circle and supervised the project. In honor of the connection, they gave Indianapolis resi- old and thought, ‘That’s what a college ought to look like,’” Like what 3162 State Road 135 Hill Place their daughter Adele the middle name dents Jim and Sally says Jim. you’ve read? Nashville 1523 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis Fadely included Log cabin built in late 1800s, moved National Register-listed house Langsdale. “Because of that, as a child, Indiana Landmarks in In the 1970s, the Fadelys moved to Savannah, Georgia, Help Indiana Landmarks to State Road 135 in 1930. Completely offers 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, she told people the monument was their estate plans to where they lived in an 1868 rowhouse. Their experiences as achieve even more by: renovated, turn-key home. 2,500 two-story library, 8 slate fireplaces, support the organi- hers,” recalls Jim. members of Historic Savannah Foundation led the couple to square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and maple, brown walnut, and white zation’s future. Jim The couple met while attending join Indiana Landmarks on returning to Indiana in 1983. • Renewing your basement. Open concept kitchen, oak woodwork. Modern HVAC, lent his expertise on membership screened-in porch, original stone three-car garage, stainless steel Hanover College in southeast Indiana. Indianapolis Mayor Having grown up in the small town of Middletown in fireplace in family room, exposed and granite kitchen. Won Indiana Before he ever visited campus, Jim Thomas Taggart in Henry County, Jim is concerned about main streets and • Making a donation logs, large living room with cathedral Landmarks’ Sensitive Rehabilitation brainstorming ways to in addition to remembers being captured by the downtowns in rural areas, where he’s seen historic buildings ceiling. Lovely landscaping. Award in 2004. Near Eli Lilly, save the 1931 Taggart membership cover of Hanover’s college catalogue, lost due to disinterest and disinvestment. Sally appreciates Anthem, Rolls-Royce, Virginia Memorial, soon to be a $360,000, Jay Charon, which prominently featured one of our recent focus on preserving historic landscapes. Their • Including Indiana Avenue, and the Red Line. performing arts venue. Landmarks in your 812-344-1144 the campus’s Georgian Revival build- PHOTO BY EVAN HALE support for Indiana Landmarks’ mission led them to include estate plans $595,000, Scott Keller, ings. “I saw this as a seventeen-year- us in their estate plans. 317-443-6399 For more information talk to Sharon Gamble, 800-450-4534 or visit indianalandmarks.org 14 INDIANA PRESERVATION NEWS

