Pierre & Wright's Fire Station #18 on the 10 Most Endangered List

Indiana Landmarks recently published their 10 Most Endangered List for 2017 and Pierre & Wright's Fire Station #18 is featured prominently on the list. A stylish Art Deco fire station built in 1936 on Indianapolis' west side, the building served the Indianapolis Fire Department handsomely until it was replaced in 1994 and left vacant.

A few years ago, Edward Pierre's granddaughter donated a large collection of the architect's papers, photographs, and other materials he collected over his long career. In the papers, he cited Fire Station #18 as one of his favorite buildings he designed. He matched fashionable design elegantly with the utilitarian needs of men who needed efficiency in their race to save lives and property. Pierre was proud to live in Indianapolis and worked very hard throughout his career to make it a better city for its citizens. He was proud to design important buildings like the Indiana State Library, but also proud to design small, utilitarian buildings like Fire Station #18. From gas stations to libraries and office buildings, Pierre infused every project with the best design he could produce.

Today the former fire station at Washington Street and Tibbs Avenue sits ready for redevelopment to transform it into its next life. Perhaps a restaurant, a residence, or an office will find its new home there. No matter what, the building will serve its purpose with style and grace straight from one of the greatest architects in Indiana history.


Images: Fire Station #18 rendering by Leslie Ayres, 1936. Pierre & Wright Architectural Records, Drawings + Documents Archive, Ball State University.
Current photo by Evan Hale, Courtesy of Indiana Landmarks.

Art Moderne With a Bubbly Personality

The Art Moderne commercial building at 2201 East 46th Street in Indianapolis is currently undergoing renovations that uncovered its original limestone facade with striking cursive font and delightful bubbles for Sutho Suds, a former Indy-based detergent brand that did frothy sales during WWII but was all washed up in the years following the war. Founded in 1943 by husband and wife team of Paul and Frances Towsley, the company quickly outgrew their factory at 1201 Cornell Avenue and began planning to double their factory space. 

 

When the building was erected in 1945, the company was doing very well and had the capital for a much expanded space and even had plans to build a factory in Chicago. However, due to the rise in new competitors during the post war period, sales quickly spiraled down the drain and the company went into receivership just a few months after moving into their new building.

The building housed a lot of other businesses since 1945. Most recently it was the headquarters for Double 8 Foods. Before that it held 7-11 Super Markets and even the architecture firm Odle/Burke Architects.

But the question on everyone's mind when Mark Dollase from Indiana Landmarks posted the Sutho Suds facade photographs to Facebook this week was: who was the architect who designed bubbles for limestone pilasters on this building? That architect was no other than Joseph Cezar, whose collection can be found at the Drawings + Documents Archive. He may be the greatest Indianapolis architect that no one knows about. The Sutho Suds drawings, however, were a mystery in the collection. Without an address or location on the drawings, we didn't know where the building was located. Because the sign was covered with a subsequent facade, no one else knew where it was, either. Thanks to inquisitive architecture fans and social media, we now have a complete record in our database and Indianapolis architecture fans now know a little bit more about Joseph Cezar's work!

Many thanks to Sharon Butsch Freeland who helped piece together this puzzle and graciously provided the newspaper clippings regarding Sutho Suds and the building.

Images: Sutho Suds building photograph by Mark Dollase, 2016; Sutho Suds building and signage drawings by Joseph O. Cezar, 1945; Sutho Suds advertisements from the Indianapolis Star, 1944, collected by Sharon Butsch Freeland, 2016.

Indiana Landmarks 10 Most Endangered: Pantheon Theater, Vincennes



Built in 1921 by Vincennes architect John B. Bayard, the Renaissance Revival-style Pantheon Theater in Vincennes, Indiana, has hosted decades worth of performances. From local theater groups to Broadway shows, this building has seen it all. It was even where legendary performer and Vincennes-native Red Skelton got his start in show business.

Its current fate is a little less star-studded, however, which has prompted its debut in the spotlight of the 2012 Indiana Landmarks 10 Most Endangered list.

The images of the theater were most likely taken not long after it had opened in 1921. They are part of the Jay C. Bixby Architectural Records. Architect Jay C. Bixby (1889-1983) was working in Bayard's office by 1927 and then, along with another architect Rudolph W. Schucker, took over the firm after Bayard's death in 1933. Bixby later practiced independently from 1952 to 1965. The collection contains photographs, architectural drawings, and clippings regarding their projects throughout southern Indiana. 

