Drawings + Documents Archive

Wilkinson House interiors

2012-01-25T10:49:00.001-05:00

Muncie's Wilkinson House, featured in Indiana Landmarks' book 99 Historic Homes of Indiana, is currently experiencing foreclosure and an upcoming sheriff's sale, but we're looking back at grander times in the house's history. These photographs were taken in 1936 for the architect Leslie Ayres shortly after the house was built and decorated. As you can see, little expense was spared in creating a fashionable home for its inhabitants, Theodore and Edna Wilkinson and their daughter, Helen.

From the custom three-panel circular mirror built-in vanity to the Art Deco piano, this house is a marvelous example of blending high style design and modern materials in the 1930s. The house boasts a meandering key pattern on the switchback staircase and throughout, telephone nook, geometric chrome chandelier, custom bas-relief plasterwork, and custom woodwork in the study, among other interesting features.

Images: Wilkinson house photographs, 1936. (G-93.004) General Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Wilkinson House, Muncie, Indiana

2012-01-24T11:10:00.000-05:00

Every town has a house that really captivates the imagination. Muncie has numerous houses that fit this category--the Ball family mansions at Minnetrista and the gas-boom Queen Anne-style Victorians downtown. Closer to campus, we have the beautiful houses in the Westwood district. For me, the house that stands apart from them all is the Wilkinson House at 3100 W. University Avenue.

Designed in 1933-34 by Leslie F. Ayres, who regular readers will recognize as a very skilled and prominent architect from Indianapolis, the house is a remarkable example of exciting, art moderne-style architecture in a city known for traditional building styles. It was built for Theodore and Edna Wilkinson, who moved from Chicago to Muncie due to Theodore's job as an investment advisor to the Ball family.

While it has housed decades of family life, bridge games, parties, and weddings on the lawn, the property is currently in foreclosure and is expected to go to Sheriff's sale February 8th. Its unfortunate circumstances are indicative of the greater housing problems facing Muncie since the city lost its manufacturing base. According to the 2010 Census, there are 4600 other vacant housing units available in the city.

The Archive is fortunate to have a set of architectural plans as well as these extraordinary black and white photographs of the house in happier times, soon after the house and interior decorations were completed in 1936. The photographs illustrate the grandeur of the home and the extraordinary attention to detail for every feature of the house, from the front porch railing to the powder room vanity. Tomorrow we'll post the interior photographs. Stay tuned for the unbelievable piano!

Images: Wilkinson house photographs, 1936. (G-93.004) General Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

A Few Recent Buildings by Johnson & Miller Architects

2012-01-12T15:38:00.000-05:00

This is a question for our preservation friends in the Terre Haute, Indiana, area: which of these Johnson & Miller designed schools are still standing?

The advertisement likely dates from 1915-1918 when MacMillan "Mac" Houston Johnson, Jr. and Warren D. Miller were well-established with their firm in Terre Haute. Johnson, who had studied at DePauw University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, originally opened his practice in Brazil, Indiana, in 1910. Miller, after his graduation from the architecture program at the University of Pennsylvania, joined him the following year and the firm changed its name to Johnson & Miller. The partners established a second office in Terre Haute's Ball Building on Ohio Street a year later and maintained both offices until 1915. At that time they closed the Brazil branch and moved the Terre Haute branch to 105 S. Seventh Street.

Warren's brother, Ewing H. Miller, also studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and joined the firm in 1919 after completing military service. The firm was then known as Johnson, Miller and Miller.

Numerous iterations of the firm's principals were to follow in quick succession due to the untimely deaths of Johnson and Ewing Miller a few months apart in 1923 and the additions of other architects. It became Johnson, Miller, Miller & Yeager (1924-29), Miller & Yeager (1930-45), Miller, Yeager & Vrydaugh (1946), Miller & Vrydaugh (1947-54), and then Miller, Vrydaugh & Miller when Ewing H. Miller's son, Ewing H. Miller II joined the firm. When Vrydaugh left the firm, it became Miller, Miller & Associates (1962-65) until Warren Miller's retirement which resulted in the name Ewing Miller Associates (1966-70). Ewing Miller later started Archonics Corporation, which had offices in Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, and Indianapolis.

Over the years, Johnson & Miller and its successor firms were responsible for designing numerous schools, university buildings, government offices, and businesses in Terre Haute and the surrounding area. Many of the drawings for these projects can be found in the Drawings + Documents Archive's Johnson & Miller Architectural Records Collection.

*An addendum to the post: We've heard that only one of the eight schools featured in this advertisement still stands today, the Elizabeth B. Warren School.

Image: Johnson & Miller advertisement, ca. 1918 (24-113). Johnson & Miller Architectural Records, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Happy New Year 1948

2011-12-29T14:06:00.000-05:00

Architect Leslie Ayres drew a sketch of the Columbia Club, located prominently on Monument Circle, for this New Year's card to ring in 1948. It was likely commissioned by Pelham Blue Print & Supply, Inc., due to the logo on the back, and intended to advertise their services to architects and engineers. This card can be found in the Fran Schroeder Architectural Records.

Image: New Year's card, 1948. (34-6) Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Holiday Archives

2011-12-23T08:20:00.000-05:00

This lovely undated holiday card from architect Francis [Fran] Schroeder is printed on blueprint but handcolored to add depth. A clever use of the negative space makes it look like snow falling on this sweet cottage scene.

Image: Francis Schroeder Christmas Card, n.d. (34-6). Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

The Holiday Office Party

2011-12-22T11:01:00.000-05:00

While the Holiday Office Party is a tradition that continues on today, thankfully it doesn't usually occur on the morning of Christmas Eve like it did for the Pierre & Wright office in circa 1928. At that time Pierre & Wright, like other architectural firms, operated their office out of the Hume-Mansur Building located at 23 East Ohio Street. The invitation, wittily printed on blueprint, depicts two men moving a stack of drawings to clear out the office and calls for other firms to join their party on December 24th.

Image: Pierre & Wright Christmas Party Invitation, ca. 1928 (34-6). Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Holiday Archives

2011-12-21T15:47:00.000-05:00

Images: Leslie F. Ayres Christmas Cards, 1941-47 (34-6). Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Holiday archives

2011-12-20T10:29:00.000-05:00

Leslie Ayres (1906-1952) was an accomplished architect and illustrator responsible for many of the beautiful presentation drawings in our collections. If you've appreciated the color renderings in the Pierre and Wright Architectural Records Collection, you've likely seen his work. As an innovative architect, he's also responsible for the fascinating, Art-Moderne T. G. Wilkinson house here in Muncie.

Born in Indianapolis and educated at Arsenal Technical High School, Ayres began working at Pierre and Wright as a delineator while he was still in high school. Winning the 1926 Princeton Prize in Architecture allowed him to study architecture at Princeton University, and he credited his year of study for developing his understanding of modern design.

The holiday cards above represent our earliest cards from Ayres. More will follow. But these represent a significant period in his life--you will notice the first one, from 1936, is signed with his name but there's an addition of Mr. and Mrs. in 1938. Unfortunately, we don't have the card from 1937, the year he and Edna Carolyn Silcox married.

Leslie Ayres seemed to enjoy sketching scenes of Indianapolis that place impressive churches, such as Christ Church Cathedral seen above in the cards from 1936 and 1940, within the larger context of the cityscape for his Christmas card designs. As an ardent Modernist, perhaps he is showing how the traditional and the contemporary can coexist? Tomorrow we'll post Ayres' cards from the years 1941-1947

Images: Leslie F. Ayres Christmas Cards (34-6) Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Holiday Greetings

2011-12-19T09:17:00.001-05:00

Indianapolis architect Fran Schroeder (1908-1988) appears to be working out the details from his ca. 1930 holiday card design by printing them on different papers and with different inks. The fanciful castle architecture combined with stylized art-deco clouds and a banner declaring "Greetings" that is largely obscured by the structure make for a rather interesting holdiay card from this young architect.

Images: Fran Schroeder Christmas Card designs, ca 1930. Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Holiday Archives

2011-12-16T16:36:00.000-05:00

Every year we explore the collections for holiday cards that architects sent to clients, staff, and family. This year we discovered a wonderful collection of cards in the Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection. Schroeder (1908-1988) worked in the Pierre & Wright architectural firm from 1929-40, then the Curtis-Wright Corporation during World War II. After the war her joined McGuire & Shook before starting his own firm in Indianapolis, known as Fran E. Schroeder and Associates. He also enthusiastically participated in the Indiana Society of Architects, the Architectural Guild of Indianapolis, and the American Institute of Architects. The collection contains holiday cards that he received from fellow architects and firms, such as Ed Pierre, Leslie Ayres, and Pierre & Wright, as well as cards he designed.

To start off our blog celebration of holiday cards is this undated card from Edward Pierre and family with a gatefold design on blueprint. As is often found in the Pierre & Wright collection, Pierre seems to have drawn portraits of himself, his wife Louise, and their daughter caroling at the gate to their house. It exemplifies the creativity and familial joy that can typically be found in Pierre's sketches.

Front:

Center, open:

Back:

Images: Christmas card from Edward Pierre and Family, n.d. (3-117C) Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Unity + Utopia: The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

2011-11-29T10:13:00.001-05:00

Our latest exhibit Unity & Utopia: The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition is currently on display in the Ball State University College of Architecture & Planning Gallery. The photographic profile features photogravure plates selected from William Henry Jackson’s The White City (as it was) and Jackson’s Famous Pictures of the World’s Fair, published in 1894 and 1895. Both publications are part of the archival collections of the Drawings + Documents Archive.

Augmenting this photographic tour of the fair is a series of HD 3D animations developed by the Urban Simulation Team, School of the Arts and Architecture, UCLA. These were created from original building, site and landscape construction documents for the Exposition and present a fascinating and colorful contrast to the detailed black and white photography in the Jackson publications. The trips through the exhibition are accompanied by Dvorak’s Symphony # 9, The New World Symphony, first performed in 1893.

The exhibit is a joint project of the University Libraries’ Drawing + Documents Archive and the CAP Exhibits Program. It continues through December 7th.

The CAP gallery is located in Architecture Building room 121 and is open M-F 8-4:30. Please visit.

Images: Golden Door of the Transportation Building and Ferris Wheel, 1894 and 1895 (G 2010.001 and G 2010.002). Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Ed Gibson (1925-2011), Indiana's first African-American architect

2011-11-28T10:29:00.001-05:00

It is with great sadness we heard the news that architect Ed Gibson died last week. He was a man of many firsts--first African-American architect registered in the state of Indiana, first African-American architect to hold the position of Indiana's State Architect, and the first African-American architect to have his own architectural firm in Indiana. To say he broke new ground in Indiana is an understatement.

A graduate of Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis, Gibson went on to the University of Illinois where he received Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Architectural Engineering.

His long career, which spanned from 1945 to 2002 included work in both the public and private sectors. Some of the buildings he designed or renovated were located at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Evansville State Hospital, Central Elementary in Plainfield, Broad Ripple Library, renovations at Central Library in Indianapolis, IUPUI, IU Bloomington, including renovation of Ernie Pyle Hall, Hudnut Plaza and other HUD projects throughout Indiana.

When Gibson closed his private practice in 1987 to work exclusively for Methodist Hospital, the Drawings + Documents Archive received a small collection of drawings that were left. Unfortunately most of the drawings in the office had already been discarded. But today we are glad to have a small but representative collection of the work of a man who broke tremendous ground and altered our built environment.

Edwin Gibson's obituary from the Indianapolis Star can be found here:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/indystar/obituary.aspx?n=edwin-a-gibson&pid=154741286

86, died in Danville, Indiana on Sunday, November 20, 2011. Born June 2, 1925, in Cumberland, Maryland, as a youth he moved to Indianapolis. Ed graduated in the top five percent of his class from the University of Illinois where he received Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Architectural Engineering. Ed enjoyed a long career as an Architect. His first job as an architect was in Ft. Wayne, Indiana until he returned to Indianapolis in the mid-40s. He was the first African-American architect to be registered in the state of Indiana, to be appointed to an Indiana State Government position and to open his own architectural firm in the state of Indiana.

The family of Ed and Mary E. Gibson (deceased) include his sons, Edwin A. Gibson, Jr. (deceased), and Gary A. Gibson; his daughter Eve. M Williams; and five grandsons, Edwin A. Gibson, Elliott A. Gibson, Jason P. Gibson, Delford G. Williams IV, and Brenton P. Williams. He is also survived by his daughter-in law, Elizabeth Booth-Gibson, and two step granddaughters, Laura E. Hanley and Melinda L. Hanley.

