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Columbus!

Mar30

I can tell I’m getting used to rural life because yesterday I went to Columbus (Indiana) and it felt like I was in the big city. There were people walking around downtown! And restaurants without drive-ups! And some people were not white!

It was awesome.

I’ve driven through Columbus many times, but I only remember stepping out of my car there once, in 2005, when I was deeply enmeshed in historic theater obsession and I stopped to photograph the Crump.

Pac-Man?

This picture from 2005 makes me realize that I never see old cars like this since Cash for Clunkers.

My library recently entered into a reciprocal borrower agreement with neighboring Bartholomew County, which means I get a free library card in Columbus. So, I went there yesterday to get it. I don’t know how often I will make the 40 minute drive to use the Columbus Library, but I do like to collect library cards. I also wanted to check out their local history room. The Charles & Hazel Layton family lived in Columbus for a short time in the 1930′s.

Once my library business was complete, I spent some time walking around since it was a gorgeous day, and I was really surprised by how nice it was. Columbus has a lovely preserved historic downtown with lots of great old buildings, but it also has this amazing new building called The Commons with a giant indoor playground (just for kids, unfortunately), some neat public art, a performance hall, and community meeting space (free for non-profits). I was kindof amazed. Every town should have a space like this. It certainly would take the pressure off under-funded public libraries to provide meeting space for a whole community.

Columbus suddenly seems like a great place to live. I love Greensburg because it’s rural and quiet, and it’s also equidistant to Indy and Cincinnati, two Midwestern cities that are near and dear to me. Columbus, though, is a great little town, and it’s super close to other great places: Bloomington, Lake Monroe, and Brown County.

I could tell just by walking around how hard the city of Columbus works at making their downtown beautiful. It just looked really nice. It made me happy. They also have a Puccini’s, home of my favorite margharita pizza, which I most certainly did purchase and devour. (The food situation in Greensburg is really bad, so I got pretty excited about this.)

Anyway, here are some photos from my big adventure.

LOVE this building! Currently vacant, but someone seems to be in the process of renovating.

Pretty amazing old ice cream parlor: http://www.zaharakos.com/.
I had some ice cream, which wasn’t that impressive, but the place itself is wonderful. I’d like to go back sometime when it’s not quite so busy.

That whole corner section of The Commons is a playground. If you have little ones, bring them here!

Across the street is Kidcommons, the Community Children’s Museum.

I have visited many war memorials. I have walked through Arlington Cemetery, witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, and run my hand over the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. But I never once cried until I unexpectedly stumbled upon this relatively modest memorial in Columbus, Indiana. It’s made up of 25 limestone pillars listing the names of the 171 local veterans who died in America’s 20th Century wars. Carved into the limestone are letters written by these soldiers who died in combat.

I was not expecting this emotional turmoil on my leisurely Columbus stroll. I would like to re-visit sometime when I am more prepared.

They also have a pretty courthouse. (But it’s not like there’s a tree growing out of it or anything.)

I consider my new-found Columbus appreciation to be yet another positive side effect of living in the middle of nowhere. It suddenly looks, to these eyes, like a cultural mecca of the Midwest.

The destruction of our built environment

Dec11

I am all in favor of change, when change is progress. Often, it is not.

On a recent visit to Cincinnati, I drove through the area I used to call home to have a look around. I lived in an east-side neighborhood called Madisonville, but did most of my shopping up the road in Oakley as Madisonville shopping basically consists of a UDF gas station, a Dollar General, and a Porsche dealership. When I moved, Oakley was in the midst of a “major redevelopment.” I was curious to see how things have changed over the past year.

I discovered that all those months of road construction resulted in a revamped street-scape. It’s nice. There’s some “green space.” Overall, I was underwhelmed. However, on my way out of the neighborhood, I almost caused a traffic accident when I saw this:

That's not a landfill.

I remembered there being an interesting old industrial building here with cool windows, though I didn’t know what the building was used for, or if it was still used at all. It’s definitely not being used now. When I got home, I searched for news of this project and learned that the building once housed a manufacturing plant called Cincinnati Milacron. Interestingly, this company has a deeply embedded history in the city. Founded in 1884, it has been applauded for a “strong tradition of remembering the past (1).”

