HISTORIC EVANSVILLE A Self-guided Tour of Downtown Evansville, Indiana Welcome to Evansville! It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to historic Evansville, Indiana. As a look at this guidebook or a tour of Downtown will prove, Evansville is blessed with rich reminders of our past. Perhaps more exciting is the role that the preservation of that past is playing in the Evansville of today and of the future. Historic preservation has come to be recognized as an important part of Evansville's way of doing things, and we invite visitors to share in our achievements and to enjoy our historic sites. We like company. Let us know if we can do anything to make your stay in Evansville a pleasant one. Sincerely, Mayor Michael D. Vandeveer Cover photo from Artwork of Evansville, Indiana 1901. A birdseye view from the Old Courthouse looking toward the Ohio River. Sterling Brewery 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue At the very corner of Pennsylvania and Fulton Avenue stands a brick, round-arched portion of the brewery com­ plex dating back to the turn of the century. The Fulton Avenue Brewery was established in 1880 at this location, and beer has been produced here (with a noticeable lapse during Prohibition) ever since. This is Evansville's last brew­ ery—once the city could boast twenty. KENTUCKY Introduction Center city and neighborhood revitalization is a key to the future of our older cities and towns. What is happening today in Evansville is not unique anymore: reinvestment in once-blighted neighborhoods and the recycling of historic commercial buildings is a world-wide phenomenon. This walking/driving tour guide is an introduction to some of the more interesting examples of historic preservation in down­ town Evansville. History Evansville was a river city. Its plan and architecture reflected the role played by the commerce and industry brought first by the Ohio River and later cemented by Midwestern rail­ roads. A small, languid village when incorporated in 1819, Evansville grew slowly, relying on the completion of rail connections in 1860 for its sustained growth. The original town, laid out on a grid angled to meet the widely bending river, contained the seat of county government, a state bank, residences, and several large merchant houses by mid-century. An independent town — Lamasco — was an­ nexed in 1857. By the turn of the century, Evansville was the state's principal commercial city and second in popula­ Louisville & Nashville Railroad Passenger Depot tion. 300 Fulton Avenue (NR) Plans by the City to purchase and adapt this 1902 passenger Architecture — like history itself—was not just a record of terminal have been dropped, leaving this important land­ wealth and power, but rather the cumulative expression of mark in jeopardy. The robust stone exterior is in a Roman­ all lifestyles, great and not-so-great. Historic buildings and esque style popular with station designers at the end of the districts left today comprise the best evidence of our past. 19th Century. Originally planned by L&N staff engineer Our principal industries, the predominant building materials, Richard Montfort, the depot has been vacant since 1975. the influence of other places in taste and fashion, the geo­ graphic pattern of settlement—all can be traced by the Municipal Market careful examination of the physical past. 813 Pennsylvania Avenue This Prairie School building was one of the legacies of Notes Evansville's Progressive mayor, Benjamin Bosse (1913-22). An important tool in historic preservation is the National Designed by the firm of Clifford Shopbell & Company and Register of Historic Places. Listing a building on the Register completed in 1918, the all-weather market was partly con­ provides eligibility for matching grants, tax incentives, and a verted to a fire station in 1954. The City intends to adapt the measure of protection against any adverse federal project. Old Market for use as headquarters of the municipal transit The downtown buildings currently on the Register are system. marked NR; those with nominations pending, NR-P. The privacy of non-public buildings should be observed. Many of the buildings on this tour, however, can be opened to the public. Arrangements for possible tours of individual buildings may be made by contacting the Evansville Con­ vention and Visitors Bureau at 812/425-5402. For further information on the historic architecture of Evans­ ville, see Reflections Upon a Century of Architecture, Junior League of Evansville, Inc., 1977, available at most local bookstores or newsstands. Willard Library 21 First Avenue (NR) This 1876-84 library was de­ signed by the noted Reid Brothers, architects of the Zion Evangelical United Hotel del Coronado in San Church of Christ Diego. The Willard is one of 415 NW Fifth Street the country's finest High A wave of German immi­ Victorian Gothic statements. gration at mid-century gave A gift of Willard Carpenter