Images: Hudnut Plaza, 1985 (22-10) and IMCPL renovation, 1970s (22-6), Ed Gibson & Associates Architectural Drawings Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Mid-Century Modern Edward Pierre

2011-11-15T15:55:00.001-05:00

Edward Pierre, like many Indianapolis architects, participated in the Indianapolis Home Show for numerous years throughout his career. His design for the 1954 ranch-style show home is well documented in the Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collection with drawings, boards, and the above photograph of the house installed in the exhibition hall. You can find them online in the Ball State University Libraries' Digital Media Repository

Images: Indianapolis Home Show presentation board and photograph, 1954. [3-123] Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Blueprints Assist in Creating Virtual World

2011-10-28T13:17:00.001-04:00

Our patrons and partners are constantly coming up with innovative ways to utilize architectural drawings in our collections. We recently provided Ball Brothers' factory and office blueprints from the Kibele and Garrard Architectural Records Collection to Ball State University's Center for Middletown Studies and Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA), who used them to map a virtual world in Blue Mars.

According to James Connolly, director of the Center for Middletown Studies and professor of history, "the key that unlocked the whole reconstruction came from Cuno Kibele's original drawings for the main offices of the Ball Brothers plant, which are held in BSU's Drawings and Documents Archive. While we had an array of source materials, including plant maps and photographs, only the Kibele blueprints had precise scale measurements. The designers used them, along with photos, to reconstruct that building. From there, they used the digital model of the office building as the point of comparison to determine the height, length, and width of Factory No. 1 and its constituent parts, along with the scale of the other structures that are part of the virtual plant."

More information about the project from IDIA:

The Virtual Middletown Living Museum Project, which brings to life aspects of the 1929 and 1937 Lynd Study of Middletown America, is now live in the virtual world of Blue Mars. The project, which simulates the Ball Glass factory, incorporates various modes of learning and interaction while maintaining an immersive experience. Life and conditions in the factory were one of the key elements of the Middletown Studies by Robert S. and Helen Merrell Lynd in their landmark studies Middletown (1929) and Middletown in Transition (1937). These in-depth accounts of life in Muncie, Indiana, became classic sociological studies and established the community as a barometer of social trends in the United States. In the years since, scholars in a variety of fields have returned to Muncie to follow up on the Lynds’ work, making this small
city among the most studied communities in the nation.

This simulation of industrial life, built as a prototype for a much larger project dealing with all aspects of the Lynd Study, has aimed to create a virtual living museum experience expanding the opportunities for both learning and interpretation. The approach to interactive design embeds learning and navigation experiences subtly into the project to maintain the sense of immersion. IDIA has prototyped several techniques to accomplish this - including interactive objects that allow for close up inspection, objects that when clicked bring up web-based content, and annotated plans or photographs used in the interpretation.

Also, non-player character factory workers, a live interactive avatar of Frank C. Ball who greets visitors and introduces them to the factory, video and audio files of factory experts, and archival films - all assist in bringing the project to life. IDIA designed an in-world interactive Heads-Up-Display (HUD) that provides deeper investigation and navigation throughout the factory as well as a supporting webpage with complete documentation on all resources used in this interpretation. Project partners include the Center for Middletown Studies and University Libraries. This project was funded by the Emerging Media Initiative at Ball State University.

Video walkthrough here: http://www.youtube.com/user/IDIALab#p/u/2/MYT4TRnRzqcTo download the Blue Mars client, create an account and tour Virtual Middletown, please visit: http://blink.bluemars.com/City/IDIA_IDIALabExhibitions/

Losing Edward Pierre

2011-10-11T16:45:00.003-04:00

As many of you know, our collection of Pierre and Wright Architectural Records is one of our most important collections at the Drawings + Documents Archive. It gets that distinction not just from the quality of materials in the collection itself, but what it represents of the architecture in Indianapolis from the early 1920s to the 1960s. From art deco to the birth of the cool; that's when the architectural fabric of Indianapolis was largely built. And Edward Pierre and George Wright were committed to doing it well.

They were also committed to civic engagement. We can thank them for having the idea of decorating the circle at Christmas, for designing gracious estates as well as small houses that were affordable to all, and for trying to make Indianapolis a greater city. Another one of their gifts to generations of Indiana residents is the elegant Indiana State Library.

AIA Indiana's website describes Edward Pierre as "a crusader for the welfare of children, decent housing for all, peace and progressive urban planning. He was honored repeatedly for his outstanding service to the architectural profession and the public." The yearly AIA Edward D. Pierre Award is meant to honor contemporary architects who display the same commitment to public service.

The recent photograph and historic architectural rendering above show an example of the architecture from Edward Pierre's later years: a graceful solution to the modest problem of needing to change into tennis attire in Tarkington Park, at 40th and Meridian. Pierre didn't cling to outdated styles during his career, but embraced the best of every era. Built in 1957, the tennis shelter's lowslung modernist design offers both privacy and openness while mirroring the architectural character of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, we just heard the news that this building was torn down yesterday. 1957-2011.

Images: Tarkington Tennis Shelter, 2011, photograph courtesy of Vess von Ruhtenberg
Tarkington Tennis Shelter architectural rendering, 1957, photostat, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Photos from the CAP Images Collection

2011-10-05T10:21:00.001-04:00

Images: College of Architecture & Planning students, 1960s-1980s, CAP Images Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Some Assembly Required: Mail-order Houses in Indianapolis

2011-09-15T13:54:00.000-04:00

The Archive is participating in Indiana Landmarks' program titled Some Assembly Required: Lectures, Lunch and Tours of Mail-order Houses in Indianapolis, which will take place October 1, 2011. In addition to all of the interesting talks on mail-order houses, Lustrons, and historic paint colors, I will be talking about the obscure history of the Architectural Guild of Indinapolis.

You may recall a post a few posts back that discussed the Architectural Guild. For the presentation, I'll go into more detail and show some architectural models and drawings that were used for this home-grown yet short-lived service in Indianapolis.

Hope you can join us for an interesting day discussing catalog homes.

The Scandal Sheet

2011-09-02T15:50:00.001-04:00

Used as a design template for announcements and other club information, the Scandal Sheet was reproduced as a blueprint for distribution within the Indianapolis Architectural Club (I.A.C.) during the 1930s. The example above is titled Representing Architectural Letters and illustrates five different architects' styles of lettering for architectural drawings. Those who are familiar with the Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collection may recognize the distinctive lettering styles of Francis (Fran) Schroeder and Charles Soltau who drafted the first two columns of letters.

The design for the Scandal Sheet was, naturally, born out of a seemingly friendly design competition amongst the membership of the I.A.C., shown here in front of the Indianapolis War Memorial:

Also located in the same folder as the items above, is the sheet from 1930 that establishes the design competition criteria, below. The awards are listed as "Don't worry too much about the reimbursements--merely consider that you'll catch Hell if you don't participate in this, the first competition of the year 1930."

Images: Indianapolis Architectural Club Scandal Sheet, vol. 3, no. 11 and Competition for A Title Block for "The Scandal Sheet" (34-16A23, 34-16A16, 34-16A18), Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Oberly House by A. M. Strauss in Fort Wayne, Ind.

2011-08-18T12:42:00.000-04:00

A recent request brought out the drawings for the Oberly House located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Designed by architect A. M. Strauss (1895-1958) in 1940-41, the house is a fascinating example of stylish art deco designs (note the stair railing in the blueprint) and traditional elements, such as the paneled library and Tudor revival exterior.

Images: C. C. Oberly House stair and library details, 1940 (32-849) Strauss Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

William Conner Farm Architectural Drawings now online

2011-08-04T10:56:00.000-04:00

The Drawings + Documents Archive is pleased to announce the latest digitized collection that is available online for research in Ball State University Libraries' Digital Media Repository, the collection of William Conner Farm Architectural Drawings. The collection consists of 36 sheets by Robert Frost Daggett, including topographical maps, elevation drawings and plans, relating to the restoration of the Conner house and construction of new buildings on the property that is now known as Conner Prairie Interactive History Park.

In 1934, when pharmaceutical executive Eli Lilly purchased the early 1800s William Conner house and farm in Fishers, Indiana, the house required immediate preservation work to stabilize it structurally and preserve its rich historical details. Lilly, a wealthy and devoted advocate for historical preservation, hired Robert Frost Daggett, a prominent local architect who had designed Lilly’s home just a few years earlier, to oversee the structural work on the farm house.

In addition to restoring the Conner house, Daggett was also commissioned to build other homes and outbuildings on the property during the time Lilly operated the property as a working farm. The drawings in this collection reflect Daggett’s projects on the property, including the Conner house, a garage, well house, and a brick cottage built for the farm's foreman, Tillman Bubenzer.

Image: Restoration of the Conner House: stair details, 1934. William Conner Farm Architectural Drawings, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archive and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Indiana State Library receives NEH grant to digitize historic Indiana newspapers

2011-08-01T08:21:00.001-04:00

This will be a boon to architecture historians who currently have to squint through viewing reels of microfilms, or worse, turn the crumbling pages of 100 year-old newspapers, to find information on the structures reported on in the papers. Representatives from Ball State University Libraries will be on the project's advisory group.

From the Indiana State Library's press release:

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded a $293,157 grant to the Indiana State Library to digitize Indiana’s historically significant newspapers. Indiana joins 25 states participating in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a partnership between the NEH, the Library of Congress and participating states to provide enhanced access to American newspapers published between 1836 and 1922. Newspapers digitized as part of this two-year project will be included in the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America Database (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/).

“This grant is crucial to the State’s efforts to provide optimal public access to Indiana’s historical documents and cultural heritage,” said Jim Corridan, State Archivist and Associate Director of the Indiana State Library. “The State Library houses millions of copies of historic Hoosier newspapers and this initiative will enable Hoosiers instant access to these collections via the internet.”

The Indiana State Library will be assisted on the project by an advisory group of representatives from the Indiana Commission on Public Library, the Indiana Historical Bureau, Ball State University, the Hoosier Press Foundation, the Indiana Historical Society, the Indiana University School of Journalism and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. The advisory group will develop criteria for inclusion of historic papers and ultimately select the newspapers to be digitized.

In addition to the Indiana papers presence in the Chronicling America Database, the digitized papers will also be available through Indiana Memory (http://www.indianamemory.org/) – a collaborative effort to provide access to the wealth of primary sources in Indiana libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions. Indiana Memory's mission is to create and maintain a digital library that enables free public access to Indiana's unique cultural and historical heritage. Through information and pictures found in digitized books, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, maps, and other digital materials available on the Indiana Memory website, the program seeks to enhance education and scholarship of Indiana's past. As a portal to the collections, Indiana Memory assists individuals to locate materials relevant to their interests and to better appreciate the connections between those materials.

Indiana Landmarks releases guide to historic architecture of Carroll County

2011-07-15T10:14:00.002-04:00

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.

2011-07-13T14:32:00.000-04:00

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

2011-07-12T11:43:00.001-04:00

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.

The Other CSI

2011-06-17T10:17:00.000-04:00

The Indianapolis chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) just held its annual awards banquet last night. Above is a photograph of the CSI 5th anniversary awards ceremony, held February 17, 1966. Holding awards are Fran E. Schroeder (wearing glasses), John B. Price and John C. Fleck, three of the original members who created CSI.

Schroeder (1908-1988) was active in many organizations for architects and builders, including American Institute of Architects, the Indiana Society of Architects, the Construction League of Indianapolis, among others. He served as the CSI president and vice president, as well as the chapter historian. Our Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection consists of drawings, documents, photographs, and ephemera pertaining to his projects and the projects of firms where he worked, from the 1920s-1970s.

From the CSI webpage:
On a hot Wednesday, August 17, 1960, a small group of seven determined individuals met at the Construction League for the expressed purpose of organizing a Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute of Indianapolis. This team consisted of Charles E. Edmonds, John C. Fleck, John B. Price, Harry I. Reynolds, Fran E. Schroeder, Donald A. Stackhouse, and Charles A. Weaver.

Image: CSI Fifth anniversary awards photograph, February 17, 1966. Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Archives.

Why are these people so happy?

2011-06-16T12:11:00.000-04:00

Is it the dancing ladies in the background, the fancy picnic, or the fact that the Drawings + Documents Archive's blog just exceeded 10,000 page views? It may be a small number for a lot of the blogs out there, but for a niche archive, it feels like a milestone. Thank you for being interested in the Archive and for reading our posts.