A strong tradition of remembering the past.

The $120 million demolition and redevelopment of this 74 acre property will result in the creation of 200 new apartments, an office campus, a movie theater, and 350,000 square feet of retail space. The developer referred to the old plant as “underutilized property.”

I could point out plenty of other “underutilized property” in the area. For instance, just down the street is a vacant Circuit City building that went out of business three years ago. Why not use some of that $120 million to find a tenant for this building and improve other deteriorating buildings we already have? This old Milacron building could have been creatively repurposed into lofts, art studios, or a truly unique retail space. I wonder how amazing it would have been to rent an apartment in a refurbished historic building with Cincinnati roots, while also living conveniently close to shopping and public transportation? Why are we always so hell-bent on tearing everything down and starting all over? Are we really so short-sighted, so unimaginative, that we cannot see something beautiful right in front of us?

Some wonderful old subway tile.

The developers of this property are, of course, patting themselves on the back for creating jobs out of this project. And they are. Redevelopment jobs are lovely, but they are also temporary. 350,000 square feet of retail space will certainly create some jobs. Jobs in stores that will no doubt sell cheap crap manufactured in China, and employ people at minimum wage who will hate going to work every day. And they should. Because they are going to be selling crap.

The developers are also touting the fact that their new buildings will be LEED certified, because apparently that makes this horrifying project environmentally friendly. How can people not understand that it is far more environmentally friendly to use what we already have than to tear it all down and start again? The whole time I was photographing the wreckage, I tried desperately to hold my breath. The air was heavy with all the toxic substances released into the neighborhood when they tore this monstrous structure down. How will this affect the cleanup crew that is spending hours among the wreckage, the people who work every day in this neighborhood, the people who are doing their Christmas shopping there right now? As I was photographing, I scolded myself for not being more prepared – why don’t I keep a gas mask in my car for situations like this?

With a little bit of innovative thinking, this “underutilized property” could have been something truly unique that Oakley could have been proud of. Instead, my guess is that it will just be another Kenwood or Rookwood – a mass of ugly, hastily assembled buildings lacking in character, history, and neighborhood identity.

Well done, Cincinnati.

Where Gothic meets Country

Jul21

The lancet window outline used in the Buck Creek Church logo

Over the past ten years of my life, as I attended college and graduate school, and worked as a public librarian in Ohio, I found less and less time to visit my small Indiana hometown. Now that I’m back full-time and for good, I find myself falling in love with this little place that, not so long ago, I was dying to get away from.

One reason for this unexpected love affair: early morning bike rides in the country. It is quiet here, and simple. Much as I wanted it to, the city just did not suit me. Here, surrounded by towering corn stalks, horses, and farmhouses, I feel like I can finally breathe again.

Last week, on one of my rides, I discovered a fantastic little church in rural Marion County. The pointed arch (lancet) windows place the construction of this church in the 1840-1880 Gothic Revival period. The cross bracing at the roof-wall junction further narrows it to post-1860. The building also borrows decorative brackets from the Italianate style.

Sage and purple coneflower in their mid-July glory!

Such a surprising little gem to find on an Indiana country road! Sadly, most of the windows have been boarded up. I find it odd that this building has not been more lovingly maintained. The church obviously takes pride in their historic structure – the fact that it has not been torn down is testament to that. They also use the outline of the lancet window in their logo – an indication that the history of this building is an important part of the congregation’s identity.

Next to the church is a small cemetery. When I got home, I visited this cemetery on www.findagrave.com, one of my favorite free genealogy resources. Find a Grave was founded by Jim Tipton, who actually created it as a tool for his own hobby of visiting the graves of famous people, but genealogists quickly discovered it and made it their own. The site utilizes volunteers who photograph and document graves so genealogists can see them and learn more about their ancestors without traveling to small cemeteries all over the country.

A view of the original Gothic Revival style church and the more modern addition, done in a style called “ugly.”