From Wreck to Restored UNLIKE HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOWS THAT reveal dramatic transformations in an hour or less, real life makeovers of historic places often take years. Take the Levi Butler House a little north of Madison. In 2015, ivy and nature obscured the modest Greek Revival-style house, which suffered from years of neglect. Stuck in foreclosure and facing a tax sale, the Butler House likely wouldn’t survive another winter, so Indiana Landmarks bought it, fixed the decaying roof and crumbling chimney, peeled back the ivy, and put the house on the market. From his 25th-floor condo in Miami, Mark Hopkins considered an early retirement from Gucci and moving to Indiana to be near family. When he spotted the Butler House for sale on the Old House Dreams website, he immedi- ately set up a visit. He bought the house from Indiana Transformative Legacy Landmarks in 2016 and completed the gracious home’s transformation from wreck to restored. LAST AUGUST, AS THEY HAVE A longtime the c.1865 white frame church, one of the last tangible links The Butler House is one of many turnaround stories A new coffee table book for generations, descendants of Indiana Landmarks to the Rush County settlement. The building’s transformation showcased in Indiana Landmarks Rescued & Restored, a Indiana Landmarks Rescued member, Stan & Restored shares stories of the original residents of Beech Cox (below) sup- was fueled by significant support from the late Stan Cox, an new coffee table book by Indiana Landmarks. Guests historic places saved around Settlement—a farming community ported saving the Indiana Landmarks member who contributed $100,000 to the at our Rescue Party on April 25 will get a first look at the state, including the created outside Carthage by free state’s significant project through his Standiford H. Cox Fund at the Central the book, available for sale everywhere beginning May Butler House in Dupont in African Americans in the 1830s— African American Indiana Community Foundation (CICF). 1. Pre-order by April 15 to get it at the lowest price: southern Indiana (above). places, contribut- PHOTOS BY MARK HOPKINS gathered for a homecoming at Mount ing $100,000 for A native of Brazil, Indiana, Cox worked at Eli Lilly and $24.95. Place your order at indianalandmarks.org/ Pleasant Beech Church. The gather- repairs at Mount Company for over 32 years, beginning as the company’s first rescued-and-restored. ing held special significance in 2019, Pleasant Beech Black chemist. In retirement, he advocated for significant as attendees celebrated restoration of Church (above) African American historic sites including Beech Church and in Rush County. The newly estab- Vigo County’s Lost Creek Settlement, an early rural commu- lished Cox Fund for nity of free African Americans. Now, a newly established grant African American fund will help carry on Cox’s preservation legacy. Heritage Sites car- CANDACE CROIX IS THE NEW Kasey Zronek is Indiana Landmarks’ new director of volun- ries on his preserva- Honoring his interests, the Cox Fund for African American director of Indiana Landmarks’ teers and heritage experiences in Indianapolis. A Plymouth, tion impact, provid- Heritage Sites at CICF will provide planning and restoration Southwest Field Office, replacing Indiana, native, Zronek holds a master’s degree in applied ing planning and grants to help ensure the future of significant African American Stewart Sebree, who retired last year. history from George Mason University and previously Croix holds a master’s degree in historic worked as education director at the Virginia Beach Surf & restoration grants. landmarks. Indiana Landmarks will serve as preservation advi- PHOTOS BY EVAN HALE; preservation from Ball State University Rescue Museum. SUBMITTED sor to the fund, drawing on the expertise of members of our and has served as a Preservation Action Nominations for the Sandi Servaas Memorial Award for out- African American Landmarks Committee to identify signifi- board member. She previously worked standing achievement in historic preservation are due June 1, at Urbana Preservation & Planning, a cant places and evaluate projects that the program could assist. BRIEFLY 2020. The annual award recognizes winners in two categories: private cultural resource management The group will make its initial recommendations to the Central an organizational award, which comes with a $2,000 cash NOTED and design firm in California. Indiana Community Foundation in late March. prize, and a youth-serving award, which comes with a $1,000 Do you know of a local African American landmark you’re Deb Singleton joins Indiana Landmarks cash prize. Both winners also receive the Servaas Memorial as senior account at our Indianapolis Award sculpture, “No Doors to Lock out the Past.” Download concerned about? Contact the Indiana Landmarks regional headquarters. A Ball State University a nomination form at indianalandmarks.org/awards or contact office nearest you (see p. 2) to discuss places that might qualify graduate and certified public accoun- Suzanne Stanis, [email protected], to have one for funding from the program. tant, Singleton previously worked at emailed to you. American LandMaster in Fort Wayne.