Image: Indianapolis Home Show Garden Party, ca. 1934. Schuyler Nolan Landscape Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Small House Designs from the Architectural Guild of Indianapolis

2011-06-15T15:02:00.000-04:00

The popularity in the United States of mail order house kits and plans from companies such as Sear's, Roebuck and Company, Stickley, and the Aladdin Company prompted architects to create organizations that addressed the need for good design in small, modest houses. These catalogs enabled homeowners to order a house design inexpensively and, in the case of Sear's, one could order the entire house kit which would just need to be put together. It sounds a lot like IKEA shopping, only on a much larger scale.

Architects felt the popularity of mail order house plans encroaching on their profession and considered the house designs produced by these coporations as inferior to those made by trained architects. To address these issues, architects formed organizations that catered to average people who needed to build small houses and couldn't afford the traditional architect's fees. Nationally,the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.) created the Architects' Small House Service Bureau (ASHSB), which was based in Minneapolis. Locally, we had the Architectural Guild of Indianapolis, which was led by some of the leading architects in the city.

This undated brochure from the early 1940s depicts three Guild designs: "The Cottage Beautiful" by the firm Pierre & Wright, "The Little Homestead" by architects M. Carlton Smith and Virgil C. Hoagland, and "The Ranch House" by architect Frederick Wallick. The ideal convergence of good design and value is stressed on nearly every page.

These houses were likely built in Indianapolis, or in neighboring communities. Do you recognize any of the three houses in your neighborhood?

Images: Three New Guild Homes, ca. 1940. (34-9) Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection. Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Indiana State Library + Locavore Architecture

2011-06-14T09:09:00.003-04:00

From the Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collection, we have a wonderful collection of drawings and photographs of the impressive Indiana State Library, which was built while the country faced the Great Depression. In the construction photograph, above, you can see the Indiana State House in the background. The inverted photostat depicts wall shelving units for books with an overhead mural depicting scenes from Indiana's history. Designed by local architects and largely built with local materials, the State Library could be considered a good example of what we might call "locavore architecture" today.

From the Indiana State Library's website:
The General Assembly in 1929 authorized a special levy of two cents spread over three years in the expectation of raising about one million dollars for the cost of site and building. Governor Harry G. Leslie appointed the Building Commission and a site at the corner of Senate Avenue and Ohio Street was acquired in the summer of 1931. An architectural competition was held under the direction of Mr. Arthur Bohn [of Vonnegut & Bohn] of Indianapolis in October, 1931, the jury of award consisting of Mr. Edgerton Swartwout and Mr. Raymond Hood of New York, and Mr. Mitton J. Ferguson of Brooklyn. Pierre and Wright of Indianapolis were the architects selected and plans were ready in March, 1932.

And about local construction materials:
Throughout the construction of the building every effort was made to use Indiana materials. The exterior is of Indiana limestone; on the interior, much use has been made of the Monte Cassina sandstone from St. Meinrad Abbey, and all of the interior woodwork and much of the furniture is of Indiana walnut. With reference to the walnut it is an interesting fact that for the four principal rooms in the first story, the veneers used in each one are from a single tree. The glazed blocks, with which the walls in the stacks and service hails and stairs are faced are an Indiana product.

Images: Indiana State Library construction photograph and photostat, Pierre and Wright Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

ecoREHAB Event

2011-06-10T08:35:00.001-04:00

The ecoREHAB initiative

Date: Friday, June 24, 2011
Time: 3pm-5pm
Starting Location: 601 E. Washington Street, Muncie IN (Southeast corner of E. Washington St & Monroe St., across the street from Cornerstone Center for the Arts, the historic Masonic Temple designed by Cuno Kibele)

Program Description: Learn about the efforts of the ecoREHAB initiative through a presentation of ecoREHAB, its approach to sustainable rehabilitation for affordable housing, and visit 2 ecoREHAB projects. We will start at 601 E Washington Street where an overview of ecoREHAB will be presented. This
house was the 1st project completed by students at Ball State. We will then visit 522 S. Gharkey Street, a project currently under construction.

Following the program, you are invited to join us at a local establishment for some Friday evening refreshments.

Website: http://sncope.iweb.bsu.edu/485final/index.html

More information: The ecoREHAB initiative was established in 2009. Working collaboratively with Ball State University, the City of Muncie’s Department of Community Development and the local non-profit agency ecoREHAB of Muncie, Inc. This outreach program’s aim is to provide leadership in the ecologically sound, green and sustainable rehabilitation of existing and abandoned housing. This initiative benefits not only Ball State students, but also the communities of Muncie in taking steps to achieving the National Goals Towards Sustainable Development in the areas of environmental protection, economic prosperity and social equity.

Communities need resources to aid homeowners, neighborhood groups, and developers and a strategy for re-investment in the existing housing stock and older neighborhoods. These are some of the city’s greatest assets, but they are presently devalued and under-utilized. Affordability has often looked only at rents or first cost but ignore the ongoing costs of maintenance, utilities, and the long term impact on neighborhoods. The perception that costs traditionally associated with rehabbing older homes are higher than new construction leads to a desire for new housing. Yet, “the greenest building is the one that is already built,” and research shows that existing buildings have the potential to be far more energy efficient than commonly assumed. The green movement is creating an ever expanding toolbox of products, materials, and strategies that can be used to address these concerns.

Architecture students in the Mad Men era

2011-06-08T09:22:00.000-04:00

As is happening in other college towns in Indiana, Muncie officials voted unanimously this week to ban smoking in restaurants and bars. While Ball State University banned smoking in classrooms a long time ago, we recently discovered this photograph of a 1960s architecture student lighting up during the class lecture. With what we know now about the health hazards of smoking, a scene like this can seem rather surprising!

We found the image this summer while processing the CAP Images Collection, which illustrates the exciting history of the College of Architecture and Planning from its inception in the 1960s.

Image: Student smoking in class, 1960s, CAP Images Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Indiana Humanities and Indiana Landmarks award nearly $20,000 to 11 organizations for architectural guides, cultural experiences and more

2011-06-07T11:50:00.001-04:00

INDIANAPOLIS (June 7, 2011)-Indiana Humanities and Indiana Landmarks have awarded grants of up to $2,000 to 11 nonprofit organizations. Grants were awarded to organizations across Indiana, from South Bend to Evansville. The grants will enable a variety of projects including a guide to sites of importance in South Bend's African American Civil Rights history, walking tour brochures for historic districts in Greencastle, New Albany and South Bend, and a four-day Native American Miami language and culture experience for children.

Indiana Humanities and Indiana Landmarks have each provided at least $10,000 annually to the program for more than 15 years.

2011 Historic Preservation Education Grantees are:

* Indianapolis Fire Station 32 Brochure; Broad Ripple Alliance for Progress, Indianapolis
* The Monon Depot: We're Still Here; Carmel Clay Historical Society, Carmel
* Washington Avenue Educational Brochure; Department of Metropolitan Development, City of Evansville, Evansville
* East Spring Street Historic District - Midtown Walking Tour Brochure; Develop New Albany, Inc., New Albany
* Then and Now: A Downtown South Bend Architecture Walking Tour; Downtown South Bend, Inc., South Bend
* Farmland Historic District Preservation Design Guidelines; Farmland Historic Preservation Commission, Farmland
* Greencastle Historic Districts Walking Tour Brochures; Heritage Preservation Society of Putnam County, Greencastle
* Indiana Lincoln Highway Interpretive Driving Guide; Indiana Lincoln Highway Association, South Bend
* South Bend African American Civil Rights Landmarks Tour; Indiana University, South Bend
* Architectural Tour of Historic Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College; Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
* Kiikiionka Eewansaapita - Fort Wayne Language and Culture Experience; Whitley County Historical Society, Columbia City

Indiana Humanities provides two annual grant programs: Historic Preservation Education Grants, in partnership with Indiana Landmarks, which supports educational projects related to historic structures; and Humanities Initiative Grants, given to nonprofit organizations to conduct public programs emphasizing the humanities. Humanities Initiative Grants are awarded twice a year-the next deadline is Aug. 1.

Congratulations to all of this year's grant recipients!

World's Columbian Exposition Photographs Online

2011-06-07T09:47:00.001-04:00

The Drawings and Documents Archive is pleased to announce the digitization of White City (as it was) and Jackson’s Famous Pictures of the World’s Fair two books of plates from official images taken by William Henry Jackson for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and produced by the White City Art Company. The collection of images is located in Ball State University Libraries' Digital Media Repository.

Also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, the event came to be considered as a defining moment for the youthful city in terms of exhibiting ambition, technology and, perhaps most importantly, architecture. Named the White City due to its prevalence of classical architecture made with white stucco and the effects of extensive electrical street lighting along the boulevards, the exposition brilliantly displayed the talents of the nation’s top architects and landscape architects. The one architect who strayed from the predominant Beaux-Arts style was Louis Sullivan, who designed the golden-hued Transportation Building depicted in the image above. Devoid of classical ornamentation, the building stood alone as an example of forward-thinking architecture at the fair.

William Henry Jackson, a photographer famous for capturing westward American expansion, was hired to create the official set of images for the Exposition. He treated the broad expanses of the lagoon, boulevards, and the midway much the same way he photographed the open environs of the American west. Most of the images were taken before the crowds arrived, and therefore, do not reflect the popularity of the exposition, which attracted over twenty-seven million visitors.

Images: Transportation Building and Art Palace exterior views, White City (as it was) and Jackson's Famous Pictures, (DOC 2010.001), Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Westside Park, Muncie

2011-05-23T08:34:00.000-04:00

Photographs of Westside Park, a municipal park in Muncie, Indiana, from Cuno Kibele's personal scrapbook, ca. 1910s, not long after the park was created. According to the city's website, the park's "historical roots go back to the development of a terminus for the trolley line during the early 1900's. Situated along the banks of the White River, the terrain slopes toward the river and is covered with many mature trees."

The suspension bridge and water park, featured prominently in the photos, are not extant.

Images: Cuno Kibele scrapbook, ca. 1910. Kibele and Garrard Architectiral Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Green Roof Mortarboards

2011-05-19T10:06:00.000-04:00

Ball State University is known for its innovative green designs, such as the nation's largest closed geothermal system. Here, in an undated photo circa 1990, are College of Architecture and Planning students wearing green roof mortarboards at graduation.

To all of this year's CAP graduates, congratulations!

Image: Graduation photograph, ca. 1990. College of Architecture and Planning Collection, Drawing + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

World Leisure Environments Symposium, 1975

2011-05-11T10:53:00.001-04:00

In April 1975, the College of Architecture and Planning hosted the World Leisure Environments Symposium. Among the many discussions and lectures held over two days were The Environmental Psychology of Urban Leisure by Dr. David Canter, The Hotel as Part of the Landscape by Knud Friis, and Club Méditerranée's Philosophy and Organization as it Relates to its Physical Facilities by Linda Kundell.

The Archive is currently digitizing audio cassettes from the symposium, as well as other guest lectures from the 1960s-1990s. We just recently received these images of the event, the one above depicts the building's entrance decorated with cars, hang glider, and a banner, and the second picture, below, was taken around the corner and shows two horses with their riders near the building.

Images: World Leisure Environments Symposium, 1975. College of Architecture and Planning Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Summer Hours

2011-05-10T08:58:00.000-04:00

The Archive is open during the summer by appointment. Call 765-285-8441 or email the Archive to schedule an appointment.

Image: National Concrete Masonry Association's Pictorial, 1962. Trade Catalog Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

"Disappearing Muncie" appears in the paper

2011-05-04T09:44:00.000-04:00

Check out today's article in the Muncie Star Press on our exhibit Disappearing Muncie: Our Lost Heritage. The exhibit is a collaborative project between Archives & Special Collections and Drawings and Document Archives, and includes architectural drawings, photographs and ephemera from both collections.

Visit the online article: http://bit.ly/lZmlBF

Downtown Muncie and the Courthouse Square, 1967

2011-05-02T15:44:00.001-04:00

Prof. David Hermansen, founder of the Historic Preservation program at Ball State University, took these downtown Muncie photographs in the summer of 1967. Earlier in the year, the city tore down its courthouse that had been built in the 1880s. Other historic buildings had already been destroyed or would be soon.

The photos above are taken from the crater left by the courthouse. You can see the railing that surrounded the perimeter of the courthouse square. The building in the top right photograph is the Wysor Building, which was later torn down.

