SOS also acquired and remediated the former 1936 Firestone Auto Service Center through a combination of an Indiana Landmarks loan and Indiana Department of Environmental Management funding. The organization successfully nominated the building to the National Register of Historic Places and promoted redevelopment opportunities through tours and public events. The building is now poised for new use by local development group Marion Land Trust.

Through popular programs such as its Upstairs Downtown tours, public presentations on redevelopment projects, and online platforms including the Disappearing Marion Substack, SOS continues to engage residents in the role preservation can play in strengthening Marion’s future.

“Outstanding preservation is not just about saving structures. It’s about reintegrating them into community life,” said Sue Bratton, president of Save Our Stories. “By stabilizing, remediating and transitioning properties for reuse, we support neighborhood revitalization, economic development and sustainable land use, while our tours and educational programs transform preservation from a niche activity into a shared community value.”

In both Marion and Wabash, preservation is proving to be a powerful tool for community engagement. While Marion’s Save Our Stories has rallied residents around local landmarks, a school-based initiative in Wabash introduced students to the possibilities of historic preservation.

In 2025, Wabash High School launched its Pathways to Career and Postsecondary Class, an innovative program that challenged 17 freshmen to collaborate on envisioning a new use for Wabash’s vacant 1890 Sposeep Building. Students explored the structure, took measurements, and learned about its history and architectural features, consulting with Indiana Landmarks and Wabash Mayor Scott Long to better understand the building’s potential economic and community impact.

Wabash High School’s Pathways to Career and Postsecondary Class won the Servaas Memorial Award in the youth-serving category for a project introducing students to historic preservation. Students developed concepts for repurposing the vacant 1890 Sposeep Building and showcased their ideas at a public presentation to community leaders. PHOTO: Courtesy WHS P-CAP

Using their research, students created scale models and floor plans proposing new uses for the property. During a public presentation attended by local real estate professionals, redevelopment officials, Indiana Landmarks staff, and community leaders, students presented concepts that ranged from an arcade and event venue to a physical therapy and mental health center.

“This project took a building these students had probably driven by hundreds of times and gave it a new level of importance to them,” says Justin Denney, Wabash High School Math Department chair, who helped develop and oversee the program. “It taught them people really care about these buildings and that they have a story, and maybe because of that they notice other buildings and have questions about them. It opened the door to a way of thinking that this isn’t a pile of bricks, it’s history to them.”

As winner of the Servaas Award’s youth-serving category, the Wabash High School P-CAP Class receives $1,000, and organizational category winner Save Our Stories receives $2,000. Both groups will receive an original sculpture “No Doors to Lock Out the Past” by late Evansville artist John McNaughton at Indiana Landmarks’ Annual Meeting on September 12.

This article first appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of Indiana Preservation, Indiana Landmarks’ member magazine.