16 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 17 March/April 2020

First Friday FRENCH LICK & WEST BADEN Tours & Events Indianapolis SPRINGS TOURS Our Rapp Family Gallery hosts free art Logs to Lustrons Daily, April–December shows, with an option to tour our restored headquarters. 6-9 p.m. West Baden Tour & Talk Springs Hotel May 1-2, Indiana Dunes MAR. 6 Group show by InSight Art Monday-Saturday, 2 & 4 p.m.; INDIANA LANDMARKS PARTNERS WITH Promotion Sundays, 10 a.m. & 2 p.m. the National Park Service to present MAY 1 Indiana Landmarks Rescued & French Lick Springs Hotel the fifth annual Logs to Lustrons tour, Restored book-signing and gallery Noon highlighting a century of architecture in exhibit highlights places saved around Tours depart from our the Indiana Dunes—from log homes and Indiana (see p. 17) Landmarks Emporium in Victorian-era houses to sleek Modernist each historic hotel on IN residences. Hands-on activities for kids, 56 in southern Indiana. Talking Track Combo ticket available. who can earn Junior Ranger badges. 8:30 Apr. 2, Indianapolis Reservations recom- a.m.-4 p.m., Central Time. Tour-goers park Indianapolis Motor Speedway broad- mended, 812-936-5870. at Indiana Dunes Visitor Center and shut- caster Bob Jenkins and Indianapolis 500 Twilight Tours tle to tour sites, with last bus departing at winner Al Unser Jr. come to Indiana Costumed characters 2 p.m. $30/general public, $25/member, Landmarks Center to share insights from depict famous guests free for children under age 16 with RSVP; the historic raceway. at West Baden Springs box lunches available for an additional during its heyday in the cost during some tour times. State Preservation ’teens and ’20s. Timed tours depart at 7 p.m., Come on May 1 for talks by experts Conference 7:10 p.m., and 7:20 p.m. offering additional background and Apr. 14-17, South Bend Apr. 25, May 30, June 13, details about the tour sites, including how Attend the conference and see revitalized July 11, Aug. 8, Sept. 12. a historic farmhouse and barn were repur- landmarks connected to the city’s indus- $20/general public, $18/member. posed for a preschool. 7-9 p.m. at Indiana trial and manufacturing heritage. You’ll Dunes Visitor Center. $10/general public, Behind-the-Scenes have choices in educational session topics, $5/member. Tours workshops, meals in interesting places, and On select Sunday tours that educate and entertain. $175/ afternoons, Indiana person, $100/student. See pp. 4-5. Landmarks offers a two- hour behind-the-scenes tour of the West Baden Rescue Party: Tiki Time Springs Hotel, arranging Apr. 25, Indianapolis access to spaces not nor- Party for a great cause—saving endangered mally open to the public, places—this year with a tiki theme. Expect including exclusive peeks at the Presidential Suite tempting food, great music, and plenty and stunning views of Rescue Party: Tiki Time, Apr. 25 of fun. Bid on one-of-a-kind experiences the atrium from a sixth- around Indiana, dance, and be ready for floor balcony. Rooms a few surprises. Applaud the winner of included on the tour are subject to change due to the 2020 Cook Cup for Outstanding availability. 2-4 p.m. Mar. INDIANAPOLIS Monument Circle City Market Catacombs Athenaeum Restoration and learn about this year’s 10 15 & 22, Apr. 5 & 26, May TOURS Saturdays, 10 a.m., Select Saturdays, May-October, and 2nd Saturdays, May- Most Endangered places. Rescue Party 17 & 31, and June 14 & 28. May-October an additional Saturday, Oct. 31 September, noon raises money for our Endangered Places $30/general public, $27/member. Indianalandmarks.org/ Free guided tours depart 10, 10:30, 11 & 11:30 a.m., noon, 12:30 Advance ticket required, programs. 6-11 p.m. Before April 5, tickets ongoing-tours-events from South Bend Chocolate & 1 p.m. Advance ticket required. $10/general public, are $75/friend, $125/patron; After April 5, Indianalandmarks.org/ Co., 30 Monument Circle, $12/general public, $6/child (age $5/child (age 6-11), $8/ french-lick-west-baden no reservation required 6-11), $10/member, free for children member, free for children tickets are $85/friend, $150/patron. ages 5 and under ages 5 and under

18 INDIANA PRESERVATION indianalandmarks.org 19 Nonprofit Org. PAID 1201 Central Avenue U.S. Postage Indianapolis, IN 46202 Indianapolis, IN Permit No. 3464

AND FINALLY

Rural Retreat WITHIN A SHORT DRIVE OF Louisville, the historic Sillings-Schoen- Mitsch farm offers the best of both worlds: a serene rural setting and nearby amenities of a large urban center. Located just outside Georgetown in Floyd County, the farm is currently for sale by Indiana Landmarks for $1.2 million. Situated on nearly 160 acres of prime real estate, the property includes a c.1910 Tucked into the hilly bungalow farmhouse, three barns, a tenant terrain of southern Indiana, the historic house, and outbuildings. Though it will Sillings-Schoen- require extensive rehab, the picturesque Mitsch farm includes bungalow retains original features includ- nearly 160 acres of ing oak woodwork, maple floors, and prime real estate just 15 minutes pocket doors. Indiana Landmarks has from downtown already installed new roofs on the house Louisville. With and barns. The farm will be sold with houses, barns, and easements requiring the preservation of the outbuildings, the property could be historic structures and protecting the land’s used for continued agrarian nature. farming or other Indiana Landmarks received the prop- agrarian operations, such as a horse farm erty as part of an extraordinary bequest or vineyard. The farm from the late Zelpha Schoen Mitsch of will be sold with pres- Georgetown, and proceeds from the sale ervation covenants of the farm will benefit our endowment. protecting its rural character. See the property at indianalandmarks.org/ PHOTOS BY COMPASS REALTORS properties-for-sale. indianalandmarks.org