Built in 1904 by architect Cuno Kibele, the Wysor Building was razed in 1986 after a fire damaged the structure. The archive has drawings, photographs and building specifications in its Kibele and Garrard Architectural Records Collection. Note the interurban tracks in the street between the Wysor Building and the courthouse in the photograph below.

Images: Downtown Muncie photographs, 1967, (DOC 86.005) Documentation Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.
Wysor Building, ca. 1904, (7-04.001) Kibele & Garrard Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Paramount Theater, Anderson, Indiana

2011-04-28T10:41:00.002-04:00

We often find unintentional markings on our older drawings–an accidental splash of ink, coffee rings, even an inky fingerprint–but today we found the uncommon, but not the first, shoe-print. The above drawing is a detail of the majestic 1928 Paramount Theater in Anderson, Indiana, from the A.M. Strauss Architectural Records Collection.

The heel marks are clearly visible–note the nails that once held together men’s shoes. The letters “H A S S . . . S H O E” are also visible on the print to the left. These unintentional details recall the romance of the early 20th century, when we can imagine our architects bent over their worktable, bow-tied and waist-coated, with pen and ink in hand.

From the number of small detail drawings such as this one, Alvin Strauss clearly labored over the details of the Mission/ Spanish revival-style Paramount Theater, which he referred to at that time as simply the "Anderson Theater". The National Register of Historic Places lists the architect for the theater as John Eberson and A.M. Strauss.

Eberson was a nationally-known architect for his theater designs and often contracted with local architects. A little research into the lettering of the shoe print uncovered the Hass Shoe Company of Riverside, New Jersey, that was in operation during the 1920s. Eberson operated his practice out of nearby New York, so it is conceivable that it was Eberson who stepped on the drawing when he visited Strauss' office in Fort Wayne.

Like many downtown theaters, the Paramount experienced decline and eventually closed its doors. Preservation-minded citizens facilitated an extraordinary effort to restore the building's opulence in the 1990s and it operates as a concert venue today.

Image: Paramount Theater detail, 1928, (32-501), A. M. Strauss Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Dan Kiley Fort Wayne Drawings Donated to the Archive

2011-04-25T14:13:00.000-04:00

The Archive recently received a gracious donation from landscape architecture professor Malcolm Cairns of Modernist landscape architect Dan Kiley’s set of drawings for Concordia Senior College, now known as Concordia Theological Seminary, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Kiley designed the landscape in 1955, collaborating with architect Eero Saarinen who designed the buildings for the site. Illustrative of their longstanding history of partnership and design synthesis, these drawings depict their holistic Modernist aesthetic for the built environment.

If you appreciate modern design, you've no doubt heard about the upcoming opening of the Miller House in Columbus, Indiana. Another sublime and synchronous masterpiece of Saarinen architecture and Kiley landscape, although this time with Alexander Girard designs for the home's interior, the Miller House is now under the auspices of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and will be open for tours this spring.

We’re thrilled to have copies of Kiley's important Concordia Theological Seminary designs in our collection. They are available for research by students, faculty, and outside researchers.

Image: Dan Kiley Concordia Senior College drawings, 1955, (G 2011.014) Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Fort Wayne's Brookview-Irvington Park Historic District Placed on National Register

2011-04-21T08:49:00.007-04:00

Fort Wayne, April 20, 2011: The Brookview-Irvington Park Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior on March 21, 2011.

The district is composed of three related suburban neighborhoods that reflect principles of design important in the history of community planning and development: Oak Knoll designed in 1906, Irvington Park designed in 1910, and Brookview designed in 1917. Together these areas combined the naturalistic landscape design with curvilinear circulation, park areas, and convenient access to roads, trolleys, and interurban railroads to create desirable neighborhoods.

The naturalistic development that landscape architect Walter Hoxie Hillary laid out for Irvington Park utilized the existing topography of the wooded site. In his development of Brookview for the Wildwood Builders, noted landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff further expanded and refined this idea by creating meandering roads that followed the natural contours and developing home sites focused on the scenic beauty of Spy Run Creek. The slightly earlier Oak Knoll development reflects a form of railroad era suburb that is rare in Fort Wayne. Women architects Joel Roberts Ninde and Grace E. Crosby designed several houses in the district, and the district has an outstanding collection of homes with a variety of architectural styles.

The City of Fort Wayne obtained Federal grant funding administered through Indiana's Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology to assist with the effort to prepare the application to the National Register of Historic Places. The City used the grant to contract with a listed qualified professional, ARCH, Inc. to research the district and prepare the nomination. The completed application was reviewed by the Fort Wayne Historic Preservation Commission before it was forwarded to the Indiana Historic Preservation Review Board and finally to the National Park Service.

The National Register of Historic Places is the Federal government’s official list of prehistoric and historic properties worthy of preservation. In Indiana, this program is administered by the Department of Natural Resources-Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, with assistance from the City of Fort Wayne as a Certified Local Government. Listing in the National Register provides recognition and assists in preserving our nation’s heritage. It does not prevent a private owner from altering, demolishing, or disposing of the property as s/he wishes.

Image: Residence for the News Sentinel, sheet 3, Fort Wayne, Ind., 1935. A. M. Strauss Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Federal Park, Muncie, 1909

2011-04-12T09:50:00.007-04:00

This was the view of Federal Park in Muncie in 1909. The old Muncie post office is the building flying the flag, next to the park. The building still stands at 401 S. High Street, although it has been added onto in order to turn it into part of the Horizon Convention Center. In the distance is Muncie High School.

Notice the bicycles strewn in front of the entrance to the post office, and the playground area, complete with a slide to the right. The abundance of park benches indicate this park was likely a popular destination for downtown families.

From Ink to CAD

2011-04-04T13:35:00.006-04:00

Witold Rybczynski, architecture critic and professor of urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania, recently penned an interesting commentary on the effects of the computer in the field of architecture. As an architect who straddles the divide between pencils and computer-aided design (CAD), Rybcynski has a unique perspective of how the advance of CAD has changed the profession and those in it.

He describes the Renaissance method of architectural design, which “not only lacked Xeroxes and blueprint machines; it even lacked pencils. All drawings, including rough sketches, were done in ink.” Innovations such as the T-square, the pencil, and the eraser made the process quicker and easier, but none have changed the process of design so much as the computer. Ryncynski contends that time and painstaking, deliberate effort are integral to the design process - and that the computer has eliminated the need for both.

Students and visitors to the Drawings and Documents Archive are always impressed with the detail and precision of our hand-drawn plans and blueprints. The faculty wax nostalgic over the fine lettering and reminisce about the long hours at the drafting table during their college years.

We don't just have drawings in our collections, either. From our Kibele & Garrard Architectural Records Collection, we have an extraordinary array of ink wells, pens, T-squares, blotters, compasses, powders and other tools of early 20th century architects and draftsmen.

Unidentified Indiana

2011-03-31T11:14:00.007-04:00

We know that feeling when you just want winter to end. Take today, for example. Two weeks ago we were wearing flip flops and now we're back to winter coats. It's enough to make you want to take a cruise to a Caribbean island to wait out the real end of the winter.

Or, if you can't afford that vacation, you could at least design a basement that encompasses all of the elements of a cruise but without the perils of water or travel, like this basement photographed by the Indianapolis architect Fran Schroeder. The location of the photograph is unidentified, but likely it belonged to a home in Indianapolis during the late 1940s-50s. Clearly the owner of this room felt much the same way about winter as we do.

If anyone knows the location, please let us know. We'll come over immediately.

Image: Basement, n.d. (34-199), Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University.

Indianapolis Monument Circle Idea Competition

2011-03-11T13:49:00.003-05:00

Have a good design idea for the state's most recognizable public space? Now is your opportunity to submit ideas for consideration in the juried Indianapolis Monument Circle Idea Competition, a project of Indianapolis Downtown, Inc.

The panel of jurors are design leaders throughout Indiana, including the dean of Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning, Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco and the Indianapolis Museum of Art's director Maxwell Anderson.

Information on how to enter can be found on the competition's website. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2011.

Image: Aerial photograph of Monument Circle, ca. 1948. [3-193A] Pierre and Wright Architectural Records Collection, Drawings and Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collection, Ball State University.

Delaware County Transportation Study Available in the Archive

2011-03-02T15:08:00.006-05:00

A recent article in The Muncie Star Press entitled, "Is Muncie finally ready to take pride in McGalliard?" highlights the numerous recommendations for improvement to SR 332 / McGalliard Road, a main artery into Muncie, that have been made by Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning since the college began in the 1960s.

One particular study cited in the article, The Gateways of Delaware County: A Study of the Major Vehicular Routes of Delaware County and Muncie, Indiana published in 1991, assessed the cluttered and undefined state of SR 332 / McGalliard Road and offered suggestions to improve circulation and create a sense of place.

The Gateways of Delaware County study is available for research in the Drawings and Documents Archive, located in the College of Architecture and Planning.

Images: The Gateways of Delaware County: A Study of the Major Vehicular Routes of Delaware County and Muncie, Indiana, 1991. College of Architecture and Planning Collection, Drawings and Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Midcentury Modern + Preservation

2011-02-28T09:50:00.005-05:00

Duncan Campbell, chair of Ball State University's associate professor of architecture and director of the graduate program in historic preservation, has been invited to give a presentation for Bloomington's Preservation Commission's inaugural Rosemary P. Miller Lecture on Historic Preservation, taking place this Friday, March 4th. Campell will be speaking on designer Elaine Doenges' midcentury modern houses built in Bloomington, Indiana.

Campbell's talk will be Friday, March 4th at 7 pm in Bloomington's City Hall. For more information, visit the Preservation Commission's website.

Bush Stadium

2011-02-24T15:56:00.004-05:00

Bush Stadium, originally called Perry Stadium when it was built by the architectural firm Pierre & Wright, photographed during its construction in the 1930s. Below the photograph is an article from Copper & Brass Bulletin describing the massive lead-coated copper marquee above the entrance to the stadium. Both are from the Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection.

Images: Bush Stadium Construction Photograph, 34-188, Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Lead-coated Copper marquee protects entrance to new sports stadium at Indianapolis, 34-188, Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Architects + Photographers

2011-02-17T16:34:00.008-05:00

For anyone who doubts the power of photography to interpret architecture, I offer two examples. The first is our Trowbridge and Beals Photograph Collection, which showcases the work of two outstanding early 20th century architectural photographers and is now available online in Ball State University Libraries' Digital Media Repository.

Raymond W. Trowbridge (1886-1936) and Jessie Tarbox Beals (1870-1942) came to photography from different careers--he was an architect and she was a teacher--but both became well known in this burgeoning field.

The second example?

The film Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman.

Eliel Saarinen in Indianapolis

2011-02-16T08:55:00.006-05:00

Eliel Saarinen, architect of the First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana, among other extraordinary Modernist buildings, is shown here judging a competition at the 1928 Indiana Society of Architects show, which took place at the John Herron Art Institute.

On the walls are architects Pierre & Wright's prize-winning display showing Oxford Gables Apartments and other commissions. Pierre & Wright won honorary gold certificates for best apartment building (Oxford Gables, 320 E. 38th Street) and best commercial building (27th and Meridian Streets).

At the time he received the award, Edward Pierre and his wife Louise lived in the Oxford Gables apartment building, in #207. Not only did he design and live in the building, but along with Wright they invested in the $287,800 project. It was one of the only documented times where the firm financially invested in a project they designed.

Also of note, the architectural firm of Johnson, Miller, Miller & Yeager from Terre Haute, whose collection we also have in the Drawings + Documents Archive, won honorary gold certificate for their design of the B'nai Abraham Temple in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The photograph of Saarinen and an article about the show that most likely appeared in the Indianapolis Star are found tucked into the scrapbook in the Pierre and Wright Architectural Records Collection that dates from the 1920s. The collection also contains some of the large-scale photographs seen in the picture.

Image: Scrapbook, Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, Drawings and Documents Archive.

New Collection in the Archive

2011-01-13T08:38:00.003-05:00

The Drawings + Documents Archive is proud to announce the latest collection of architectural records open to researchers, the Charles M. Sappenfield Architectural Records Collection. Known to many at Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning simply as Charlie, Sappenfield is not only the founding dean of the college but also a highly-acclaimed architect.

Many of his residences in North Carolina won awards for their clean, modernist designs and innovative use of materials. He moved to Indiana when Ball State University hired him to establish its new architecture program and, while his focus fell toward teaching and civic engagement, he continued to design outstanding homes and businesses.

