NEWS

Indiana Landmarks presents preservation awards and free lecture

Awards recognize outstanding restorations in Central Indiana

On May 31, Indiana Landmarks will present awards for central Indiana preservation projects before its Indiana Modern affinity group offers a free lecture on women in design at General Motors during the Modernist era.

Indiana Landmarks will present four awards to the following winners at 6 p.m., followed by the Indiana Modern lecture at 6:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Avenue:

Old House RehabAward—Megan and Kyle Robinson will receive an award for their transformation ofthe McKay House,1241 Broadway Street in Indianapolis. Many people considered the Old Northside house—vacant and derelict for nearly forty years—a lost cause. The Robinsons reconstructed lost features based on historic photographs, including the front and back porches, windows, and decorative trim. Historic photographs showed the distinctive light-colored mortar joints in the masonry façade, which the Robinsons replicated in repointing the masonry exterior.

Outstanding Restoration Award — Howard County Commission and Howard County Historical Society for the Seiberling Mansion at1200 West Sycamore in Kokomo. Dave Broman, Executive Director of the Howard County Historical Society will accept the award. The Howard County Historical Society led the campaign to restore the roof of the mansion, built in 1891 during the natural gas boom in east central Indiana. The mansion still had its original roof until leaks caused interior plaster damage and threatened the collections of the museum, which has occupied the house since the early 1970s. The Howard County Historical Society garnered $560,000 in pledges from private citizens, the County Council, and the Howard County Commission, which has owned the property for many years. Hinshaw Roofing and Sheet Metal Co. of Frankfort installed the new roof, which perfectly matches the original slate shingles, including the challenging curved cap on the central tower.

Continued Use Award — Hamilton County Commission for the restoration and maintenance of the Hamilton County Courthouse on the square in Noblesville. Mark Heirbrandt, president of the Hamilton County Commission, will accept the award. Designed by architect Edwin May and built in 1879, the stunning Second-Empire style courthouse retains the original limestone quoins, pilasters, and window labels, and its idiosyncratic convex slate roof. A majestic classical clock tower rises above the building. The interior, too, remains virtually unaltered in its configuration and finishes.

Adaptive Use Award — Flaherty & Collins Properties and WellSpring Center for the Retreat at Mineral Springs, 110 West Washington Street in Martinsville. Gary Oakes will accept the award on behalf of the project’s partners. The project repurposed three historic buildings as 38 affordable senior apartments in the city’s downtown. The largest of the three structures was built as an elite sanitarium and mineral water spa. The project installed six apartments in the former Morgan County Jail and Sheriff’s Residence, constructed circa 1870 and protected by a preservation covenant held by Indiana Landmarks. The third building, the former Kivett’s Five and Dime on the courthouse square, makes up the trio adapted by Flaherty & Collins in partnership with the local nonprofit WellSpring Center.

Indiana Landmarks presented an Outstanding Preservation Award earlier this spring during the Preserving Historic Places conference in Columbus to Tony Moravec for transformingthe 1903 Columbus Pump House and Waterworks into a thriving craft brewpub and restaurant operated by Upland Brewing Company. Previously converted to serve as the Columbus Senior Center, the building had been vacant until Moravec’s restoration, which included a new slate roof and exterior repairs. Inside, he retained the original industrial character while adapting the space to a lively new use. William E. Burd was project architect, with George Breeden serving as contract manager.

The free lecture following the awards presentation features Susan Skarsgard, design manager of the GM Design Archive & Special Collections. Her talk, “Then & Now: Designing Women at General Motors,” offers an insider’s view of the trailblazers who have played roles in automotive and industrial design at GM from the 1940s through the present.

Employed at General Motors Design since 1994, Skarsgardwill also share reflections on the GM Technical Center, the National Historic Landmark campus in Warren, Michigan, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1956.

The awards program and lecture are free with a reservation made online at moderntalk18.eventbrite.com or by calling Indiana Landmarks, 317-639-4534.

For a deeper immersion in the era, Back to The Future: A Mid-Century Modern Home Tour on June 2 will take visitors inside five private Indianapolis residences, including houses by designer Avriel Shull and architects Evans Woollen III and Harry Cooler. As a vintage design bonus, each house will display a mid-century car in the driveway. The tour homes—all on the city’s northeast side—date from 1956 to 1968.

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Media contacts:
Mark Dollase, Indiana Landmarks Vice President of Preservation Services, 317-639-4534, mdollase@indianalandmarks.org
Tina Connor, Indiana Landmarks Executive Vice President, 317-822-7903, 317-946-3127 (cell), tconnor@indianalandmarks.org
Jen Thomas, 317-441-2487, jen@jtprinc.com

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Indiana Landmarks, a private nonprofit organization, has worked for half a century saving historic places and using preservation as a catalyst to revitalize communities. What started as a small, all-volunteer group has grown to the largest statewide preservation group in the U.S., with 6,200 members and a staff of 36 in nine offices around Indiana.For more information on Indiana Landmarks, call 317-639-4534, 800-450-4534, or visit www.indianalandmarks.org.

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