Indiana landmarks Northern Treasure Hunt

The Kizer House

We had a great day on the 22nd at Indiana Landmarks Northern Treasure Hunt.

The grand mantle made for a great backdrop for our display

Our display in the Formal Dining room of the Kizer House in South Bend.

We brought a selection of architectural items

A table full of antique lighting

This Grand old mansion is undergoing major restoration by Indiana Landmarks and is an excellent example of Richardson Romanesque Architecture. We had an excellent day and expect we will be seeing more and more South bend residents making the pilgrimage to our shop.

This mansion is incredible and well worth a visit

The History Museums Hold House is right across the street form here and there were events and yard sales going on throughout the area.

Am interesting tower on this home

The neighborhood we were at had many great restored old homes in it. We definitely plan on returning the next time they have this event.

The neighborhood is filled with great homes like this.

Indiana Landmarks nears deadline on saving Historic Owen Block

Indiana Landmarks needs to raise an additional 110K to save the historic Owens Block in Evansville Indiana.


 Indiana Landmarks took an option on the rare 1882 row house and spent money on an engineering analysis. The discouraging verdict means that to save the place, Indiana Landmarks must raise $440,000 to cover stabilization of the façade and partial rehab, an amount that could not be recouped by a developer.

 “If we can cover the immediate stabilization required by the city to insure public safety and make a start on the rehab, we’ll be filling the financial gap that has caused developers to walk away,” Davis says.  Two Riverside residents offered $10,000 each as a challenge to kick-start the fundraising, and another increased the challenge by a $20,000 contribution. An Indiana philanthropist pledged $100,000. The City of Evansville will invest $50,000 to save the historic corner, an amount less than it would have spent to demolish the structure.

On January 22, the Evansville Building Commission voted to postpone a decision on the Owen Block until its March meeting, giving Indiana Landmarks additional time to raise the $440,000 necessary to allow the project to move forward .With the generous Support of preservationists they hae secured pledges totaling $328,28.

They we are still more than $110,000 short on our goal. We hope to have the full amount by February 18, when Indiana Landmarks’ Executive Committee meets to discuss the project.
 

People interested in preserving this structure who would like to make a donation, should contact Indiana Landmarks

 

 

 

Small Buildings should be preserved too.

Grand style in a small package

Some preservation organization seem to only care about grand mansions built by famous local architects. However, Indiana Landmarks is different, they apparently believe that good things come in small packages and while they do help save "grand mansions' a lot of their efforts are on saving the everyday workers cottages, small homes and in this case a unique but small commercial building, the Frasier and Isham Law Office in the small town of Fowler Indiana .



Window seats in the bays

The building is a example of the design skills of the firm of J. F. Alexander & Son . The style might best be described as Eclectic in my opinion but the round turreted bays of brick and stone shown "Romanesque'  influence . The Romanesque style is generally reserved for large mansions and government buildings. Its use in a small structure like this is rare.

Can't get more secure than your personal vault

The building is on the registry and Indiana Landmarks has attached protective covenants that will insure its future protection. The property is for sale at 45,000.00. It even has its own vault!
You can see the landmarks listing here. Landmark for sale

Encaustic tile floor

This property has great encaustic tile and woodwork too and perfectly illustrates that our "built history" often comes in small packages.