The collection represents his work on housing for the aging, one of Sappenfield's lifelong pursuits from his time as a Fulbright scholar in Copenhagen to his later work in Indiana. The Archive maintains his collection of thousands of architectural drawings and business records, from the 1950s-90s. His papers as dean of the college are currently being processed and will be available soon in the University Archives at Ball State University's Alexander M. Bracken Library.

Image: Charles M. Sappenfield, Sketch for Dave residence, North Carolina, 1963, Charles M. Sappenfield Architectural Records, Ball State University Libraries Drawings + Documents Archive.

School 78, Indianapolis

2010-12-17T15:22:00.004-05:00

We're excited to see the article in the Indianapolis Star describing the Indianapolis Public School Board's approval on Tuesday to make School 78, 3734 E. Vermont Street, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's East District headquarters.

Designed by architects Edward Pierre and George C. Wright in 1925, the building is a great example of early 20th-century school architecture and the Police Department and IPS should be commended for saving it. Why are we so excited about this particular school? The archive maintains the original ink on linen plans, which we've been using in class visits this fall since news arrived about its potential sale. Groups of students have been encouraged all semester to envision its possibility for adaptive reuse and came up with a range of possibilities--from a charter school to a corporate office. A police department headquarters wasn't exactly on the list, but it should make a perfect fit.

Image: IPS School 78, detail of cartouche, 1925, Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive.

Camels on Monument Circle

2010-12-17T09:52:00.008-05:00

These drawings for two of the four life-size camel statues were made by architect Edward Pierre for the Nativity scene installed at Monument Circle for the holidays.

Image: Camels, ca. 1940s, Pierre and Wright Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive.

Yuletide Greetings, 1962

2010-12-16T14:36:00.007-05:00

Joseph Cezar showcased his new Indianapolis Arts League building at 3103 N. Pennsylvania Street in Indianapolis for his 1962 holiday card. The small structure made a big impact due to its modernist design amongst a neighborhood of early 20th century residences. The Arts League outgrew this building 15 years later and moved north to Broad Ripple where they became the Indianapolis Arts Center.

Today, the building is an unfortunate shell of its original stylish and confident design. Here is a recent picture of it in Google Maps:

Images: Holiday card, 1962, Joseph O. Cezar Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive.

3103 N. Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, Ind., Accessed via Google Maps

Seasons greetings

2010-12-15T08:58:00.006-05:00

In addition to being an architect, Charles Sappenfield, better known to everyone as Charlie, was the first dean of the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University. He left a thriving practice in North Carolina to create an entirely new program at what was then, a fairly small university in the Midwest. His legacy as a dean is considerable and continues to be felt in the college today, from the design of the building to the professors he hired who are still teaching in its classrooms.

The archive recently received and is currently processing his collection of material related to his architectural practice, from the early 1960s to the late 1980s.

To say he fully embraced Modernism is an understatement and his clients knew that. We've found photographs of houses in project folders that have written on the back, "We like this, but it needs modernization". We've also found mid-century product catalogs and fabric samples from Knoll and Herman Miller. And, of course, we've found the holiday cards. Enjoy the Modernist Noel.

Image: Noel card, Carles Sappenfield Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive.

Seasons greetings

2010-12-13T16:42:00.006-05:00

It's often easy to forget that architects run their own business and have all the same marketing concerns that any small business owner would have. What better way to advertise your business, thank clients who have hired you in the past, and remind them that you're still around than to send out personally-designed Christmas cards. Not to mention that it gives the architects a chance to flex design skills in an entirely artistic way without worrying about pesky issues like load-bearing walls and where to install the HVAC system.

We find these cards in most of the collections here in the archive. Some depict local landmarks or important commissions the architect built that year. Others are solely focused on design, like a few that we found today while processing a new collection. We'll show those in an upcoming post.

Image: Holiday card, 1952, Joseph O. Cezar Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive.

Monument Circle at the Holidays, 1950s

2010-12-10T13:59:00.008-05:00

Architect Edward Pierre (1890-1971) was one of the civic-minded businessmen who spearheaded the effort to decorate the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument during the holidays as a way to spread cheer and bring people downtown to shop. He first came up with the idea during the 1930s, but the financial constraints at that time prohibited the expense of decorations. It wasn't until 1945, after World War II ended, that he was able to realize his vision of the Circle decorated for the holidays.

This is only one example of Edward Pierre's interest in beautifying and improving the city through architecture and civic engagement. After Pierre died in 1971, then-mayor Richard Lugar described the architect as "one of the most significant and imaginative thinkers in regard to the beauty of Indianapolis". Every year we're reminded why.

Images: Yule Tidings on the Circle, Indianapolis Star Magazine, December 6, 1953. Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive

Meadowbrook Apartments

2010-12-08T15:04:00.004-05:00

To accommodate the need for low-income housing in Indianapolis in the late 1940s, the city hired architects Joseph Lloyd Allen (1897-1975) and John Kelley (1902-1991) to design a 50-acre housing project located at the corner of 38th Street and Rural Avenue. The firm of Allen & Kelley created the streamlined Meadowbrooks Apartments--with 620 units in a total of 36 buildings spread across the site. Each building was two stories, with glass block windows and a unique, modern front door inset with three small windows. The firm lists the project cost at six million dollars.

Photographs from an Indianapolis Star newspaper story depict a couple receiving the keys to their new apartment and exploring the interior.

Images: Meadowbrook Apartments presentation drawing, Allen & Kelley Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive.
Meadowbrook Apartments photographs, Allen & Kelley Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive.

Formica

2010-11-29T15:52:00.007-05:00

No doubt you've spent an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen lately. If any thoughts were given to your hard-working kitchen counter at Thanksgiving time, they were probably of the "I need more counter space" or "which of my relatives spilled red wine and didn't clean it up?" variety. Chances are you didn't give much thought to the history of one of the country's most popular solid surfaces for counters: Formica.

In our Trade Catalog Collection and in the Kibele and Garrard Architectural Records Collection we have some very interesting examples of Formica from the early to late 20th century.
It was created in 1910 by David J. O'Conor, an engineer at Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, who impregnated sheets of paper with the new invention liquid Bakelite. He had created a durable surface with insulating properties. A few years later, in 1913, O'Conor and Herbert A. Faber, another engineer, left Westinghouse in order to form their own company in Cincinnati to focus on this new invention.

Wondering about the name? Faber is credited with that: because it could stand in place for mica, an insulator that was becoming increasingly expensive at the time, the product officially became Formica. And it went on to cover kitchen counters around the world.

Images:
Formica samples, 1920s-30s, Kibele and Garrard Architectural Records Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Ball State University Libraries.
Formica trade catalog, TC 146, 1960s, Trade Catalog Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Ball State University Libraries

Frank Lloyd Wright: Architectural Alchemist lecture November 18th

2010-11-16T13:24:00.004-05:00

Frank Lloyd Wright: Architectural Alchemist
Thursday, November 18, 2010
5 pm reception & 5:30 pm lecture at ISU's Center for Performing and Fine Arts

A lecture by Dr. Sidney Robinson, faculty, Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and Preservation Program Coordinator, Taliesin Preservation, Inc.

The power of Frank Lloyd Wright's creativity is demonstrated by the wide range of sources on which he based his architecture. He exercised his remarkable interpretive ability on Louis Sullivan's ornament, Japanese prints, music, and his own ornament. Wright's interpretation of non-architectural sources is the clearest evidence of his goal to make architecture integral and inclusive. We must take clues from this wide-ranging practice and continue these multiple dimensions in preserving his legacy.

This program is co-sponsored by Indiana Landmarks, the Swope Art Museum and Indiana State University, and is planned in conjunction with The Samara House: A Usonian Design by Frank Lloyd Wright, an exhibition at the Swope which runs through December 31, 2010.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-29T12:33:00.002-04:00

Some say wisdom, I say spooky.

Meant for a stained-glass window in a Hagerstown, Indiana residence designed by the architectural firm Pierre & Wright in the 1930s, this owl was supposed to connote wisdom. Here at the archive, we feel the owl might be better suited for scaring small children out trick-or-treating this weekend.

CAP Alumni Win INSLA Design Award

2010-10-15T09:11:00.002-04:00

Last Friday, theIndiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (INASLA) presented the local landscape architectural firm of Rundell Ernstberger Associates with the Award of Excellence for its work on The Nature Conservancy’s Indianapolis headquarters, the Efroymson Conservation Center.

The INASLA Professional Design Program was created to recognize professional excellence and outstanding examples of landscape architecture by Indiana landscape architects. The awards honor works that represent the forefront of the profession of landscape architecture and embody high levels of creativity and imagination.

“We are thrilled for Rundell Ernstberger,” said Mary McConnell, state director for The Nature Conservancy’s Indiana Chapter. “Throughout the design process, Rundell Ernstberger’s work was guided by the Conservancy’s goal of achieving LEED Platinum certification, our mission of protecting biodiversity, and our limited budget. They coordinated very closely with all members of our design and construction team to find creative and unconventional solutions. We couldn’t be happier with our new home.”

“The Efroymson Conservation Center was a great opportunity to work with The Nature Conservancy to achieve their ambitious goals,” said Brian McNerney, Associate for Rundell Ernstberger. “The Conservancy wanted to emphasize their site as a model to inspire others to follow. We have shown that with good planning, teamwork, and creativity, a truly sustainable site development with native gardens is possible in a dense urban area.

McNerney added that the Efroymson Conservation Center is also a signature project for the City of Indianapolis for its innovative stormwater management design.

The site design for the Efroymson Conservation Center includes many features that highlight Runsdell Ernstberger’s successful design solution, from the parking lot with its permeable pavement to the green spaces, gardens, and green roofs that cover nearly half of the site, using unique native Indiana species not normally seen in urban environments.

Rundell Ernstberger was also part of the Efroymson Conservation Center’s award-winning stormwater management system, in which a combination of permeable pavements, a bio-swale, green roofs, and native gardens translate to zero stormwater run-off . This stormwater management system eliminated the need to connect to the City’s combined sewer system (with substantial cost savings for both the Conservancy and the City of Indianapolis).

George Rogers Clark Memorial, Vincennes

2010-10-14T16:50:00.005-04:00

This is a 1930s era photograph depicting leveling the concrete foundation for the George Rogers Clark Memorial in Vincennes, Indiana, located along the Wabash River at the southern end of the state. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt later dedicated the completed memorial June 14, 1936.

If your memory of high school history class is a little rusty, George Rogers Clark defeated the British on a cold February day in 1779. According to the National Parks Service website for the memorial:

The British flag would not be raised above Fort Sackville Feb. 25, 1779. At 10 a.m., the garrison surrendered to American Col. George Rogers Clark. His American army, aided by French residents of the Illinois country, had marched through freezing floodwaters to gain this victory. The fort’s capture assured United States claims to the frontier, an area nearly as large as the original 13 states.

Although it depicts something a bit more mundane than capturing a fort, this photograph has us all enthralled with the small details--the engaged audience for the workmen, the process of leveling the concrete, and even the workman's coat hanging on a wooden post in the center of what will later become a beautiful monument. Go ahead and click on it to see it for yourself.

Modern Water Colors

2010-09-15T15:32:00.007-04:00

Modern being, of course, a relative term.

When this Discriptive Handbook of Modern Water Colour Pigments was written in 1897, Modernism defined the shift from Victorian ornamentation to the Arts and Crafts movement. My own house, which was built around this time, perfectly illustrates the time period in its own imperfect way. Like an awkward adolescent, it had outgrown the need for superfluous decoration but still couldn't give up its Victorian proportions. I like to think it exudes charm, although in a somewhat artless fashion.

Modern, in the terms of this handbook, could also imply improvements made to the paint formulas. The "water colour controversy" mentioned on the front cover references fade tests that had been performed on Winsor & Newton paints. Today, conservators have accelerated aging tests that can predict the long-term aging effects of light on inks and photographs well into the future. In the late 19th century the tests were perfomed by placing color washes in a window for 15 years and waiting for the results. As you can imagine, the colors reacted differently and Winsor & Newton was working to adjust the formulas for increased color permanence.

This handbook, along with others produced by the Winsor & Newton paint company, is part of the Kibele and Garrard Architectural Records Collection. This collection contains, in addition to architectural drawings, a wide variety of materials related to the practice of being an architect in the late 19th and early 20th century.