I have used this resource to track down several elusive ancestors. Sometimes, the information listed on a grave is a good starting point for researching someone that you can’t seem to track down anywhere else. I began using Find A Grave last year, and since then I have added memorials for some of my ancestors, and I have photographed graves for others to use in their own research.

My growing interest in genealogy coincided with an extremely tumultuous time in my life. As I spent my weekends traveling to various cemeteries in Indiana where my family is buried, the man I loved was showing increasingly disturbing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Some days, he asked me to drive him to the hospital. Other days, he attempted to cope by self-medicating. In the meantime, I found myself spending more and more time in graveyards.

It might seem strange, but it actually brought me a great deal of comfort. The cemetery became the one and only place where I could put my problems in perspective. Surrounded by the graves of those who came before me reminded me that one day, I too, would be in the ground. In this environment, it’s difficult to feel sorry for yourself, regardless of your circumstances.

Find A Grave has helped me learn more about my ancestors, and it has also given me a new way to connect with them. By visiting their final resting places, I am reminded of how many lives passed before me, how many traumas were overcome, or not, and that our time here is short, and should be well-lived.

History of a House

Jun30

This is an example of a house history I wrote for a 1948 Tudor Revival style home located on the east side of Indianapolis in the Community Heights neighborhood. The complete version is fully notated. Here, I am posting a shortened version.

Prominent, broad chimneys are a common feature of Tudor Revival style homes.

Introduction
In the late 1940’s, following World War II, Indianapolis and many other cities across the country experienced severe housing shortages as soldiers returned to the states and looked for a place to settle down. To combat this problem, the Federal Housing Administration helped finance the construction of new homes. Many middle-class Americans were able to buy these homes with financial assistance from the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (also known as the G.I. Bill of Rights). During the housing boom that resulted from this legislation, the Justus Realty Company planned and built over 1000 homes in greater Irvington. Before this time period, America had been primarily a nation of renters.

Style          
As the popularity of the bungalow finally gave way, many Americans began to build modest revival-style homes in the suburbs. Period revivals may have been popular at this time because of the comfort that could be found in familiar, traditional styles following a tumultuous period in American history.

The Tudor Revival style features high-pitched, gabled roofs of medieval origin, and decorative details borrowed from Renaissance traditions. Other identifying features include:

  • Patterned brick or stucco exteriors
  • Prominent, broad chimneys with decorative flues
  • Angular house plans
  • At least one outside living space
  • Arched doorways
  • A breakfast nook or alcove in the kitchen
  • A projecting vestibule covered with a steep gable
  • Sweeping vestibule gables carried almost to the ground
  • Intersecting gables with eaves of varying height
  • Plain or decorated bargeboards
  • Clipped gables

Tudor Revivals often feature arched doorways.

Ownership
The first owner of the home, Ralph Rubush Clark, who lived there from 1949-1978, was born March 7, 1887. He served in the military during WWI, and married Hazel Fay Speedy in 1917. Hazel was born in Crawford County, Indiana, in 1898. Ralph and Hazel raised two sons, Max (1921–1985) and R. Wayne (1925–2010) on Eastern Avenue. When Max and R. Wayne were in their 20’s, Ralph and Hazel moved into their brand new Justus home.

Ralph worked as a bookkeeper for several different Indianapolis businesses throughout his life, including the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), the former Indianapolis Public Welfare and Loan Association, and the Columbia Investment Corporation. He was also a Republican precinct committeeman. He retired in 1957.

Hazel passed away in 1969. Ralph passed away in 1978 at an Indianapolis nursing home. After his death, the house was purchased by the McKeons, who sold it to Lindsey Ross in 1999. She sold the home in 2008. In 62 years, only four different owners have occupied the home, and the shortest period of ownership so far has been 9 years.

This home emphasizes a sweeping vestibule gable that carries the roof almost to the ground.

Historic Designation
The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana identified the Community Heights Justus Addition as a potential historic district in 1993, although at that time it was too “young” to meet the criteria for designation. Staff at Indiana Landmarks indicated that, in 2011, the 63-year-old district very likely qualifies as a historic district.