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STAFF REPORT
<br />CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
<br /> Date: 2 April 2019 Application Number: 2019-0402 Property Location: Leeper Park Architectural Style/Date/Architect or Builder: Planned landscape/1897/City superintendent Herman Beyer; Landscape Architect George Kessler Property Owner: City of South Bend, Venues Parks & Arts Landmark or District Designation: Local Landscape Landmark, Ordinance #8734-96 and National Register of Historic Places, 6/15/2000 Rating: N/A
<br />DESCRIPTION OF STRUCTURE/ SITE: Leeper Park is the first planned public park in South Bend located north of downtown and the medical district. Leeper Park is oriented east/west at the St. Joseph River, divided into three sections, East, Central, and West, by Michigan Street and Lafayette Boulevard. The Eastern section was originally established for the Water Works with the first construction on site being a network of thirty, six-inch artesian wells.1 “The first land condemned for the future Leeper Park, in June of 1895, was meant to provide a second artesian well field and pumping facility for the lively industries and town population which was growing
<br />along the south bend of the St. Joseph River.”2 City superintendent Herman Beyer first influenced the design including curvilinear paths, plantings, and water features. The 1911-1915 Parks and Boulevard system and the Leeper Park Plan, designed by celebrated planner and landscape architect George Kessler, embodied early
<br />twentieth century ideals grounded in the City Beautiful movement, connecting parks and boulevards as planned elements of a coordinated city plan. Kessler’s Plan for Leeper Park included both formal and informal design elements, adopting existing park features of the Beyer era through a skillful remodel. The association of the park
<br />sections with different uses was a result of Kessler’s planning; the West section was deemed for active recreation, the Central section as passive recreation, and the Eastern Section was adopted for its function as a Water Works but also boasts a number of recreation-related features. While the Kessler Plan guided Leeper Park development for the next decade, documentary evidence appears that only some elements of the Kessler design were actually installed.3 Sensitive extensions of Kessler’s Plan continued into the 1920s and 1930s and included Works Progress Administration funded labor for several projects.4 Leeper Park East features include: the North Pumping Station, the water reservoir, multiple water well pumps, Ziegler Performing Center with fixed bench seating, signage for the former Garden of Fragrance, the Navarre Cabin, the foundation of the former Powell House, a non-functioning Comfort Station, a swing set/slide, the Sunken (Rose) Garden, the island, and the Works Progress Administration retaining wall and a bridge to the island.
<br /> Leeper Park Central features include: West Lagoon (Duck Pond), concrete stairs on embankment, a well house, the Edward B. Reynolds fountain, Lavender Labyrinth, memorials including trees, stones, and plaques.
<br /> Leeper Park West features include: backdrop of the former baseball diamond, tennis courts, a recreation building, a parking lot, an odor garden, and raised vegetable gardens with adjoining paths.
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<br />1 Leeper Park Cultural Landscape Report, prepared by Westerly Group for the Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County, May 1998. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Malcolm Cairns, ASLA. “Leeper Park Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form, NR-1411. South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana, June 15, 2000.
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