Indiana Landmarks releases guide to historic architecture of Carroll County

The Drawings + Documents Archive is proud to contribute images from its collections to the upcoming official guide to historic architecture in Carroll County, Indiana, which will be released by Indiana Landmarks and Indiana's Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology next month. Researchers from Ball State University's Center for Historic Preservation explored our collections to discover historic photographs of structures in the county, like the image above of the Adams Mill Bridge in 1941 from our Alvin W. Holmes Covered Bridge Photographs, to include in the report. If you'd like to see other images from the collection, they are available online in our Digital Media Repository.

Representatives from Indiana Landmarks and BSU's Center for Historic Preservation will present their findings at the debut of the report. Here's more information from Indiana Landmarks about the upcoming event:

WHAT: Free presentation on historic architecture of Carroll County and debut of illustrated report, Carroll County Historic Sites and Structures Inventory
WHEN: Wednesday, August 10, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Wabash & Erie Canal Park Conference Center, 1030 North Washington Street, Delphi
WHO: Speakers include Tommy Klecker, director of Indiana Landmarks' Western Regional Office in Terre Haute, and Amanda Jones Taylor, project coordinator for Ball State Center for Historic Preservation

Architectural surveyors from Indiana Landmarks spent over a year driving throughout Carroll County to document historic places. The Carroll County Historic Sites and Structures Inventory records well-known landmarks and less recognized structures such as the Murphy Drinking Fountain in Delphi, the Greenup Brothers Farm in Tippecanoe Township, and the Camden Auto Company in Camden.

The public is invited to a free illustrated presentation on the inventory's findings Wednesday, August 10, 7:00 p.m. The presentation will be held at The Wabash & Erie Canal Park Conference Center, 1030 North Washington Street, Delphi. The 152-page inventory report-featuring historic and contemporary photos and maps-may be purchased at the event for $20.

Ball State Center for Historic Preservation Project Coordinator Amanda Jones Taylor will present a brief program showing architectural highlights of the county as well as overlooked gems documented by surveyors. Tommy Kleckner, director of Indiana Landmarks' Western Regional Office, will discuss services available to assist those interested in saving and celebrating Carroll County's landmark heritage.

Indiana Landmarks welcomes questions about the Carroll County survey and its findings: contact Suzanne Stanis, Director of Education, 317-639-4534 or 800-450-4534, sstanis@indianalandmarks.org. To learn more about the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory program, call state's Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, 317-232-1646.

Image: Adams Mill Bridge, April 13, 1941. Alvin W. Holmes Covered Bridge Photograph Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

High School Honors students learn about historic Indiana theaters.

High school students in the two-week High School Honors program here at Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning learned about the secondary resources available to them in the Architecture Library, as well as the primary resource documents in the Drawings + Documents Archive. These students are among the brightest in the state and show interest in pursuing careers in architecture, landscape architecture and planning.

The students explored original drawings and blueprints from three theaters in Indiana that we have in the collection: the 1891 Wysor Grand Opera House in Muncie, the 1920s art deco Speedway Picture Theater, and the 1952 Lafayette Road Drive-in Movie Theater in Indianapolis.

Image: High School Honors presentation, 2011. Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Jessie Tarbox Beals: first woman photojournalist and architecture photographer

The Drawings + Documents Archive shares quite a few things with the Library of Congress. These are mostly drawings from the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) that were created by architecture students in the 1970s and 80s, but also photographic images by Jessie Tarbox Beals (1870-1942), a pioneering woman photographer who is known as being the first credited woman photojournalist.

In addition to news photography, she was also commissioned by architects to photograph their buildings, as represented above in this airy photograph depicting a sun-drenched patio at a Russell Walcott house which was most likely in northern Illinois or Michigan. To see more of her architecture images, browse our online collection. To learn more about Jessie Tarbox Beals and her interesting life, as well as to see some of her other work, visit the Library of Congress' website for an essay and selected images.

Image: Russell Walcott house exterior, ca. 1935. Trowbridge and Beals Photographs Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.