Around the College of Architecture and Planning

Anyone on campus who walks by the College of Architecture and Planning building along McKinley Avenue will likely recognize the metal CAP sign tucked in amongst the landscaping. It's located on the west side of the building, which served as the main entrance before the 1980 addition moved its main entrance to the south side.

It was built in a "Hands-on Steel" class from 1975. We recently uncovered photographs in our CAP Images Collection that were taken during its fabrication. The picture above is how it looks today, February 28, 2012, at 37 years old, and below is how it looked with its first layer of paint back in 1975--yellow!



Pullman Unit Sash Balances

The Pullman Manufacturing Company of Rochester, New York, promised drastic savings through the use of their unit sash balances in this 1920s brochure that can be found in the Drawings + Documents Archives' Trade Catalog Collection. The unit sash balances replaced the need for weights and cords in window construction, therefore eliminating the costs associated with heavy lead weights in the window frame.

It's worth mentioning that the Detroit Towers, built in 1922 and featured in this brochure, is still standing and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The brochure guarantees the product for the life of the building, so hopefully the windows at the Detroit Towers continue to enjoy "perfect window control".

A Cinderella Story for Muncie

Congratulations to all of the Ball State University Historic Preservation students who worked on the proposal to save the 20th Century Flats apartment building in Muncie. I know they really worked hard on the project because they spent a lot of time in the Archives researching the building and its surroundings before passionately delivering their proposal for renovation to the city. 

The happy ending to the story arrived last night at the opening reception for the completely renovated building. Thankfully they displayed a monitor with a slide show of photographs documenting the restoration work. It's impossible to overemphasize how bad the conditions were in the building, so this rehab is truly a Cinderella story. You can read more about this fantastic success in the Muncie Star Press.

Civic Pride at the Murphy Building

The Drawings + Documents Archive's exhibit, Civic Pride Begins in Your Backyard, which opened at Blackline Studio for Architecture Friday night drew a surprising number of AIA Edward Pierre award winning architects as well as some proud homeowners, preservationists, and those just interested in architecture. Many thanks to the architects at Blackline Studios for hosting the wonderful event so well and bringing together a diverse crowd. Also, many thanks to those who support the Archive and braved the Super Bowl-sized crowds on a weekend like no other in Indianapolis.

For those who haven't seen it yet, the exhibit is still on display at Blackline Studios in the Murphy Building until March 2nd. And you can read NUVO's review of the exhibit online.

  

Images from the exhibit opening of Civic Pride Begins in Your Backyard, Blackline Studio for Architecture, Fountain Square, Indianapolis, Ind., February 3, 2012.