Images: Pantheon Theater facade and interior. Jay C. Bixby Architectural Records, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

Indiana Landmarks 10 Most Endangered: House of Tomorrow

Cellophane curtains, rubber floors, ashtrays and lampshades like kitchen utensils, and kitchen utensils like parlor ornaments, tables that rise up in the air like a Joshua tree, enameled walls and wooden dishes, furniture made of mirrors, game boards inlaid on the floor, these are some of the brand new ideas which puzzle and fascinate the crowds shuffling through the model houses around Home-Planning hall.

World's Fair Weekly

To Hoosier architects and designers, visiting the 1933 Century of Progress International Exposition held in nearby Chicago, must have been the highlight of their summer. Intended to celebrate Chicago's 100 year anniversary, the fair featured the latest innovations in architecture, design, products,transportation, science, and technology.

One of the prominent displays at the exposition was The Homes of Tomorrow exhibition that showcased thirteen houses designed for modern and, sometimes, futuristic living. Five of the houses--the Florida Tropical, Rostone, Armco Ferro, Cypress Log Cabin, and the House of Tomorrow--were purchased after the exposition and moved to Beverly Shores, Indiana, where they provide breathtaking views of Lake Michigan.

You can see the houses as they were on display in these pictures from the booklet that architect Fran E. Schroeder purchased when he attended the exposition in July 1933. He brought back other ephemera from his trip, all of which can be found in his collection at the Archives. Another architect, Leslie F. Ayres, sketched drawings while he was there. A few years later Ayres would design Muncie's Wilkinson House, a house that also makes an appearance on this year's 10 Most Endangered list.

Decades at the shore haven't been kind to the houses and Indiana Landmarks has partnered with the National Park Service to allow long-term leases to people dedicated to restoring these buildings. I recently had the privilege to tour all but the House of Tomorrow, which is the only one that hasn't found a benefactor. The luxury house once featured a garage for the family car and airplane, but today it is in poor condition and on this year's 10 Most Endangered list.

Taken during my visit, the photograph below shows the completely renovated Florida Tropical house taken from the vantage point of the balcony belonging to its neighbor across the street, the nearly complete Armco Ferro house.

Images: World's Fair Weekly, week ending July 22, 1933. Fran E. Schroeder Architectural Records, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries. 

Florida Tropical House, 2012. Photograph by Carol Street.



Indiana Landmarks 2012 list of 10 Most Endangered: Taggart Memorial

Indiana Landmarks is our state's non-profit organization dedicated to preserving historically significant sites and structures. Each year, the organization publishes its list of Indiana’s landmarks that are considered the 10 Most Endangered. As you can imagine, a property doesn't make it to the list until it faces imminent threat from abandonment, neglect, and/or demolition.

The Drawings + Documents Archive has often been able to assist Indiana Landmarks with research regarding historical properties and, while we don't have materials on all of this year's ten engangered properties, we do have information on quite a few of them. We'll spend the next few posts exploring the plans, photographs, and documents in our collection related to some of the most endangered properties in the state.

First up is the Taggart Memorial in Indianapolis. Thomas Taggart (1856-1929) was the 18th mayor of Indianapolis (1895-1901), a Senator (1916), and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. One of his greatest achievements in political office was founding the expansive parks system in the growing metropolis of Indianapolis. The city of Indianapolis dedicated the Taggart Memorial in Riverside Park in 1931, two years after his death.

The Archives has hundreds of drawings and ledgers from the Indianapolis Parks Department Landscape Architectural Records dating from 1898 that document the early history of the park system in Indianapolis that Taggart created. Among the numerous projects are drawings for Riverside Park and the Taggart Memorial. The drawings depict the layout of the memorial as well as the planting plan for the grounds surrounding it.

Prominent landscape architect Lawrence V. Sheridan (1887-1972), who had recently worked with George Kessler on Indianapolis' famed boulevard system, designed the landscape. Below, you'll see the progression of his design process in early 1931. The first blueprint, which is hand-colored and dated February 5, 1931, shows the preliminary plans for the overall design and the second blueprint, dated February 23, 1931, depicts the detailed planting schedule for the grounds surrounding the monument.  The final plan, dated March 17, 1931, shows the construction and grading plan for the memorial.

Some Assembly Required: Mail-order Houses in Indianapolis

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.

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

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!

Frank Lloyd Wright: Architectural Alchemist lecture November 18th

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.