International Symposium on 19th-Century Architecture Photography

2010-09-07T15:41:00.006-04:00

Indiana University South Bend and University of Notre Dame are hosting an international symposium in South Bend, Indiana, October 3-4 titled Documenting History, Charting Progress, Exploring the World: Nineteenth-Century Photographs of Architecture. In concert with the symposium, there's also an exhibit, curated by Micheline Nilsen, professor of art history at IUSB, of photographs from the Snite Museum of Art's collection on display.

The symposium is free and open to the public. For more information contact mnilsen@iusb.edu.

Program:

Uncertain future for Washington Elementary School in Vincennes

2010-08-17T13:55:00.007-04:00

Indiana Landmarks reported in the latest issue of Indiana Preservationist magazine that Washington Elementary School in Vincennes, along with nearby Inman Field, is facing an uncertain future. The stately, Collegiate Gothic landmark has been closed due to budget cuts, and joins two other vacant historic schools owned by the Vincennes Community School Corporation. Hopefully Vincennes will be able to identify reuses for these beautiful buildings.

In happier times, the city celebrated the building's 25th birthday in style, according to this news article in our Jay C. Bixby Architectural Records Collection:

Ball State + Geothermal

2010-07-21T14:51:00.006-04:00

Construction work on a college campus in summertime is certainly not unusual. It's even to be expected. However, this summer on this college campus there is something rather unusual happening as far as construction is concerned. The university is installing pipes to the nation's largest geothermal initiative, which is expected to save the university over $2M a year in energy costs as well as make Ball State a leader in alternative energy.

The project will replace four coal-burning furnaces that heat and cool 45 buildings and span the entire 660-acre campus. It is nothing short of extraordinary.

The boreholes are located away from the core of campus, but the hot and cold water pipes will be installed underground throughout campus. For a map of the of the geothermal project: http://cms.bsu.edu/About/~/media/Files/About/Geothermal/GeoThermal_Final.ashx

And for more information about the project, including links to IPR segments: http://cms.bsu.edu/About/Geothermal.aspx

These pictures were taken this morning and the construction crew appears to be installing sections of the hot water loop in front of the Health and Physical Activity building. In the picture above, you can see the Health building on the left. Architecture is between that building and Shafer Tower. The picture below is looking north on McKinley.

Architecture's Modern Marvels Culture: vanityfair.com

2010-07-06T11:21:00.000-04:00

What this link doesn't have: any buildings in Indiana.

What it does have: extraordinary photographs of some of the best examples of architecture around the world since 1980. One of them is even a library!

Architecture's Modern Marvels Culture: vanityfair.com

Student Design Competition

2010-06-29T11:57:00.004-04:00

Ball State University's ICMA Student Design Competition

Second Annual Foundation Golf Scramble

Wednesday August 18, 2010 / 1:00PM Shotgun Start

Valle Vista Golf and Conference Center

Indiana Concrete Masonry Association, Ball State University and CAP invite you to participate in the Second Annual ICMA Student Design Competition Foundation Golf Scramble, Wednesday, August 18, 2010 to be held at Valle Vista Golf and Conference Center. Proceeds of the event will go directly to the foundation, insuring another 40 years of success. CAP and Ball State University are supporting this event benefiting the ICMA Student Design Competition Foundation Account. Every Ball State Architectural graduate can remember the time and effort they dedicated to this program. CAP separates itself from most architectural schools in the nation by requiring second year students to complete the ICMA Student Design Competition.

Together, Ball State University, CAP and ICMA have offered this rite of passage to architectural students for over 40 years. Second generation students have come through this program, which helps keep the ICMA Student Design Studio the longest externally funded design competition in CAP's history.

If you do not play golf, please consider sponsoring the event or send a gift directly to the Ball State University, Development, attention Brenda Bergl, Muncie, Indiana, 47306. The check must be made out to Ball State University Foundation, ICMA Fund #677 in support of Ball State, CAP and ICMA's Student Design Competition. We appreciate your consideration during these challenging economic times.

Your golf registration provides you the free driving net, putting green, cart, 18 holes, lunch, beverages on the course, dinner, cash bar and awards.

To get additional information visit here to download the registration form.

For more information, contact:
Brenda Bergl

Ball State University

University Development 765.285.2549

Image: Pictorial, National Concrete Masony Association, Volume 17, Number 5, 1961.

Part of the Drawings + Documents Archive's Trade Catalog Collection

Something fishy

2010-06-24T12:02:00.008-04:00

Perhaps it's the torrential rain we've experienced in Indiana lately that inspires today's posting of a fish design in lineoleum created by the Fort Wayne-based architect Alvin Strauss in 1936 for an addition built onto Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Isay's house in South Whitley, Indiana. The stylized fish themselves appear as though they would be right at home in a Betty Boop cartoon, thanks to their prominent lips and curvaceous figures. By the time Strauss drew these in 1936, Betty Boop had already starred in a series of animated films and was incredibly popular across the country, so it is probable the architect had been influenced by the cartoons he had seen at the theater.

The extensive Strauss Architectural Records Collection contains drawings of theaters, residences, businesses, and schools built primarily in the northeast region of the state in the early 20th century. The collection is available for research. During the summer, the archive is by appointment only and you can schedule a visit by calling 765-285-8441.

Researching an Architect

2010-06-21T09:29:00.003-04:00

Need help researching an architect? The American Institute of Architects maintains an online database of historic architects (determined as AIA members before 1978) that can assist you in your serarch. http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/Home.aspx

Here is what you will find in the AIA Historical Directory:

Names of all national-level AIA members up to 1978
Years of membership until 1978
Does NOT include members who joined fewer than 30 years ago
References to their entries in biographical directories (example: Jamieson Parker)
Full text of the 3 editions of American Architects Directory
Digitized files from the AIA Archives (example: Francis Abreu and note Related Records link to Abreu & Robinson with other digitized files)
What might be in their AIA Archives file, if it isn’t digitized yet—you can request it to be scanned if the person is deceased
Links to architects’ papers and drawings in other archives (example: Irving F. Morrow)
Names of non-member architects who appear in directories or other archives
Names of firms that appear in directories, in other archives, or in the AIA Archives
Does NOT include lists of buildings

Modernmasters trade catalog

2010-06-15T08:11:00.009-04:00

Our Trade Catalog Collection contains over 700 brochures, product literature and samples of building items from the 19th to late 20th century. Among them is this Modernmaster catalog from 1953, featuring chairs, sofas and tables that have become iconic representations of mid-century modern furniture design.

Tucked into the catalog, was this one-page pricing sheet from Herman Miller, featuring chairs designed by Charles Eames, one of the foremost designers of the Modernist movement.

Image credits:

Modernmasters: America’s Foremost Collection of Classically Modern Furniture, layout and typography by Clifford Pascoe; photography by Lionel Freedman, John B. Watkins Company, New York City, 1953.
Trade Catalog Collection TC 160.

Herman Miller Furniture Company chair price sheet, Furniture Forum, 1950s.

Trade Catalog Collection TC 160.

Bush Stadium

2010-06-08T11:39:00.006-04:00

At one time elegant and stately, historic Bush Stadium (originally Perry Stadium) continues to fascinate us as it awaits its fate. Languishing in its current condition near downtown Indianapolis and on Indiana Landmarks' list of "10 Most Endangered Places," the building has fortunately inspired much revitalization interest lately. It's exciting to hear about plans to preserve the building while making it relevant to current needs.

While the Archive does not have the original plans in our Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collections, we do have drawings made during renovations in the 1940s-1980s that are in the Indianapolis Parks Collection. If you're interested in seeing any of these drawings, you are welcome to make an appointment to see them here at the Archive.

For more information on the history and condition of Bush Stadium, visit Indiana Landmarks: http://www.historiclandmarks.org/newsphotos/10most/pages/bushstadium.aspx

Image credits:

Perry Stadium, linen postcard, n.d. Postcard Collection.

Perry Stadium, photostat, 1920s. Pierre and Wright Architectural Records Collection.

Monon Railroad and Camp Ida Wineman

2010-05-06T16:16:00.006-04:00

While processing a collection of Monon Railroad drawings from the 1920s, we uncovered this interesting drawing of the section of bridge spanning the White River in Broad Ripple. Camp Ida Wineman is prominently represented near the bridge, complete with its two-story building, porch and portico, however we have found little information about the camp. One reference mentions it was a Jewish summer camp in the early 1900s. Anyone know anything else about it?

Modern Lighting

2010-05-05T11:16:00.007-04:00

It may look like a UFO flying over a well-lit suburban home, but it is only an advertisement for a 1939 lamp fixture that will "light condition" the American home. This brochure from Silvray Lighting of Long Island City, New York, is part of our large and soon-to-be cataloged trade catalog collection.

"Silvered bowl Mazda lamps in Silvray Sight Savers provide modern eye-saving indirect light at the lowest cost.

Sight-Savers are designed especially for use with the Silvered Bowl Mazda lamp which has a pure silver mirror reflector hermetically sealed to it. The need for expensive, bulky, auxiliary reflectors in the fixture is thus eliminated."

Image: Mazda Lamp catalog, 1939. Silvray Lighting, Inc. TC-2009.147. Part of the Drawings + Documents Archive trade catalog collection.

Mass transit in Indiana, 100 years ago

2010-05-03T10:53:00.005-04:00

The Interurban network in Indiana had a profound impact on towns and cities, as well as architecture during the first thirty years of the twentieth century. What was the Interurban? The Interurban was a series of electrically-powered railcars that had their own rail lines and traversed the entire state, from South Bend to Evansville and Richmond to Terre Haute. The term “interurban” was coined by a Hoosier native named Charles L. Henry. Henry, born in Pendleton, Indiana, was a lawyer, businessman, and politician. While attending the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, he saw the electric streetcars transporting people between the fairgrounds and the city and thought why not use this same technique to transport people and freight between towns and cities.

In 1898, Henry established the first Interurban company in Indiana, which operated an Interurban line from Anderson to Alexandria. This company, the Union Traction Company of Indiana, was the first of dozens of Interurban companies that would be created during the early twentieth century. Over time, the Interurban was replaced with bus routes and the automobile. The last Interurban line that still exists is in Indiana is the South Shore Line, which runs from South Bend to downtown Chicago.

The Interurban fueled the population growth and development of new residential neighborhood in towns and cities throughout the state. The Interurban companies built multiple office buildings, depots, and warehouses. Regrettably, many of these historic structures have been demolished, including the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. The Indianapolis Traction Terminal was purported to be the largest Interurban station in the entire United States. It was located on the northwest corner of Market and Illinois Streets in downtown Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Traction Terminal was designed by Daniel Burnham and constructed in 1904. The terminal featured a large train shed constructed of steel and a nine-story office tower that contained a large station and various shops in the first floor and office space for various Interurban companies in the upper floors. The terminal was built to be the central hub where all of the Interurban lines that traveled through Indianapolis would use. Thousands of people traveled through the terminal each year. For example, in 1918, over seven million passengers traveled through the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. The train shed was demolished in 1968 and the office tower was razed in 1972.

Today, the site of the former Indianapolis Traction Terminal is home to the Indianapolis Hilton Hotel. This fine example of Interurban related architecture has been lost to history, but lives on in historic photographs and postcards, such as the one above.

Submitted by Ryan Shrack, graduate assistant in Historic Preservation

Image: Traction Terminal Building, Indianapolis, Ind., color postcard. Part of the Drawings + Documents Archive's postcard collection.

Edward Pierre's Designs

2010-04-14T11:24:00.009-04:00

Much of the Pierre and Wright Architectural Records Collection has recently come back from being scanned into our Digital Media Repository. For unprecedented access to a large number of images from this collection, go to http://libx.bsu.edu/cdm4/collection.php?CISOROOT=/PieWri.

Digitization of any collection requires quite a lot of sorting to determine which images are to be scanned, and then re-integration of the collection once the scanning process is complete. We are currently re-boxing the collection and I discovered this very small photostat of a drawing for the Chevrolet Sales and Service building in Kokomo, Indiana, designed by Edward Pierre in the 1950s or early 1960s.

Pierre, who began his architectural career designing Art Nouveau and Art Deco inspired buildings in the early 20th century, embraced Modernist designs as they evolved. It is evident he wasn't rigid in his design sense (such as someone like Louis Sullivan), but you can, however, see similarities in his design principles that are translated through the changing architecture of his time.

This is evident in his work for two car-related buildings he designed. The first, the Rose Tire Company building from 1930, has a wide band of windows, bays for cars, a designated office area, and an ornamental sign on top of the building. The second building, the Chevrolet building, ca. 1950s, has all of the same elements except that the area for cars is inside, behind the wide band of windows. The design has been stripped of the ornamentation seen in the 1930 design, most noticeably the sign on top of the building.

