33-18 Establishing Historic Landmark Status- Civil Rights Heritage Center- 1040 West Washington Street

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Engman Natatorium Pursuant to City of South Bend Ordinance No. 10572-17, as adopted by the Common Council,the structure located at 1040 West Washington, commonly known as the Engman Public Natatorium, is recommended by the Historic Preservation Commission to the Common Council for designation as a Local Historic Landmark. Designation of historic landmarks is considered on the basis of: 1. Historical and cultural significance 2. Educational value 3. Suitability for preservation Historical Context: This property is located on West Washington in South Bend. The property was platted as Bank Lot number eight-nine. The site was formerly at the corner of the now vacated Chapel Lane. The lot was donated to the City of South Bend by Harry Engman, Jr. Mr. Engman was a partner in the Engman, Matthews Range company of South Bend. The City built the Natatorium in 1921-1922 and named it after Engman. The building was designed by Walter W. Schneider, a local architect of note, to model the Culver Natatorium and that of the Chicago Athletic Club. The Board of Park Commissioners were given $80,000.00 for the construction and contracting of the "Public Bath House and Swimming Pool". Their president, Mr. Richard Elbel, contracted the pools construction on August 11, 1921 for $55,501.00 to local contractor Kuehn and Jordan and the remaining moneys were set aside for upkeep and future repairs. The Natatorium was constructed with a top of the line heating system and innovating plumbing and pumps. In its first ten years the pool was used for public swimming, swimming lessons for young and old and safety instructor training. By 1936, only fourteen years after it first opened, the Natatorium was closed as a result of being declared unsafe. The problems listed in the declaration were all problems that were found to be conditions inherent in buildings devoted to natatoriums: the high humidity within the building contrasted with the cold winter temperatures outside which proceeded to produce condensation on walls, windows, and the roof causing rotting. To remedy the problems the City hired architect Ernest W.Young and allocated $25,000.00 for the repair of the structure and the installation of a new machine designed to dry the air. The repairs took four months to implement. Upon the reopening of the pool the State ordered that the City must provide a schedule for use of the Natatorium by African-Americans. Local Civil Rights activist J. Chester Allen requested that due to the fact that there were over 5,000 citizens of color living in South Bend that all restrictions should be dropped so all people could use the pool at any time. Mr. John a Rothrock, representative of the State Board of Tax Commissioners who were the sponsors of the renovation project, stated that"he hadn't seen a city as large as South Bend that didn't provide facilities to blacks", however he did