Indiana Preservationist 1988

              ranklin College hosts
Historic Landmarks'
Annual Meeting
The 1988 Annual Meeting and Membership Dinner will be held on Sunday, May
1, at Franklin College in Franklin,
Indiana.
Margo Martin, a resident of Franklin,
chairs the Annual Meeting Committee
which includes Sheila Barr, Eleanor
Bookwalter, Gloria Gresham, Christopher
Hext, Rosemary Prentice, Jean Servaas,
John Martin Smith, and Maribeth Bailey
(staff).
Special notice to members
Directors of Historic Landmarks
foundation of Indiana are elected for a
three-year term. One third of the
members of the Board are elected
annually. The election is held at the
annual meeting of the membership (May
1 at Franklin College), and each member
is entitled to vote.
According to Historic Landmarks' bylaws, members may vote only for
candidates who have been nominated by
the Nominating Committee of the Board
of Directors, or by at least ten voting
members. A nomination of a candidate
for election to the Board of Directors,
whether made by the Nominating Committee or by the members, must be
submitted in writing to Eugene M.
Busche, Chairman of the Board, at the
principal office of Historic Landmarks at
least ten days in advance of the annual
meeting.
ymposium seeks to
discover meaning of
"Myth in the Land"
As part of its commitment to explore
various aspects of rural preservation,
Historic Landmarks will co-sponsor a
two-day symposium in southern Indiana
called "Myth in the Land." The
symposium will be held Friday and
Saturday, April 15 and 16, at Mount
Saint Francis, located in Floyds Knobs
overlooking the Ohio River.
Designed to provide an opportunity
for preservationists, historians, architects,
landscape architects, artists and administrators to gather in a beautiful natural
setting, the symposium will focus on
"place" and its meaning in the
preservation movement.
For more information about "Myth in
the Land," please see pages 4 and 5.
ort Wayne's historic
downtown becomes
Midtowne Crossing
Raze the entire half block and build new,
proposed the Redevelopment Commission of Fort Wayne in January of 1987.
One year later, the buildings are still
standing and are part of the downtown
development project called Midtowne
Crossing.
This mixed-use development plan includes residential, retail and commercial
spaces. The historic buildings which are
eligible for listing in the National Register
of Historic Places will be renovated.
Where limited demolition occurs, new
construction will be designed to fit the
scale of existing historic structures.
In the twelve months between these
opposite proposals ARCH, Inc. (a Fort
Wayne-based organization for historic
preservation) and sympathetic friends
persuaded city officials to step back and
reconsider the demolition plan.
A blue-ribbon citizen committee was
appointed last spring to review the
various plans, interview developers, and
make a recommendation to the mayor
and the Redevelopment Commission.
Upon completion of these tasks, the
committee recommended renovation of
the existing historical structures and also
helped in the selection of a developer.
Formerly called the Courtyards,
Midtowne Crossing includes the Schmitz
Block, designed by Frank B. Kendrick
and built in 1888; the Blackstone
Building, designed by C. H.
Weatherhogg, built in 1927, and the only
commercial facade in downtown Fort
Wayne to be entirely clad in white terra
cotta; several Italianates; two
Neoclassical designs; and a beautiful
Spanish Colonial Revival of tapestry brick
featuring stone gargoyles and a steeply-
raked pent roof of green unglazed
Spanish tile.
The $10.6 million project was recently
approved by the Fort Wayne
Redevelopment Commission. Paul
Helmke, the newly elected mayor of Fort
Wayne, also approved the project which
this spring, with completion of the
project expected by spring of 1989.
was originally proposed almost 20 years
ago, and said he is anxious to get it
under way. Indianapolis developer Sheila
S. Kennedy plans to begin construction
This happy outcome can be attributed
to the cooperative efforts of city officials
who were attentive to the issue, the
effectiveness of the process used to
evaluate proposals, and the vigilance of
ARCH, Inc. and other interested
individuals. The proposed transformation
of the old Courtyards into Midtowne
Crossing promises to be an exciting
project.
by Gretchen F. Wiegel, executive director of ARCH, Inc.
The Schmitz Block is downtown Fort
Wayne's best surviving commercial
example of the Richardsonian Romanesque
style. The facade of this four-story building
is made entirely of limestone. This building
and seven others will be saved and
incorporated into the Midtowne Crossing
development.    (Mark Dollase)
HISTORIC
LANDMARKS
FOUNtMTON OF
INDIANA
#1, February 1988
iemnec and Carter
named as new regional
directors
The appointment of Michael A. Carter as
director of the Eastern Regional Office of
Historic Landmarks Foundation became
effective January 1. Carter, a native of
Maine, received his master's degree in
Regional Planning and Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University
in Ithaca, New York.
Karen Kiemnec, who joined the
Historic Landmarks' staff last year in the
newly created "circuit rider" position,
was promoted and replaces James D.
Conley as the director of the Northern
Regional Office in South Bend. Conley
became the vice president of the
Foundation upon the retirement of
Charles R. Niehaus last fall.
Other staff changes include the
promotion of Katherine Jourdan, former
administrative assistant, to program
coordinator of the Eastern Regional
Office in Cambridge City; the addition of
Jennifer Emmert as administrative
assistant at the Indianapolis Office; and
effective March 1, the addition of Merri
Mike Adams as membership assistant at
the Crown Hill office.
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