Evansville a handful of new (1803-83), this privately- congregations. The Zion chartered, free public library Kirche was established in remains a strong neighbor­ 1849 with thirty-five mem­ hood anchor and has been bers. Only six years later, the object of several preser­ this handsome Gothic Re­ vation grants. vival sanctuary was erected. Willard Carpenter House Liederkranz Maennerchor 405 Carpenter Street 302 Market Street In 1848, Vermont-born Car­ Male singing societies were penter began the construc­ an important social and rec­ tion of his house on the edge reational outlet for Evans­ of town. Visitors flocked to ville's German community. the Greek Revival house Several halls were built when it was finished a year around the turn of the cen­ later. Carpenter's career of tury, including this one in commerce, rail and canal 1911. The architect for this promotion, and land specu­ liederkranz building was lo­ lation had its ups and downs cal designer Frank J. Schlot- beginning with his arrival in ter. (Schlotter also designed the city in 1837,but he soon the Germania Maennerchor became one of Indiana's most respected citizens and sue - at 916 N. Fulton Avenue in 1913, a hall still in use by cessful businessmen. The house was adapted by Medco, singing society.) Inc., in 1977 for corporate offices. Brucken Company 401 NW Fourth Street Now the home of a restaurant supply company, the build­ Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum ings in this complex were constructed as one of the city's 350 Court Street (NR) breweries. The Evansville Brewing Association began con­ This memorial to war dead and wounded was built in struction in 1891 of several buildings at the corner of Fourth 1916-17 after a drive promoted by Mayor Benjamin Bosse. and Ingle. The neo-classical coliseum was designed by Shopbell & Company and provided the region with its first modern facility for conventions and other public gatherings. The ceremonial aspect of the building was heightened by placing the structure directly on axis with Fourth Street. ^J 9 Fellwock Auto Garage 214 NW Fourth Street This Prairie School building, designed by Shopbell & L. Puster & Company Old Hose House #4 Company in 1922, boasts white enameled bricks. The 324 NW Sixth Street 523 Ingle Street rich terra cotta ornament recalls the work of Louis Evansville developed a rep­ The Crescent Fire Company Sullivan and was manufactured in Chicago. utation in the 19th Century House was built in 1859-60 as a furniture-manufacturing at a time when Evansville's center of large proportions. fire protection system was Louis Puster and three asso­ still in its infancy. Fires were Old Vanderburgh County ciates built this block (origi­ fought with volunteers or­ Jail and Sheriff's Residence nally one-half of a pair) in ganized by the Police De­ 208 NW Fourth (NR) 1887 to house their furniture partment. Hose House #4 The appearance of prisons concern. Puster & Com­ (renamed in 1874) served was meant to evoke fear, pany—along with the major­ Evansville when hand- and Louisville architect Hen­ ity of the Evansville furniture pumped engines were still in ry Wolters was successful by industry—vanished in the use. Old Number 4 was re­ all accounts. This 1890 land­ 1930s. placed when the new Hose mark was modeled after a House #4 was constructed castle which may have been in about 1895 at Baker and familiar to Evansville's Ger­ Illinois a few blocks away. man-born citizens. It sits va­ cant, awaiting an lmagina- tive reuse. Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse 201 NW Fourth Street (NR) The county's third courthouse has dominated Evansville's cityscape since its completion in 1890. Louisville's Henry Wolters (a German native) designed this Beaux Arts monu­ ment, and the Conrad Baker Foundation (named for the first Indiana governor from Evansville) has managed it since the county government's departure in 1969. Preservation of this landmark has depended upon adapting the building to commercial and office use—and upon the continued sup­ port of generous friends. Rose and Albion Terraces NW Seventh and Court Streets A movement to reform crowded living conditions for the working class swept the country just after the turn of the century. One of the leading national figures in tenement reform efforts was Albion Fellows Bacon of Evansville. These terraced blocks of flats were designed by Shopbell & Company in 1911 and captured that reform-minded spirit. Henry Richardt House 213 NW Fifth Street This 1861 double house was built by a member of the city's large (50% in 1900) German population. Richardt was a blacksmith, and his plain brick house is one of the few residences left downtown today. Old U.S. Post Office, Courthouse, and Customhouse 200 NW Second Street (NR) The subject of a $1.3 million City-managed preservation and adaptive reuse project, this 1874-79 federal govern­ ment building was designed by Ruskin disciple William Appleton Potter of New York.