Of course, these are all standard elements of a car business. In the U.S., we have certainly seen plenty of car dealerships reminiscent of the Chevrolet building. What makes it interesting is how Pierre balanced the proportions similarly from one design period to another. You might think it would be impossible to link the two very different designs to the same architect but, seeing the two drawings side-by-side it becomes, if not obvious, at least believable it is the same designer.

I've been unable to locate the buildings today, or determine if the buildings were built. Does anyone know if either are standing?

Edward D. Pierre, Chevrolet Sales and Service Building, Kokomo, Ind., ca. 1950s, perspective view.

Pierre and Wright, Rose Tire Building, Indianapolis, Ind., 1930, perspective view.

Louis Sullivan

2010-04-07T15:40:00.009-04:00

The film showing of Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture last night at the College of Architecture and Planning was an overwhelming success for students and members of the community who came out to see it and meet the filmmaker, Mark Richard Smith. Many thanks to Mark and our sponsors, the Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library and the College of Architecture and Planning, for a fascinating and educational evening. It was particularly gratifying to see the exploration of Sullivan's techniques, theory and practice using his original drawings.

It was also thrilling to see the soaring panoramas of Sullivan's detailed facades and then be able to look closely at the Chicago Stock Exchange cornice on display in Architecture Professor Michele Chiuini's exhibit DiCSX, the Digital Chicago Stock Exchange.

No one should underestimate the role food plays in any event on campus, and our Sullivan-inspired terracotta-esque cupcakes were quite a hit.

Photos by Amy Trendler and Carol Street

Louis Sullivan film tonight @ 7:30

2010-04-06T08:51:00.008-04:00

See Louis Sullivan's architecture as you've never seen it before--in HD and on the big screen--tonight in Ball State's Architecture Building, room 100. Mark Smith, the film's director and producer, will be here to talk about his film and answer questions after the showing. It's also the last night to see the 13th floor cornice from Sullivan's Chicago Stock Exchange, the exquisite building that sparked a preservation movement when it was torn down. To see it up close, as only the architect and builders would have seen it, is rather remarkable and gives you a renewed appreciation for building details.

This HABS (Historic American Building Survey) was made in the 1960s, before the building was torn down:

March Madness + Sullivan Fever, part five

2010-04-05T15:10:00.007-04:00

The Indiana film premiere of Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture is tomorrow! Expect an exciting evening that consists of seeing the movie in HD, getting up close to the actual cornice of Sullivan's Chicago Stock Exchange building, and eating terracotta-inspired cupcakes. It's all free and not to be missed. See you at 7:30 in Architecture Building, room 100.

With Butler's exciting win this weekend, we happily continue our postings of basketball-related collections from the archive. The extraordinary Ball Gymnasium, located on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, was designed by Muncie architect Cuno Kibele and constructed in 1925. The building cost $400,000 to build, which would be approximately $4.5 million in today's dollars, with money coming mostly from the Ball family. The building is designed in the Collegiate Gothic style and matches the Burkhardt Building, which Kibele also designed, the Fine Arts Building, Lucina Hall, and the North Quadrangle Building, all located in the Old Quadrangle at the southern end of campus.

The Ball Teachers College Hoosieroons (now the Ball State Cardinals) played their home games in this building until 1963, when a new physical education building was built and Ball Gymnasium became used primarily as a women's gym. George F. Schreiber of Indianapolis was the architect of an addition built in 1939. An extensive restoration renovation of Ball Gymnasium was completed in 1997.

March Madnes + Sullivan Fever, part 4

2010-04-01T17:26:00.003-04:00

These photographs of an unnamed gymnasium under construction come from the Pierre and Wright Architectural Records Collection. They're extraordinary photographs dating from the late 1920s-1930s, but we have not been able to determine the structure. If anyone knows, please leave a comment.

March Madness + Sullivan Fever, part 3

2010-04-01T13:23:00.003-04:00

One of the most interesting collections of material here at the Drawings + Documents Archive is the trade catalog collection, which contains marketing publications directed to architects and those in building trades. Some of the earliest examples tout the long-lasting benefits of lead paint and durability of asbestos flooring for schools and hospitals, all printed long before the hazards of the materials were discovered.

The collection is a rich resource of ephemeral material that reflect what was valued at the time it was printed. As you might have seen in an earlier post about the mid-century concrete masonry publication, Pictorial, which highlights mid-century geometric designs with a decidely post-war American aesthetic.

We have been working on cataloging and reboxing our large trade catalog collection for the past year, and are nearly finished. It has been a year of discoveries, more of which you'll see in posts to come.

Here we have a page from a 1951 booklet of basketball backboard designs from the J.E. Porter Corporation, based out of Ottawa, Illinois. The first few pages of the book describe the differences between backboard designs and height regulations for grade school, high school, college, and professional basketball courts. The single pedestal backstop shown in this drawing is meant for college-level teams.

More March Madness + Sullivan Fever

2010-03-31T11:17:00.011-04:00

Today's basketball images from the Archive come from our extensive Indiana Bridge Company collection, and include a client file card and 1960 newspaper clipping of the Anderson High School gymnasium during construction in Anderson, Indiana, in nearby Madison County. The original structure was destroyed by fire in the late 1950s and it was rebuilt as it stands now, in 1960.

Founded in 1886 and still operating under the name Indiana Bridge-Midwest Steel Inc., Indiana Bridge Company is Muncie's oldest manufacturer. When the Indiana Bridge Company was established by Theodore F. Rose and associates on May 17, 1886, the company built truss bridges not only for the needs of Indiana but nationwide. It later converted to making steel girders for the construction industry. During World Wars I and II, the company participated in the mobilization for the war by producing steel for the United States and its allies.

The client file cards are 4 x 6 inch cards, housed in a ca. 1900s wooden filing cabinet in the Archive. They contain information on all clients of the Indiana Bridge Co. from the beginning of the company until the 1970s. The first column is the job number, the second column is the date, the next column has a description of the job.

This particular file card is interesting due to the notes and extra jobs required due to an "architectural change" and "drawing room error."

Anderson High School is known as the "Anderson Indians" and the gymnasium is called the Wigwam. This massive building seats nearly 9,000 fans and is the second largest high school gymnasium in the country. In case you're wondering, the largest high school gymnasium seats 9,325 people and is located in New Castle, Indiana, which is only about 25 miles away from the Anderson gymnasium. As for the top ten largest high school gyms in the country, only two are located outside Indiana.

March Madness + Sullivan Fever

2010-03-29T16:27:00.011-04:00

Here in the Hoosier state, we're suffering from a few afflictions these days. Butler University, located in Indianapolis, has had an exciting men's basketball season and is now slated for the Final Four round of the NCAA Basketball Championship tournament, which will be played this Saturday in Indianapolis. Hoosier hysteria over basketball is widely known, thanks to the film Hoosiers and legendary IU coach Bobby Knight, and Butler's success is whipping the state into a full-on frenzy of all things basketball.

From a recent request here at the archive for drawings of Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse, an extraordinary structure built in 1928 that was the largest fieldhouse in the country at the time, we learned that we do not have any drawings of that building. We do, however, have material on other gymnasiums and fieldhouses around the state. Every day until Butler's final game, which will hopefully be the championship game, we will add a new basketball-related item in our collection to the blog.

This is a ca. 1960s postcard photograph of Muncie's Fieldhouse, built the same year as Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse, but with a more traditional design. On the back of the card, it describes it as the "home of the Muncie Bearcats basketball team which has already won five state championships. It was built in 1928 and seats 7,500 people. Muncie is known as the 'Basketball Capital of Indiana'"

Not only used for basketball, the Fieldhouse was home to Eleanor Roosevelt's first visit to Muncie and speech on October 27, 1939. She addressed the challenges facing youth during the Depression. A few years later, in 1942, Abbott and Costello rallied the community in the Fieldhouse to support the war bond effort.

Sullivan fever is hitting the College of Architecture and Planning! The Indiana premiere of Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture is just a week away--April 6th at 7:30. The exhibit DiCSX, about the digital recreation of Sullivan's legendary Chicago Stock Exchange building, is up in the gallery. The last day to see the cornice of the building on display will be April 6th. So, come for the film AND the exhibit. Here's a picture from the opening of Prof. Michele Chiuini and his students K.C. Pavlik, Steve Allen, and Jessica Coleman, along with part of the building cornice:

INDIANA PREMIERE! Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture

2010-03-24T10:18:00.005-04:00

The Friends of Bracken Library, the College of Architecture and Planning, and the Drawings and Documents Archive invite you to the Indiana premiere of the documentary film Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture, followed by a talk with the filmmaker Mark Richard Smith on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. The program will take place in the Architecture Building, room 100, beginning at 7:30.

Come earlier (or stay later!) to see the actual cornice from Sullivan's Chicago Stock Exchange building and the incredible work Architecture Professor Michele Chiuini and John Fillwalk from the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts, along with their students, are doing to reconstruct the building digitally in the exhibit DiCSX (Digital Chicago Stock Exchange) in the nearby CAP Gallery.

It's all FREE and not to be missed!

Called the father of Modernism, Sullivan revolutionized American building styles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is known for coining the Modernist design mantra “form follows function.” Many of his buildings have suffered under the guise of urban renewal, but the buildings that remain are extraordinary examples of a singular vision.

Mark Richard Smith’s new film beautifully articulates the grandeur and importance of Sullivan’s contribution to our architectural history. Clips and more information about the film can be found at http://www.louissullivanfilm.com/ Become a fan and follow the progress of the film at Facebook and twitter! The film recently debuted in Chicago (of course!) and you can read an incredible review and see video of the Q and A held after the film. Or just be surprised when you come see the film here at Ball State.

See you April 6th!

The Pantheon Theater, Vincennes, Indiana

2010-03-15T16:56:00.004-04:00

The Pantheon Theater building in Vincennes, Indiana, is currently undergoing restoration work. Here's how it looked originally, from photographs in the Archive's Jay C. Bixby Architectural Records Collection.

2010-03-05T10:57:00.006-05:00

In looking through an Architectural Record from May 1964, I was struck by this ad for a pneumatic tube communication system promoting architects to use them in their own offices, as well as in offices they design. The idea certainly caught on for drive-through banking, but did it succeed in office design construction?

Drawings + Documents Archive plants landscape architecture collection online

2010-02-03T10:43:00.003-05:00

Schuyler N. Nolan (1894-1981) grew to love working with plants and designing gardens at a very young age by helping his father work on residential landscaping projects in Vincennes, Indiana, where he grew up, and later Plymouth, Indiana, after his family moved there. His only formal design training came from a three-month mechanical drafting course he took at the Chicago Technical School. He supplemented his brief formal education with, as he wrote, “a great amount of time spent in libraries” studying any materials related to landscaping.

His extensive use of the local library paid off when he began his own landscaping company while still in Illinois. He steadily built his reputation in residential landscape design and did very well until the Depression affected his clientele. He then went to work at the Indianapolis Parks Department, where he designed gardens for the 1934, 1937, and 1937 Home Shows, and then later at the Indiana State Highway Commission, where he designed roadside plantings throughout the state until 1937.

After 1937, he practiced as a landscape architect and experienced much success designing a wide range of commissions. From his work during World War II designing aircraft building plants and Naval officers’ quarters, to tony residential work for many of Indianapolis’ elite, such as J. K. Lilly and Harrison Eiteljorg, Nolan built functional yet artistic spaces for his clients.

After his retirement, an unfortunate basement flood destroyed most of his drawings and business records. He donated the drawings that managed to survive the flood to the Drawings and Documents Archive in 1979. These represent fifty-six commissions, and you can explore examples of his creative and technical design skills through his drawings for fountains, terrace gardens, and baseball fields, now available online through the Ball State University’s Digital Media Repository (http://libx.bsu.edu/collection.php?CISOROOT=/NlnArchRcrd).

Parke County's Covered Bridges

2010-01-27T14:43:00.015-05:00

Ball State University's Center for Historic Preservation, in cooperation with Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, is producing the Parke County Historic Sites and Structures Inventory Interim Report. The interim report is the result of the 2008 survey of Parke County's historic resources and the project has been funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior-National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the Indiana DNR’s Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Prominently featured in the Report are the Parke County covered bridges for which the area is largely known. The Ball State Drawings and Documents Archive maintains a collection of drawings, photographs, and Historic Architecture Buildings Survey (HABS) documents of Parke County covered bridges as well as covered bridges throughout Indiana.

