Indiana Preservationist 1976

              Historic
Landmarks
Foundation
of Indiana
the
Indiana Preservationist
3402 Boulevard Place, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208
Fall 1976 .
Town Tours spark awareness, interest
-^-Elkhart
llf Plymouth
y^ North Manchester
% Attica
#Williamsport
Crawfordsville    Lebanon       ^
£ ^     Noblesville
■^■Rockville
Franklin©
Knightstown
• *
Cambridge City
Connersville "At
$ Town Tours 75
^Town Tours 76—completed
^fTown Tours 76—upcoming
Just how well do you know your town? Most of us
have an easy command over the directions-to-strangers
knowledge of street names and stop-lights and one
ways. But what about the rest of the physical environment? For instance, how closely can you describe your
town's Main Street? Why not give yourself this little
test?
Park yourself in your favorite chair, relax, and close
your eyes. Tune in a mental picture of Main Street.
Now narrow the focus to just one building. You can
choose any building, but let's say it's the hardware
store. You've been in it dozens, maybe hundreds of
times. The times you've passed by the store are
countless. But how sharp is your mental picture of the
building? Is your mind's eye detailed and accurate in
its perception?
Is the building brick or stone or frame, or did the
aluminum siding salesman strike? Is the facade
painted? What color? Is the trim the same or a
different color? How many stories does the building
have? What shape is the roof? Is the cornice plain or
decorated? Are there brackets beneath the eaves?
How many windows are there on each floor of the
front facade? Do the openings still function as windows or have they been blinded by plywood? How are
they shaped? Are the mouldings simple or ornate? Do
the windows have awnings? What kind? Are the
windows more vertical than horizontal, or is it the
other way around? Or has the building been altered so
that the ground floor seems a stranger to the rest?
How does the building relate to its neighbors? Is the
structure next-door similar in scale, or are Mutt 'n Jeff
called to mind? Or is the building stranded between
vacant plots and parking lots?
Although to some this quiz may resemble a cinch,
others will no doubt be surprised by their inability to
conjure a clear image of the buildings on their town's
major thoroughfare. Historic Landmarks Foundation
of Indiana created its popular Town Tour program,
Your Town & You: Preservation & Self-Preservation,
to help remedy the situation. During the summer of
1975, HLFI conducted Town Tours in ten communities located throughout the state (see map),
encouraging many Hoosiers to become freshly
acquainted with their towns. Based on the level of
interest in the program and its success in the ten
towns visited last year, HLFI decided to stage another
ten Town Tours in 1976. Continued funding for the
program was awarded by the Indiana Committee for
the Humanities.
Historic architecture lends a distinctive sense of
time and place to hundreds of small towns in Indiana.
Unfortunately, however, daily exposure to a town is no
guarantee of architectural and environmental awareness. Too often, lack of awareness and appreciation of
the built environment allows changes and "modernization" which erase the special character of a town.
Like the quiz above, HLFI's Town Tours aim to turn
townspeople into "building watchers," and to alert
them to the need for preservation planning.
bb-
*^
<§>!
Architectural historian Christopher
Owens, HLFI's Director of Properties & Planning, hands an intent
audience in Plymouth some
pointers on how to become
"building watchers" during the
Town Tour there on June 27. Mrs.
Ruth Price (foreground), Director
of South Bend's Southhold
Restorations, studies Plymouth's
townscape one more time before
conducting the slide/discussion
program following the tour.
Architecture
As a part of HLFI's educational
programs in Indianapolis public
and private schools, a thirty
minute special on architectural
awareness was filmed for Indianapolis PBS station, Channel 20.
The "stars" of the show, HLFI
staff member Cheri Lynn (left)
and students from Indianapolis
Public School #2 with their
teacher Elizabeth Nie (2nd from
right), are shown in front of the
Morris-Butler   House   during a
on camera
break in filming. The television
program was funded by the
Junior League of Indianapolis
and will be aired later this fall
(date to be announced). Educational presentations similar to
the Channel 20 program were
given to grade school students
in the Indianapolis area by a six-
member volunteer speakers bureau coordinated by Laura Jean
King.