Today, covered bridges are considered historical landmarks and nostalgic reminders of a bygone era. There are many speculations about why the bridges were covered. Romantics call them “kissing bridges,” as young couples could steal away in their horse-and-buggies and sneak kisses under the cover of a bridge’s roof without fear of detection. Others suggest the bridges were built to resemble barns so farm animals would not stampede while being driven across rushing waters. Still others claim the bridges were covered to deflect snow and rain and provide shelters to travelers caught in a storm. Regardless of which explanation you prefer, covering bridges protected the trusses from deterioration caused by weather. Bridge engineers argue that covered bridges could be expected to last three times longer than non-covered bridges.

Unlike most modern bridges, which take the numbers of highways that cross them, covered bridges generally were given names that revealed something special about them. Some bridges were named for farm families that owned the land on which they rested. A number were given names of nearby towns or businesses, such as the 1856 Portland Mills Covered Bridge, which is the oldest bridge in the county. Other bridges, such as the Narrows Bridge, were named for unique characteristics associated with their appearance or history. The Narrows Bridge, built by Joseph Albert Britton, picturesquely spans Sugar Creek at Turkey Run State Park and is the most photographed bridge in Parke County.

Covered bridges have also long been the source of local folklore and ghost stories. At the Sim Smith Bridge, ghostly sounds of a horse-and-buggy can reputedly be heard rattling the wooden supports of the bridge late at night. Similarly, a ghost of a young woman who was killed in a buggy accident in the early 1900s is said to haunt Bridgeton Bridge, which was built by the eminent bridge builder J.J. Daniels in 1868. Sadly, this 245-foot double-spanned scarlet bridge was lost to arson in 2005, but rebuilt in 2006.

The covered bridges of Parke County have become a growing point of national interest since the county’s first Covered Bridge Festival in 1957. The festival continues every October, when more than two million covered bridge enthusiasts can explore the rural countryside. Parke County, which boasts itself as the “Covered Bridge Capital of the World,” has more covered bridges than any other county in the country. In December of 1978, its 31 covered bridges were added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Written by Trinity Hart Vavra, Graduate Assistant at the Center for Historic Preservation

Images: Alvin W. Holmes, Bridgeton Bridge, 1946, Alvin W. Holmes Collection

Narrows Bridge, ca. 1972, HD 72.010

For more images of Parke County covered bridges, visit http://www.bsu.edu/libraries/archives/drawings/Collections/practitionercollections/holmesdigital/index.htm

Lighting the Future

2010-01-07T08:32:00.007-05:00

If there's one thing Midwesterners need this time of year, it's light. To help us, Paul Zaferiou, a Principal in the Boston lighting consulting firm Lam Partners, Inc., will present his talk on the "Future of Lighting" at Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning January 25th, at 4 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Zaferiou has degrees in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Oregon and is a registered architect. In his 24 years of lighting consulting experience, he has managed scores of projects representing a wide range of project types and geographic locations. His professional experience is complemented by his teaching and authoring of articles on architectural lighting design. Some of the high profile projects he has worked on are: the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; The Getty Villa in Malibu, CA.; the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center; and the Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center.

To get the intellectual equivalent of a vitamin D supplement, come to the lecture January 25th, 4 p.m., in the College of Architecture and Planning, room 100.

Above photo is of the Salt Lake City Public Library, one of Paul Zaferiou's lighting projects through Lam Partners, Inc. Photo courtesy of the Salt Lake City Public Library: http://www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/details.jsp?parent_id=7&page_id=5

Vote to preserve an Indiana family barm!

2009-12-17T11:26:00.002-05:00

This year Campbell’s Soup will be preserving 5 barns as chosen by voters. One barn in the running is owned by the Dull family in Thorntown, Indiana.

Voting will take place from October 1, 2009 to January 5, 2010. You can cast one vote every day. It just takes a minute. http://www.helpgrowyoursoup.com/projects.aspx

About the Dull Family Farm:
"We are a family-owned corporation that row crops 2000 acres of corn and soybeans. We also run and maintain a tree farm that we use as part of a Christmas tree business.
Our barn is the centerpiece of our farm. It is the first building that customers see as they come around the bend in the road and up the driveway, so it needs to look good for that first impression. We are very involved in our community, and our farm is a recommended place to visit by the Boone County Convention and Visitors Bureau. During school tours, part of the barn is used for a petting zoo where the students and teachers feed and interact with our animals. We feel this on-farm connection goes a long way in educating our future consumers about where food really comes from.
This project would provide a unique service learning opportunity for all involved. It would provide an avenue where two local FFA chapters from different districts, FFA Alumni, national FFA staff and the Dulls can all work together to revive a tired barn into a centerpiece that's used to educate both the young and the not-so-young about food and agriculture."

To learn more about the Dull Family farm, visit their website: http://dullstreefarm.com/index.php

Indiana Diners & Drive-ins

2009-10-29T16:28:00.009-04:00

Experience the history of the American diner!

The Drawings and Documents Archive’s new exhibit, Indiana Diners and Drive-ins, explores the architecture of the diner from its origin as a night lunch wagon where night workers and bar patrons bought five-cent ham sandwiches and pie after the regular restaurants had closed for the night, to the rocket ship-inspired drive-ins of the 1950s where teenagers cruised in their Ford convertibles, looking for a malt and a burger.

The humble diner is a familiar aspect of the American landscape. No road trip would be the same without its comforting neon beacon at the end of a long road. And every late night out deserves to be capped off with a visit to the local greasy spoon to ease the transition home. We may take the structure of the modern diner for granted, but it has experienced many architectural revisions in its progression from novelty business to regular customers. Indiana diners, as well as the diner’s midcentury offspring, the drive-in, developed according to cultural interests and pastimes and, therefore, architecturally reflect what was happening in the state and in the country.

The exhibit opens Thursday, November 12th from 4-6 p.m. in the College of Architecture and Planning’s gallery, located on the first floor. In honor of waitresses, car hops and short-order cooks everywhere, we will be serving pie!

Consider this your official invitation:

HABS Resources

2009-10-12T09:56:00.007-04:00

The Historic American Buildings Survey, commonly referred to as HABS, was established in 1933 in an effort to relieve the crushing impact of unemployment in the United States during the Great Depression. It was created by the National Park Service with a mission to document the architectural heritage of the United States and to put people, such as architects, draftsmen, and others, back to work.

In Indiana, there is evidence that the HABS program was active as early at the inception of the program. The Drawing and Documents Archive here at Ball State University’s College of Architecture and Planning recently uncovered some HABS documents that show an overview of important historical structures located within the state. A year after the program was established in 1933, an Indiana HABS map from 1934 shows the locations of projects in District No. 24. Two years after this map, in 1936, a map showing the location of projects in Indiana districts was completed. These maps are not only important because they show the structures Indiana’s historic past, but also because these maps were on the forefront of a massive undertaking that was to help the United States pull itself out of an economic pitfall while reigniting the interest of America’s storied past. As a result, these maps are an important part of both the history of Indiana and the nation.

The Historic American Buildings Survey collection of documents, surveys, photographs, and more, is now housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and is in the public domain. HABS is an ongoing project and new structures are being added to this important resource. Digitalization of the collection is also underway. For more information, please visit the Library of Congress website on HABS: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/. The Drawings and Documents Archive also houses many HABS drawings relating to Indiana architecture.

As a side note, there is also the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) as well at the Historic American Landscape Survey (HALS). These collections are also housed in the Library of Congress.

Posted by Matt Kriegl, Graduate Assistant at the Drawings + Documents Archive

Conservation in the Archive

2009-09-30T18:31:00.006-04:00

Four extraordinary landscape architecture drawings were recently donated to the Drawings and Documents Archive’s Indianapolis Parks Collection. The drawings depict Garfield Park Conservatory, a design for an outdoor amphitheater, and Holiday Park; all located in Indianapolis. Each of the drawings are full-color pencil drawings on paper, dating from the 1940s to 1950s. Much of the Indianapolis Parks Collection contains architectural drawings and mechanical information for structures in the park, so these elegantly rendered landscapes and planting drawings are a welcome addition to the collection.

Unfortunately, they were previously housed in a mechanical warehouse with engines and exposed to decades of soot and dirt, and thus came to the Archive covered in a layer of grime that obscured their beautiful colors, subtle details, and handwritten planting notes. The first pair of white, cotton gloves used to move the items to the Archive were quickly blackened from the soot covering nearly every inch of the items.

In order to be placed within the collection and enable researchers to utilize the information contained in the drawings, they required careful cleaning to remove the layer of grime that obscured them, without removing the image itself.

This image of the Garfield Park Conservatory drawing was taken with the cleaning was nearly complete. You can see, on the left side, the extent to which it was darkened.

How to research a historic Indiana neighborhood

2009-09-16T13:50:00.003-04:00

For new students in the Historic Preservation department, or for researchers who just want to learn more about their own neighborhood, writer Tanya Marsh details her method of researching the Brightwood neighborhood in Indianapolis. Read her interesting article at
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/property/2009/09/tracing-the-history-of-a-neighborhood.html

New Exhibit on Indiana's Conservation Design History

2009-09-15T11:48:00.014-04:00

The College of Architecture and Planning's gallery is now hosting an extraordinary exhibit titled Celebrating Indiana’s Conservation Design Heritage: Selections from the Archives of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, curated by Christopher Baas, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, and Ryan Smith, a second year graduate student in Landscape Architecture.

Displaying drawings mined from the vast archives at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Engineering, this exhibit explores a wide range of drawing types for state owned properties: master plans, conceptual designs, and construction drawings. The majority of the collection is the federally funded New Deal Era landscapes and structures, but several date to the reservoir construction era of the 1960s and 70s.

Due to security issues, the exhibit contains high-resolution images scaled to the original size of the drawings, not the original drawings themselves. However, two original, featured works from the exhibit are on display at the Drawings and Documents Archive down the hall from the gallery. They are a Jens Jensen design he created for the Prairie Club Fountain, Indiana Dunes State Park in 1932, and an elaborate drawing by John Lloyd Wright for Beach Cabin Units, also at the Indiana Dunes State Park, in 1930.

Jens Jensen, as a member of the Chicago’s Prairie Club, was instrumental in attempts to establish a Dunes National Park in the years leading up to WWI. After the attempts faltered, Indiana created a state park in the late 1920s (the National Lakeshore was not established until the late 1960s). As a thank you, Prairie Club members held a fountain design competition of which this design of Jensen’s won. The fountain was dedicated in 1932. It was unearthed from a dune and moved to a location near the park’s visitor center in the 1980s.

This drawing was likely the landscape architect’s proposal to the state seeking approval for construction (a reasonable explanation for it being in the DNR archives). A similar set of construction drawings is located at the Jensen Archives at the University of Michigan.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, John, had a practice in Long Beach, Indiana. He had a lengthy career both in Indiana, and later in California. He was also the inventor of Lincoln Logs. Little is known about this commission beyond what the drawing communicates. Wright presents a conceptual plan for a multi-story motel that is cleverly integrated into the dune landscape. The project was never constructed.

Green Design at Minnetrista, September 19th

2009-09-09T13:53:00.001-04:00

https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/mdgibson/WORLD_SHARED/bfly_announcement_web.jpg

Preserving Modernism

2009-09-02T08:45:00.004-04:00

The New York Times reported on building and landscape preservation efforts to save Modernist environments on Cape Cod.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/garden/27cape.html

Fall semester hours at the Archive

2009-08-31T16:50:00.002-04:00

The Archive is open Monday, Tuesday Wednesday 9-noon, 1-5; Thursday 9-noon, 2-5; Friday by appointment. If you'd like to schedule an appointment, please email ddarchive@bsu.edu or call (765) 285-8441.

Archive Open House

2009-08-20T16:31:00.005-04:00

The Drawings and Documents Archive, Architecture Library, and Visual Resource Center are hosting an open house for faculty Friday, August 21, from 1-4 p.m. During the lull between beginning of the school year meetings, please stop by to:

Check out the new Building Material Samples Collection in the Visual Resources Center (AB 117).

Discover resources in the Drawings and Documents Archive (AB 120).

Browse new books and videos in the library. (AB 116)

Have some refreshments! (sorry-only in the Library, not the Archive)

For non-BSU patrons, you are always invited to stop by the Archive, for the open house or to conduct research.